report — Publications

Equal Partnerships: African Intermediary Cities as Actors and Partners in Urban Migration Governance. City Report: Garissa- Kenya

November 2023

The Equal Partnerships project led by Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg, Research on Migration, Displacement, and Integration (MFI), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and Samuel Hall with support from Robert Bosch Stiftung explores the opportunities and challenges of collaborative, urban migration governance in African intermediary cities.

As part of this project, Samuel Hall developed a city report exploring urban migration governance in Garissa, Kenya. Home to approximately 500,000 inhabitants, Garissa is a major economic hub. It holds significance in urban migration and displacement, especially in relation to regional conflicts, economic dynamics, climate change, and environmental decline.

We conducted a stakeholder mapping exercise to take stock of actors addressing migration and displacement . Further, to explore partnerships and cooperation gaps and opportunities, we conducted participatory field research with the county of Garissa and organised a local workshop in June 2022 and February 2023. Our research found that multiple actors cooperate on migration and displacement-related issues.

This report presents the outcomes of the stakeholder mapping, identifies opportunities and challenges of cooperative action on migration, and concludes with concrete policy recommendations for strengthening multi-stakeholder partnerships to address migration in the urban context.

Read the city report here

Find other city reports developed as part of this project here.

Read our policy paper here.

East & Southern AfricaSamuel HallNovember 16, 2023Equal Partnerships, report, Migration, displacement, Kenya, Urban

UNHCR - Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance Mid-Year Post-Distribution Monitoring Report 2021

September 2021

This report presents the results from the 2021 mid-year Post-Distribution (PDM) exercise of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) multi-purpose cash assistance programme in Jordan. Jordan hosts close to three quarters of a million refugees, most living outside of camps. In this context, cash assistance is one of the most important social protection tools in humanitarian response.

Samuel Hall was commissioned by UNHCR to assess the degree to which cash recipients rely on negative coping strategies to meet their basic needs in Jordan. With profiles of interviewed beneficiaries and their spending patterns; the report discusses the impact of the monthly basic needs cash assistance on factors such as negative coping mechanisms, food security, housing, and debt. In the final section, the report discusses the cash recipients’ perceptions of cash transfer modalities and the UNHCR complaints mechanism, followed by a presentation of key monitoring indicators.

Download Report

Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) - Thirty Years of Impact

November 2021

Due to successive waves of instability and conflict from the 1980s onwards, Afghanistan was heavily contaminated by explosive ordnance (EO). Established to improve this situation, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) commenced activities in 1988. Samuel Hall was commissioned by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to produce an evaluation taking stock of three decades of work by the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA).

It maintains a focus on impact resulting from MAPA, while also including criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. To gather the evidence needed, a mixed-methods methodology was employed, combining different sources of quantitative and qualitative data to gain an extensive understanding of mine action results over time. Data collection took place in 24 communities across eight provinces, representing the different regions of Afghanistan.

Download Executive Summary
Download Report
Watch Video

ODI - Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants

October 2021

Engaging public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and migrants within their host communities is an increasingly important task. There is however a lack of understanding and data on these narratives and attitudes. This is particularly the case for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This ODI project, supported by the IKEA Foundation, aims to address this gap. Through a series of activities, dialogues, and innovative communication and outreach initiatives, the project is mapping recent research and evidence on public attitudes toward refugees and other migrants in several countries in Africa and Europe.

Samuel Hall lead interviews in Nigeria and Ethiopia and contributed to the writing of these new reports. ODI have also carried out similar research in Germany, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, the US, Kenya and Uganda.

Nigeria country profile
Ethiopia country profile
Project page

West & Central Africa, Europe, Global, ResilienceSamuel HallNovember 1, 2021Nigeria, Ethiopia, IKEA, refugees, migration, case study, report

ILO/IOM - We are in this together: Labour Migration Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Europe and North Africa

July 2021

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has shaken up existing labour migration trends. This is particularly true on both sides of the Mediterranean, where the presence of the virus has profoundly slowed, if not halted, human mobility, and where it is increasingly likely that population movements will be restricted in the coming months and years.

In light of this, and in preparation for the first THAMM (Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa) Regional Conference, this discussion paper on labour migration responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Europe and North Africa is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the key trends that are currently shaping labour migration governance in a time of crisis. The paper is authored by Samuel Hall co-founder Hervé Nicolle.

Download Executive Summary (English)
Download Report (English)
Download Conference Report (English)
Watch Regional Conference (English)

Download Executive Summary (French)
Download Report (French)
Download Conference Report (French)
Watch Regional Conference (French)

Download Report (Arabic)
Download Conference Report (Arabic)

Europe, Middle East &North AfricaSamuel HallSeptember 22, 2021labour, labour migration, migration, Europe, north africa, africa, report, case study

ILO – Towards decent work for young refugees and host communities in the digital platform economy in Africa

August 2021

Samuel Hall worked with the University of Edinburgh, commissioned by the ILO's Youth Employment Sector and the PROSPECTS partnership, to conduct a study to characterise the nature of platform-related opportunities in Africa. The report focuses on digital labour platforms (gig work) and e-commerce, developing an overview of the level of access, and identifying initiatives that these opportunities. Samuel Hall conducted 36 Interviews in Uganda, Kenya and Egypt to identify the key drivers, levers and constraints that catalyse and/or hold back the growth of the platform economy in Africa in the future. It accounts for COVID-19 implications, with a focus on labour market implications.

Download Report

AMIF – Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of Actions financed by the Asylum Migration Integration Fund (AMIF)

March 2021

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, on behalf of the donors funding RDPP, commissioned Samuel Hall to conduct an evaluation to assess the results and impact of the AMIF-funded activities in Ethiopia and Sudan. AMIF actions aimed at enabling the provision of better protection, assistance and durable solutions for refugees and asylum seekers through improved documentation and robust data storage systems. This involved building a refugee registration system with biometric identification management, real-time data verification capacity and simultaneous identification of protection needs of persons of concern. Not only benefiting refugees, the actions also aimed to improve civil registration more broadly, in particular birth registration, be it among the refugee or host community.

