Research & Data Analysis Consultant Human mobility, migration and labour markets

Expertise in Evidence-Based Decision-Making

Comprehensive Range of Services

Leveraging Data for Informed Migration and Labor Market Solutions

I am an advocate for evidence-based policies and practices.

My consultancy activities aim to assist stakeholders having a stake in migration- and labour market-related issues in making decisions about programs and projects by using evidence at each step of the decision-making process.

Evidence comes from data and I am passionate about collecting, managing, organizing and analyzing data to produce clear and accessible information.

Producing research goes hand in hand with communicating results and conveying messages. Drafting a regional or country report, or a policy brief in a knowledgeable and appealing manner, using dashboards with quality visualization such as timelines, static and dynamic visualizations, or preparing a paper for peer-review publication, I adapt to the clients’ needs to create the greatest social impact.

Based in Egypt since 2014, PhD holder in the economics of migration (2013), I have worked with research centers and international organizations, such as IOM, ILO, Mixed Migration Centre and KNOMAD-World Bank.

Consultancy services

Discover a comprehensive range of services tailored to assist stakeholders in evidence-based decision-making, including research and policy studies, training and capacity building, and expertise in migration and labor market-related issues.

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Research & Policy Studies

Research design & data analysis

Including machine learning and data visualisation

Training & Capacity building

Coordination of projects at regional level

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My key competences

Research skills

Comprehensive reviews of academic and grey literature; scoping reviews

Quantitative & qualitative skills & knowledge of data analysis software

(Excel, Python, STATA, NVIVO)

Ability to conduct KIIs & semi-structured interviews

Writing skills

Reports, policy briefs, discussion papers, rapid assessments, academic articles

Ability to present data insights using data visualisation tools

(Power BI & Tableau)

Ability to work confidently under pressure to deadline

And to work independently as well as part of multicultural teams

Recent activities

New publication on onward migration aspirations

January 2022.

The objective of this study consists of analysing the role of protection incidents on migration aspirations and destination preferences of refugees and migrants in Libya. We use a unique dataset that combines the 4Mi micro-level data from the Mixed Migration Centre with traditional macro-level variables. The micro-founded gravity equation allows using McFadden’s choice model that explains whether the experience of persecution in the origin country and protection incident in Libya shape onward migration aspirations and destination preferences of people on the move.

July 2021.

Analyses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic often put emphasis on mobility restrictions and changes in remittances patterns, sometimes highlight return migration movements -lack of data is really frustrating- and tend to overlook at the challenges in the reintegration of these return migrants. You will find a comprehensive approach on these interrelated dimensions, along with a three-pillar strategy to unlock the potential of return migrants in South mediterranean countries in this COVID policy brief n°20 written for FEMISE and CMI.

February 2021.

On February 25. 2021, I had the pleasure to chair the 5th session entitled Migrant Decision-Making in Pandemic Times of the 2nd Annual Conference organized by CERC in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University. The panel discussed how past research can inform our understanding of migrant decision-making in pandemic times. With the pandemic, migrant decision-making has become more volatile, shaped by new factors such as health risk concerns or public health policy.

November 2020.

In this paper published in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS), I explore the onward migration decision of refugees from Sudan, Libya and Syria based in Cairo, Egypt at the moment of our interviews through an original framework called the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) approach. The findings confirm the need to rely on behavioural factors while studying transit migration. Extrinsic motivation, performance experience and societal factors are the most important drivers of transit through Egypt for South Sudanese respondents, while intrinsic motivation plays this crucial role for Syrian and Libyan respondents.

March 2021.

In this book chapter (21), I shed light on the success story of the #OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan that proposes an intra-regional mobility program.
I had the chance to discover this amazing country and the whole Central Asian region in 2013, 2016 and 2017. I gave two courses: Economic Development, and Migration and Human Trafficking to graduate students coming from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and many others. I could not miss the occasion for me to write a case about the program!

January 2021.

I was glad to peer-review the content for objective 21 of the Gloal Compact Migration: Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission and objective 6: Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work, which is now featured on the Hub!
Information on migration gets outdated fast. That’s why the #MigrationNetworkHub is designed to adapt to changing times.

Hélene Syed