Institute of Political Science

MiSP - Migration and Social Protection

The research project funded by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation explores the role of non-for profits in providing social protection to migrants with little or no access to regular social provision.

Germany has in the last years seen an increase in numbers of migrants that have no or very limited access to regular welfare provisions – especially those with irregular or asylum-seeker status, but also certain EU-citizens. This leaves many in very precarious social situations. Where such gaps exist, not-for profit organisations often step in to provide various services to these groups. With the aim to better understand the sources of social protection for transnationally mobile persons, this research project seeks i) to map such social provisions and ii) explore how non-for-profit organisations collaborate with each other and with local governments to this end. Based on in-depth qualitative research, a number of German cities will be studied and compared.