Structural variations among research centres

Mehru and Rajan 

(This blog is based on a conversation between the two authors in Toronto, Oct. 2022)

The International Institute for Migration and Development (IIMAD) is structurally different from the other three partners. This difference creates some unique opportunities and challenges.

Unlike the other centres, IIMAD is an independent think tank and non-profit organization, not based at a university or funded by the provincial/state or federal/national government. It was established four years ago but became actively engaged  in migration research about two years ago when Rajan joined it full time as a Chair, after his retirement from Centre for Development Studies (following the submission of the DemiKnow project proposal), which was jointly funded by the governments of Kerala and the Central Government. 

Researchers at IIMAD work for specific projects and their employment depends on the projects’ budget. Research centres that provide further training to recent PhD graduates before they can get long-term employment in universities are common in Europe and other regions. They provide a dynamic and flexible if not a secure environment for researchers to build their research profiles. The fact though that these are uncommon in Canada created some problems in our project.

IIMAD’s operational expenses are met by private donations (including from the Indian diaspora) and project overheads – including contracts to teach various courses in universities and colleges – rather than by student fees or public funds. It does not offer degrees or diplomas but opportunities for young people to gain research experience, establish networks, and enhance their academic credibility by publishing with senior researchers (which is not a common practice in India). Young researchers usually seek affiliation with the centre after they have completed their master’s program and are planning to apply for a doctoral program, especially in universities in the Global North. 

Because IIMAD was not formally affiliated with any university it can be challenging for it to receive research grants, particularly from outside the country. Indian universities (and other research organizations) have to be formally approved by the Central government to receive funds from extra-national sources. This approval is given after a credible record of research is already established, which takes at least three  years. Canadian research granting councils are publicly funded entities and directly fund only Canadian scholars. They require that money transferred to researchers in other countries, collaborating with Canadian scholars, to only be channeled through approved universities. Rajan therefore had to seek affiliation with a university approved by both Canadian and Indian authorities to receive the research funds. He had  an affiliation with Kannur University as honorary Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences (in Kerala, but about an hour away by air) and utilized this connection to receive funds for DemiKnow. His reputation as a leading migration scholar and his networks in academic circles helped him negotiate with Kannur University.

The above arrangements lead to a number of additional administrative procedures, which other partners do not have to go through. To hire a research assistant Rajan has to follow the university’s hiring procedure, which includes formally advertising the position for 14 days and then conducting an interview by a committee of three. 

Nevertheless, currently employed research assistants at IIMAD are, strictly speaking, not students because they are not enrolled in the university it is affiliated with, or any other university. As noted above, they are scholars who have completed their masters programs and are aspiring doctoral students. Yet, they do the work that graduate students in Canadian universities normally do, and are contracted as graduate students typically are, here as well. However, because they are not enrolled in a degree granting program, it is relatively more difficult to predict how long they will remain with the organization. Their representation as students for the purpose of our reports also raised an issue we had not anticipated. 

When notification of a grant approval is received by a Canadian university, it routinely advances funds to its researchers so their work is not delayed. When funds are actually received from the granting agency, expense accounts are reconciled. IIMAD, however, does not have the financial cushion that a university can offer. Delays in transfer of funds make it difficult to pay or retain contracted employees as researcher assistants, especially as they are not enrolled in degree granting programs. Sometimes international non-governmental agencies commission research projects that do not get off the ground because the agency unexpectedly withdraws its funds or gets black-listed by state parties. 

Scholars working at IIMAD do not have to go through university ethics approvals, which is fairly uncommon in Indian universities, anyway. However, obtaining such approval is relatively easy because independent Research Ethics Institutes have been formed in India to scrutinize ethics applications, and it can cost as little as $75 to get such an approval. 

It would help IIMAD to get funding directly for its research contributions instead of going through a university. That would enable it to hire and pay researchers in a timely manner, and use the fund flexibly to make the best contribution it can.