RMMRU

Migrants all over the world are moving development forward

Project Title: Remittance and Payments Partnership (RPP)

From 01 November 2006 Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) began another project entitled Remittance and Payments Partnership (RPP). This project of DFID is a sub-contract from Emerging Markets Group (EMG) and will be implemented in collaboration with International Organisation for Migration (IOM). RMMRU and IOM will jointly implement Output 3 of the project.
The aims of this Output and their associated activities and the results that are intended to be achieved are outlined and further explained below.
Component A: Improved Utilisation of Remittances
This component aims at four specific outcomes:
1. Targeting migrants with better information on how to remit safely and ensure fast and efficient remittance transfer – aiming to achieve this through large scale Non Government Organisations (NGOs), the media and through pre-departure MoEWOE briefings.
2. Providing workers with information on their rights as workers in information on their rights as workers in the destination countries – especially for women migrants- and routes for pursuing in the case of problems.
3. Providing information on the use of remittances for productive activities and local economic development- pilot to using remittance transfers for community level development, better access to saving products, links with MFIs etc.
4. Training for bank officials in the needs of migrants in remitting to Bangladesh and link made with migrant groups.
The changes and upheaval experienced by migrants leaving Bangladesh to take up work abroad, or relocating internally to take up work in Bangladesh, present opportunities to bundle education in financial products with other information such migrants will require. In a population with such a high proportion of people unbanked, and where migration and associated remittances touches the lives of so many, the potential for linking broader education on financial products and services with information on remittances is clear.
Migrants often lack basic access to information as regards their rights as workers and may not know where to obtain such information once in their country of destination. Information campaigns and awareness raising initiatives will have to address both those migrants about to emigrate, as well as those already in destination countries.
Components B and C: Better Understanding and Better Tracking
These components aim at six specific outcomes
• Research on a number of key issues related to remittance such as understanding the poverty profile and geographic base for migrant workers in Bangladesh; better understanding of the needs of intern migrants in terms of remittance and transfer products;
• Research taken forward and used to innovate 5 new remittance transfer products within the RPCF;
• Capacity building of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) in creating more information on migrants; such as socio economic background poverty level;
• Robust remittance indicators formulated to measure access, poverty profile, costs, efficiency etc. in inception phase baseline contracted during Y1
• Capacity building of statistics institutions responsible for drawing up remittance statistics – Bangladesh Banks, BMET, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS);
• Impact assessment commissioned to measure impact of the project (not part of the project description as it will be commissioned by DFID, as per Memorandum of Understanding (MoU))
In order to achieve the outcomes specified above under components B and C, a National Household Survey will be completed under the joint leadership of the consultants and IOM during quarters 2, 3 and 4 of the first year of project implementation. The survey will be developed in consultation with Bangladesh Bank, BMET and BBS with specific inputs related to indicators, sampling etc. The implementation will be carried out by a social research institute with national coverage, so as to reach the widest possible sample.