RESEARCH GROUPS

From Policy to Practice: Administrative Challenges in Migration Integration Policy Implementation

Migration is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, and its success or failure is ultimately determined by the capacity of public administrations to implement integration strategies effectively. While migration integration policy is often debated at the highest political levels, its success or failure is ultimately determined by the capacity of public administrations to implement integration strategies effectively. Despite this centrality, the administrative dimension of migration remains underexplored.

Migration integration policy implementation sits at the intersection of political intent and social outcomes. Public administration is the conduit through which integration policies are translated into services, programs, and everyday interactions. However, this process is fraught with long-standing challenges, e.g.:

• Street-level bureaucracy: Frontline workers often exercise discretion in interpreting and applying policies, leading to inconsistent outcomes and potential bias.
• Principal-agent problems: Bureaucrats may pursue objectives that diverge from those of elected officials or the broader public interest, complicating accountability.
• Conflicting agendas: NGOs and advocacy groups, while essential service providers, may operate with political goals that conflict with national integration strategies.
• Market-driven actors: Private companies involved in service provision prioritize profit, which may undermine the social mission of integration.
• Employer centred constraints: employers shape migrant trajectories through hiring practices, workplace cultures, and adherence to labour standards, and their incentives can diverge from policy goals when cost minimization governs recruitment, training, and retention decisions.

These issues are compounded in multi-dimensional governance systems, where responsibilities are shared across national, regional, and local levels, and among public, private, and civil society actors. The result is a fragmented landscape where financing, service delivery, and accountability are often unclear.

The mission of this PSG on Public Administration and Migration is to advance understanding and improve the implementation of migration and integration policies through the lens of public administration, fostering interdisciplinary research, policy dialogue, and institutional innovation. To meet this vision, several thematic areas are explored:

• Legal frameworks and compliance mechanisms: How legal norms and enforcement procedures structure migrant rights and administrative discretion
• Street-level bureaucracy and discretion: How frontline workers interpret and apply migration policies
• Multi-level and multi-actor governance: Coordination challenges across administrative levels and sectors
• Public-private partnerships: The role of private actors in service delivery and integration outcomes
• NGO involvement and accountability: Balancing civil society engagement with policy coherence
• Administrative ethics and equity: Ensuring fair treatment and non-discrimination in public services
• Digitalization and migration services: Opportunities and risks in using technology for integration
• Crisis management and migration: Administrative responses to sudden influxes or humanitarian emergencies
• Public administration in migration regulation: How administrative institutions translate political objectives into regulatory frameworks

We invite papers that cover issues related to public administration and migration discussing the themes above. Given the complexity of these aspects and the growing political importance of migration management and integration governance, we welcome empirical and comparative contributions as well as analytical, conceptual or theoretical contributions.