August 2025

Migration management cannot happen without local governments (LGs), given their proximity to migrants and their mandate to provide service delivery and safe environments to their constituents. LGs understand local socio-spatial dynamics and are best placed to identify needs and solutions, implement policies and coordinate service delivery. Yet, they are not fully integrated into international organisations’ development and migration responses.

So what would it take to bring LGs to the centre of this agenda?

This position paper is built on a research project that sheds light on the role of local governments in migration contexts, to inform local and international stakeholders of the migration, humanitarian and development sectors.

The research was conducted in Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon and Uganda as well as at global level. The research team reviewed 54 documents written by academics and practitioners, and collected primary data in the form of 35 key informant interviews (KIIs), one focus group discussion (FGD) gathering 15 participants, 4 country-level validation workshops with VNG International’s teams, a stakeholder workshop gathering 17 participants from civil society, academia and the humanitarian sector, and an online survey with 25 responses, providing anecdotal evidence referenced in the research. Together, these tools took stock of existing forms of engagement between LGs and other stakeholders to identify gaps and good practices.

Download report here.

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