Qualitative-archival research on migration is not just preservation

Qualitative-archival research is needed to support effective policies and the work of practitioners working in the field of migration. This Open Letter helps readers to understand how this happens in different contexts, as more than 150 stakeholders among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, migrant associations, governments, civil society/non-governmental organisations and migrants in seven countries around the Mediterranean contributed to discuss this topic, during the H2020 project ITHACA - Interconnected Histories and Archives for Migrant Agency. Three main key findings emerge. Qualitative-archival research is not just “preservation”: it shows the potential of providing dynamic and interlinked information, including legal frameworks, policy documents, historical context, and original narratives, capable of supporting policies in the long term. Besides this, it is a potential tool to foster the agency of migrants. Qualitative-archival research can be a powerful tool for social innovation, as conducting qualitative research, based on individual and collective narratives, is a necessary basis to non-emergency policies and to social work planning and evaluation. Research helps to explain the reasons behind the migration phenomena and to contextualise them where it is most needed, whether in political, educational, labour, health or reception settings. Space, time and people are the three main enablers. for better qualitative and archival research-policy relations: qualitative archival research offers contextual and comparative tools to investigate in-depth local features and to possibly extend them to the national and international levels.