What We Do
The BD4M seeks to accelerate the responsible and ethical use of new data sources and innovative methodologies to inform migration policies and programmes. It does so through:
Guidance Providing guidance and capacity-building support on ethical and responsible data innovation
Cross-sectoral collaboration Facilitating engagement with holders of non-traditional data, particularly in the private sector
Research and advocacy Conducting and disseminating research and analysis on priority policy issues on migration
Who we are
From the Blog
IOM-UN Migration
Using Big Data to Understand Migration (Part 1)
Ingmar Weber, Research Director at Qatar Computing Research Institute, shares his views on the use of big data to understand migration. This...
By BD4M Team
IOM-UN Migration
Using Big Data to Understand Migration (Part 2)
Stefaan Verhulst, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer of The Governance Lab, shares his views on the use of big data to...
By BD4M Team
IOM-UN Migration
Using Big Data to Understand Migration (Part 3)
Alessandro Sorichetta, principal Research Fellow at the WorldPop Programme, shares his views on the use of big data to understand migration....
By BD4M Team
IOM - UN Migration
Using “Big Data” to forecast migration
A tale of high expectations, promising results and a long road ahead
Reposted from the IOM - UN Migration Medium Publication Act 1 — High Expectations “Data is the new oil,” they say....
By Jasper Tjaden, Andres Arau, ...
Data innovation for migration: why now and how?
Now more than ever we need to invest in responsible data innovation for the analysis of mobility and migration
By Marzia Rango, Data Innovation and Capacity-Building Coordinator at the Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), IOM – UN...
By Marzia Rango, Michele Vespe ...
STATAFRIC and IOM GMDAC...
Migration data in times of COVID-19: Trends and policy implications in Africa
The African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC) and IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) organized a webinar on...
By BD4M Team
BD4M Webinar Series
Estimating Migrant Stocks and Flows Using Social Media Data
The first Big Data for Migration (BD4M) webinar titled "Estimating migrant stocks and flows using social media data" took place on 3...
By BD4M Team
Immigration & emigration...
The Data Innovation Directory: Unlocking the potential of big data for migration policy
Reposted from Migration Data Portal Whether we love it or loathe it, technology affects almost every aspect of our lives and it is likely to...
By Niklas Sievers, Emma Borgnäs,...
Immigration & emigration...
Are migrants left behind? How COVID-19 hinders better migration data
Reposted from Migration Data Portal Migrants worldwide play an important role in sectors vital to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic but are...
By Julia Black, Niklas Sievers ...
Initiatives
The 100 Questions
The 100 Questions Migration Data Agenda
To make sense of the disparate issues related to a domain such as migration, The GovLab’s 100 Questions methodology (detailed in full in...
By BD4M Team
BD4M
The Big Data for Migration Alliance Joint Concept Note
In November 2017, the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) and IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis...
By BD4M TeamPLOS ONE Peer - Reviewed...
Monitoring of the Venezuelan exodus through Facebook’s advertising platform
Abstract: "Venezuela is going through the worst economical, political and social crisis in its modern history. Basic products like food or...
By Joao Palotti, Natalia Adler, ...BD4M
Big Data and alternative sources on migration: From case-studies to policy support
Over the past few years, migration has risen as one of the most challenging issues confronting policymakers around the world. This has been...
By Marzia Rango, Michele Vespe ...Migration Policy Practice
Can Big Data help us achieve a "migration data revolution"?
"Big Data" is generated every time we send a text message, make a mobile phone call, run an Internet search, transfer money online or...
By Marzia Rango, Frank Laczko ...Big Data and Migration
Data Bulletin: Informing a Global Compact for Migration
What is the potential of new data sources, such as mobile phones, social media and satellite imagery, to improve understanding of...
By BD4M TeamIOM Migration Data Strategy
Informing Policy and Action on Migration, Mobility and Displacement 2020 | 2025
IOM has developed a comprehensive strategy – the Migration Data Strategy – to frame, focus and further amplify its existing robust...
By BD4M TeamPLOS ONE Peer-Reviewed...
Quantifying international human mobility patterns using Facebook Network data
Quantifying global international mobility patterns can improve migration governance. Despite decades of calls by the international community...
By Spyridon Spyratos, Marzia...EPJ Data Science Journal...
Dissecting global air traffic data to discern different types and trends of transnational human mobility
Human mobility across national borders is a key phenomenon of our time. At the global scale, however, we still know relatively little about...
By Lorenzo Gabrielli, Emanuel...JRC Science for Policy Report
Towards an EU Policy on Migration Data
Improvements to the EU migration data landscape
Adequate data is key for evidence-informed policymaking. This report describes the initiative coordinated by the KCMD that has brought...
By Michele Vespe, Carlos...Safety Science Journal Article
Estimating and projecting air passenger traffic during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and its socio-economic impact
Due to the coronavirus global crisis, most countries have put in place restrictive measures in order to confine the pandemia and contain the...
By Michele Vespe, Spyridon...Safety Science Journal Article
Measuring the impact of COVID-19 confinement measures on human mobility using mobile positioning data. A European regional analysis
This work presents a mobility indicator derived from fully anonymised and aggregated mobile positioning data. Even though the indicator does...
By Michele Vespe, Spyridon...Nonlinear Dynamics Journal...
Human mobility and COVID-19 initial dynamics
Countries in Europe took different mobility containment measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The European Commission asked mobile...
By Michele Vespe, Spyridon...JRC Technical Report
Mapping Mobility Functional Areas (MFA) by using Mobile Positioning Data to Inform COVID-19 Policies
A European Regional Analysis
This work introduces the concept of data-driven Mobility Functional Areas (MFAs) as geographic zones with high degree of intra-mobility...
By Michele Vespe, Spyridon...