EGAP 30 in Review: Zurich, December 2025
Author: Clara Bradley
Earlier this month, more than 60 EGAP members, associated researchers, and partners took part in our second in person meeting of the year in Zurich, Switzerland. The meeting was hosted by Dominik Hangartner and included a focus on migration and integration research. Professor Hangartner is an EGAP member, a Professor of Public Policy at ETH Zurich and the Faculty co-Director of the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL).
Before diving into the customary two days of intensive feedback, EGAP and IPL co-hosted a pre-meeting policy event exploring the challenges of mass displacement and integration. The afternoon offered insights for those grappling with the question of how to move forward with evidence-based research and policymaking in the context of contemporary displacement dynamics. The policy event was generously supported by the Albert Einstein School of Public Policy and nccr-on the move.
In the first session, Jake Bowers (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) moderated a conversation with Dominik Hangartner, Michael Lamatsch (City of Zurich), and Claire Adida (Stanford University) discussing policy and science collaboration through the lens of two key examples: the City of Zurich’s approach to reducing barriers to naturalization and the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the United States.
A second panel revisited Europe’s handling of the 2015 mass displacement, examining how governments and institutions managed one of the largest migration waves in recent European history. Adrian Gerber (Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police), Anja Klug (UNHCR Switzerland and Liechtenstein), Nickolas Panagiotopoulos (International Rescue Committee, Greece), and Mikael Ribbenvik Cassar (European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)) joined moderator Alexandra Hartman (University College London) to reflect on 2015 events and consider the state of asylum policies in Europe and across the globe today.
Over the next two days, attendees had the opportunity to provide feedback on 12 papers and research designs and discuss innovative research ideas and policy work conducted by members of the network as well as associated researchers based at ETH Zurich. We are continually impressed by our members’ commitment to engaging in rich discussions on experimental research across disciplines and regions.
The meeting also featured two plenary sessions. In the first, attendees heard from organizations stepping up as European leaders in the international development space. With thanks to Morgan Holmes for convening the panel of experts, Øivind Fjeld-Solberg (NORAD), Dirk Jan Koch (Advisory Council of International Affairs of the Netherlands), Seema Shah (International IDEA, Democracy Assessment Unit), and Armin Von Schiller (IDOS).
Finally, to close out the meeting, Guy Grossman (UPenn), Alexandra Hartman (University College London), and Daniel Rubenson (University of Toronto) led a full group discussion on a big question: “Where should migration research go from here?” Thank you to everyone who joined us in Zurich for taking time to think about vital questions such as this one and for continuing to champion evidence-based research and policy making in the migration space and beyond!