Download Ethiopia Report

Download Sudan Report

Download Synthesis Report

ICMPD – Study on Return, Readmission and Reintegration Programmes in Africa

April 2021

ICMPD commissioned Samuel Hall to examine existing return, re-admission, and reintegration (RRR) programming in Africa. This study involved 1. Overview analysis of legal frameworks at regional, continental, and international levels. 2. An in-depth review of RRR initiatives and programming in 10 African Union (AU) member states. 3. Identification of lessons learned from countries of return, including RRR best practices, standards and procedures. It presents recommendations for sustainable RRR programming to the African Union Commission (AUC), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and individual AU member states, and will directly inform the development of a continental policy on RRR.

Download Executive Summary (English)

Download Report (English)

Download Executive Summary (French)

Download Report (French)

DELMI – Those who were sent back: Return and reintegration of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan and Iraq

October 2021

This 2019/2020 study was commissioned by the Swedish Migration Studies Delegation (DELMI), with fieldwork by Samuel Hall. Results are based on 100 interviews with migrants who have returned voluntarily and involuntarily to Afghanistan and Iraq. Respondents answered questions about their lives before arrival to Sweden, the asylum and return process. The study sought to actively embed local researchers and civil society organisations in the research design, to create a deeper evidence-base for advocacy and aid nuanced understanding of the challenges of return decision-making, reintegration and post-return monitoring.

Download Policy Brief

Download Report

IOM - Kenya Migration Profile

September 2015

Ongoing policy developments are shaping migration management, and Kenya’s role and strategic location in East Africa highlight political evolutions that continue to structure migration systems in Kenya. Data collection and analysis and preparation of the report were undertaken on behalf of IOM by the African Migration and Development Policy Centre with extensive technical support by Samuel Hall in the preparation, final drafting and capacity-building phases of the project.

Download Report

IOM - Investing in Somali Youth in Somaliland and Puntland

August 2015

This research is the first comprehensive study of Somaliland and Puntland’s youth migration and its linkages to employment. The research maps economic drivers of migration, youth livelihood opportunities, and interventions to support youth and local markets – unlocking solutions for youth employment in Somaliland and Puntland inclusive of the public and private sectors.

Download Report

DACAAR - Agency and Choice Among the Displaced

July 2015

The focus of this study was on the decision-making process behind refugee returnees’ and IDPs’ choices of destination. More specifically this research identifies factors that influence whether a returnee/IDP individual, family or community chooses to move to an urban or a rural location.

Download Report

Download Executive Summary (Dari)

Womanity Foundation - School-In-A-Box Endline Survey 2015

June 2015

This evaluation, the fourth of its kind, was commissioned to assess conditions at twelve schools where the programme is completed or ongoing, as well as three schools where it is soon expected to commence.

Download Report

Download the Executive Summary (Dari)

ReDSS - Devolution in Kenya: Opportunities for Transitional Solutions for Refugees

July 2015

This report examines the case studies of Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps while taking stock of the political and security context framing refugee affairs in Kenya.

Download Report

HARAKAT - Special Economic Zones in Afghanistan

July 2015

To help the Government of Afghanistan (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) and its partners promote ambitious economic and employment generation schemes in the country, this report investigates the economic context for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Afghanistan across seven regions in the country: Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar, Paktia, Kunduz, Kandahar, and Herat.

Download Report

Download the Executive Summary (Dari)

Download the Executive Summary (Pashto)

UNICEF – Social Protection System: An Afghan Study

September 2014

UNICEF is considering the development of a social protection programme with a specific focus on children, within the already existing framework developed by the World Bank and MoLSAMD. With the end goal of articulating children-sensitive programming with the World Bank’s own safety net programme in mind, the first step in this direction is for the organisation to launch a pilot programme in Balkh to test the best modalities of programming to cover children’s needs for social protection in the country.

Download Report

DRC/ReDSS - A New Deal for the Displaced in Somalia

December 2014

DRC commissioned Samuel Hall for a study on the Somali New Deal Compact and Displacement, under the research framework of the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), a consortium with an advisory board consisting of ACTED, CARE, DRC, IRC, Mercy Corps, NRC, OXFAM, Refugee Consortium Kenya (RCK) and WVI.

Download Report

DRC/PIN - Urban Poverty and Food Insecurity in Afghanistan

November 2014

People in Need (PIN) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) commissioned Samuel Hall to conduct a large urban poverty study in Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Mazar-e- Sharif and Kandahar. The study is based on a 5,400-household survey and will be presented to key stakeholders during a series of consultation in September 2014.

Download Report

GIZ - Evaluation of the Basic Education Programme for Afghanistan

November 2014

The present study’s first aim was to review the relevance and impact of the strategic choice made by GIZ BEPA’s to use community mobilization as a conduit for the promotion of girls’ secondary education. Its second aim was to evaluate the quality of implementation and sustainability of the programme; and finally, it will provide GIZ with practical recommendations for the improvement and potential extension of the programme.

Download Report

Download the Executive Summary (Dari)

Download the Executive Summary (Pashto)

UNMAS/UNOPS - Evaluation of the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA)

October 2014

UNMAS and the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) are in a paradoxical situation. Successful and increasingly efficient over the past six years, the MAPA is now in a delicate position to negotiate the years to come, as it struggles to secure the yearly funding it needs to allow Afghanistan to fulfil its treaty obligations.

Download Report

Download the Executive Summary

Sort By:

Subscribe to our Newsletter