Digital livelihoods? The online gig economy and the future of decent refugee work in cities
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Social and Political Science
Abstract
This project aims to explore the contribution of digitally mediated labour to the provision of decent work and livelihoods among displaced persons in cities, with a focus on Berlin and Beirut. Both these cities are leading hubs for digital innovation and have recently absorbed large numbers of refugees, prompting a growth in digital work initiatives. These emerged against the backdrop of a growing online 'gig economy' around the world amid an increasingly urban and 'connected' displaced population: more than 60 percent of the world's refugees now live in cities.
These combined factors of urbanised refugee economies and the digitalisation of work demand urgent research into the relationship between the online gig economy and displaced populations. Yet despite a growing body of research on digital economies in development contexts, it is poorly understood how the online gig economy reshapes the world of work among displaced persons. Aiming to fill this knowledge gap in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), and hosted by the University of Edinburgh, this project pursues three research objectives:
a) Generate empirical evidence about the digitally mediated work lives of refugees through fieldwork in Berlin and Beirut;
b) Gain insights through research of selected digital platforms that offer digital work opportunities and employment trainings;
c) Establish a new methodological framework that links ethnography with multidisciplinary methods in the social sciences of the digital, and develop new research skills through trainings.
In fulfilment of these research objectives, the project follows two overarching questions:
1) How does digitally mediated labour reshape refugees' access to decent work and sustainable livelihoods?
2) What implications do these transformations have for the rights and policies that govern urban refugee economies, and for the way displacement is conceptualised in the social sciences?
These overarching questions are complemented by three empirical sub-questions that correspond directly to the research objectives and three methodological dimensions:
a) What types of digitally mediated work do refugees do, how do they get access to it, and what impact does it have on their social and economic lives?
b) How do digital work platforms relate to the specific situation of displaced populations, and what impact do they pursue in comparison to the actual experiences of refugee workers?
c) What new combinations of qualitative ethnographic research and digital research methods allow us to grasp how digital economies and refugees' working practices intersect and overlap?
In line with the New Investigator Grant's aims, the project pursues additional objectives on two levels: skills development and impact.
Skills development objectives include completion of a leadership programme at the host institution; the development of new approaches and methods during a three-months visit to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII); and the learning of effective user engagement by collaborating with the ILO and providers of digital work opportunities in the third sector and the private sector.
The knowledge exchange and impact objectives include convening a workshop and an international conference with key users at the host institution; production of high-quality research outputs, including an ILO Working Paper, with impact on both users and academic beneficiaries; the creation of a project website and a Briefing for policy makers and platform developers titled 'A Just Gig Economy for Refugees'.
The newly gained skills, networks and knowledge throughout this project will facilitate the creation of sustainable research capacity at the host institution through follow-up funding applications with a clear long-term aim in mind: the formation of a research cluster on 'Digital Development' at Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science.
These combined factors of urbanised refugee economies and the digitalisation of work demand urgent research into the relationship between the online gig economy and displaced populations. Yet despite a growing body of research on digital economies in development contexts, it is poorly understood how the online gig economy reshapes the world of work among displaced persons. Aiming to fill this knowledge gap in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), and hosted by the University of Edinburgh, this project pursues three research objectives:
a) Generate empirical evidence about the digitally mediated work lives of refugees through fieldwork in Berlin and Beirut;
b) Gain insights through research of selected digital platforms that offer digital work opportunities and employment trainings;
c) Establish a new methodological framework that links ethnography with multidisciplinary methods in the social sciences of the digital, and develop new research skills through trainings.
In fulfilment of these research objectives, the project follows two overarching questions:
1) How does digitally mediated labour reshape refugees' access to decent work and sustainable livelihoods?
2) What implications do these transformations have for the rights and policies that govern urban refugee economies, and for the way displacement is conceptualised in the social sciences?
These overarching questions are complemented by three empirical sub-questions that correspond directly to the research objectives and three methodological dimensions:
a) What types of digitally mediated work do refugees do, how do they get access to it, and what impact does it have on their social and economic lives?
b) How do digital work platforms relate to the specific situation of displaced populations, and what impact do they pursue in comparison to the actual experiences of refugee workers?
c) What new combinations of qualitative ethnographic research and digital research methods allow us to grasp how digital economies and refugees' working practices intersect and overlap?
