Proposals due 1 April 2024 | Articles due 8 June 2024 | Publication in October 2024
Cash distribution to displaced people after floods in N'djamena, 29 April 2023, Chad
Credit: © UNHCR/Colin Delfosse
About the issue
This issue of FMR will explore the wide variety of financing mechanisms for forced displacement response and their impacts and implications.
From humanitarian aid by wealthy governments to remittances from diaspora communities, responses to forced displacement are shaped by funding from an array of actors, in ways that express those actors’ interests and priorities. In recent years, new displacement response financing approaches have emerged, from the Grand Bargain to the Global Concessional Financing Facility to the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative to ‘loss-and-damage’ lawsuits. At the same time, traditional government-led and community mutual aid, still important displacement response financing sources, are also affected by technological and geopolitical developments.
What do these shifts mean for forcibly displaced people and displacement response strategies? How does displacement response financing interact with the choices of forcibly displaced people and their communities, with local and global economies, and with broader geopolitical events and trends? This issue seeks to advance understanding of these issues and others.
Call for article proposals and how to submit
FMR seeks proposals for policy and practice-oriented articles on the above themes, from authors of any professional background and from anywhere in the world.
Proposals and articles may be written in Arabic, English, French or Spanish. Proposals should be no more than 300 words and should provide a brief summary of the article’s main points or arguments and outline why the author is well placed to write this article. For further guidance on writing a successful proposal, see Writing for FMR. To submit a proposal, please use our article proposals form.
Mentoring
We are especially interested in receiving proposals from people with lived experience of forced migration or displacement. FMR offers an optional mentoring programme for prospective authors from forcibly displaced and host communities who are new to writing for publications like FMR and would like such support. Mentoring can be requested through the article proposals form.
Questions to consider
FMR prioritises submissions that offer concrete lessons or analysis that are relevant to policy or practice in forced displacement response. Submissions may examine one local or national context, compare multiple contexts, or discuss regional or global trends. Among the questions that articles might seek to answer are:
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How does displacement response financing influence the nature of the response, where and how is it implemented, and by whom? What are the implications of the way financing power is distributed and used today?
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Why and how are new financing mechanisms and approaches disrupting or transforming established patterns, programming, policies, and power structures within the forced displacement response sector? Alternatively, why and how are these mechanisms or approaches reinforcing and maintaining patterns, programming, policies, and power structures?
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How are forcibly displaced people driving and/or experiencing recent shifts in displacement response financing, and what are their opinions about the impacts, positive and negative? What changes do displaced communities want to see in response financing, and why?
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How have different actors – states, international organisations, private foundations, NGOs, private companies, and displaced people – influenced or been influenced by new financing approaches or mechanisms? What are the implications of these changes for these actors?
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How do various financing approaches facilitate or impede access to rights, protection and assistance for displaced people and communities? What ethical challenges arise from financing approaches, either traditional or new, and how can they be addressed or mitigated?
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When and why are particular financing approaches effective? How can we replicate and increase the positive impacts of these approaches? How can we match financing approaches to the contexts and situations where they will be most effective?
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How should we think about displacement response funding in relation to sustainable development or climate adaptation funding? Is more discrete financing needed to support rising numbers of people experiencing forced displacement, or should displaced people be better integrated into mainstream development financing approaches – and if so, which ones and how?
We encourage all authors to consider the relevance of their responses to individuals and groups who are marginalised due to particular characteristics such as race, gender, age and disability among others.
Project team
FMR is published by the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford and produced by the Forced Migration Review Editors and wider team.
Supporters
Financial support for this issue is anticipated to come from a variety of sources, including at least one key philanthropic supporter. Additional supporters are always warmly welcomed and may be announced as the issue develops.
Our Inclusion Programme – including mentorship, translation, and other support for diverse voices – also relies on the support of our donors. If you’d like to help, you can make a gift at https://tinyurl.com/FMRdonate or get in touch at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk to discuss options.