The Project is Dead – Long Live the Project

ABSTRACT

Migration and displacement are transforming Africa’s urban landscape. Policy-makers and researchers have for a long time focused their attention on the effects of migration in capital cities. However, intermediary cities are increasingly responsible for Africa’s urban growth as they rapidly become hubs of migration and displacement. Local governments struggle with these realities as they often lack the legal mandate, resources, and capacities to address diverse human mobility flows.

This paper discusses recent partnerships between African intermediary cities and civil society actors, national governments, research institutions, and international organizations that aim to address the challenges and harness the opportunities associated with human mobility. We investigate the role of partnerships that bring together different skills, resources, networks, and funding in developing urban migration governance processes that reflect the needs of intermediary cities. However, we note that cooperation remains mostly ad-hoc and project-based. Drawing on research conducted by the Equal Partnerships project, the paper explores ways through which African intermediary cities can move from ad-hoc cooperation toward sustainable multi-stakeholder partnerships for urban migration governance.

We outline three areas where local, national, and international actors should focus partnership actions: (1) improving local data on migration and displacement, (2) expanding local access to international funding, and (3) including city perspectives in intergovernmental policy dialogues. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for each of these areas.