In line with the New Investigator Grant's aims, the project pursues additional objectives on two levels: skills development and impact.
Skills development objectives include completion of a leadership programme at the host institution; the development of new approaches and methods during a three-months visit to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII); and the learning of effective user engagement by collaborating with the ILO and providers of digital work opportunities in the third sector and the private sector.
The knowledge exchange and impact objectives include convening a workshop and an international conference with key users at the host institution; production of high-quality research outputs, including an ILO Working Paper, with impact on both users and academic beneficiaries; the creation of a project website and a Briefing for policy makers and platform developers titled 'A Just Gig Economy for Refugees'.
The newly gained skills, networks and knowledge throughout this project will facilitate the creation of sustainable research capacity at the host institution through follow-up funding applications with a clear long-term aim in mind: the formation of a research cluster on 'Digital Development' at Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science.
Planned Impact
This project sets out to contribute to a just online gig economy for refugees in cities. It produces important empirical evidence that will directly impact the work of international organisations, policy makers and digital developers. This way, it will help to improve the lives of displaced persons in need of decent economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods.
The project lays out a pathway to impact that builds on a partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO). Since the very beginning, key users were integrated into the design of the project to ensure its relevance, feasibility, and impact. The main impact is summarised as follows:
1) THIRD-SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS seeking to support refugee work and livelihoods in urban areas will directly benefit from this project:
a) This concerns mainly the ILO, its Migration branch, and its programmes in field offices. A concrete channel for impact will be a Working Paper published via the ILO.
b) The refugee programmes of other UN agencies will directly benefit, such as UNHCR, as will other civil society organisations that work locally in the two cities.
c) The WFP's 'Tech for Food' project will be one of the digital initiatives to be studied. This ensures direct impact on its programme and the future work of the global WFP 'Innovation Accelerator'.
2) POLICY MAKERS:
a) This ground-breaking research will reach policy makers on an urban, national, and international level who regulate the economic lives of refugees and must rely on research evidence in designing their policies in inclusive ways.
b) The project will contribute to better labour market policies that take refugees' complex economic lives into account. Though its outputs and partnerships, it will reach diverse policy actors. This includes the labour and social affairs ministries in Germany and Lebanon who are in regular contact with the WFP and the ILO.
c) The ILO partnership opens direct channels of impact on international policy makers beyond the two countries studied: The global 'Future of Work' initiative creates momentum for impact through national debates around digital 'decent work'. Conferences and policy events around the ILO's centenary in 2019 will open doors for influencing policies via the ILO, and via the Working Paper and other outputs. This impact-amplifying global event lends urgency to the implementation of this project.
3) ONLINE WORK PLATFORMS, DEVELOPERS, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR:
a) Research of digital initiatives in Berlin and Beirut opens access to direct channels of impact on the developers and creators behind these platforms and programmes. The project results allow them to design programmes and platforms in empowering ways.
b) For this purpose, the briefing 'A Just Gig Economy for Refugees' will directly influence the approaches of third and private sector professionals and developers of online work systems.
c) An international conference at the University of Edinburgh will include main beneficiaries, such as ILO experts and platforms developers.
4) INFLUENCERS:
a) Integrating influential researchers like Alexander Betts and Richard Heeks into the project as Advisory Board Members will open additional channels of impact beyond academia.
b) The research visit to the OII provides another platform for increasing the project's relevance and visibility through influential channels, including a blog post via the OII's website.
5) WIDER PUBLICS AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES:
a) The project's own website will contribute to societal impact by making all non-academic project outputs freely available. The website will feature a frequently updated blog, social media updates, resources, links to publications, and a summary of the research project.
b) At least one briefing about displaced persons in the digital economy will be published on the leading humanitarian new site IRIN, to generate impact on its expert readership.
The project lays out a pathway to impact that builds on a partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO). Since the very beginning, key users were integrated into the design of the project to ensure its relevance, feasibility, and impact. The main impact is summarised as follows:
1) THIRD-SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS seeking to support refugee work and livelihoods in urban areas will directly benefit from this project:
a) This concerns mainly the ILO, its Migration branch, and its programmes in field offices. A concrete channel for impact will be a Working Paper published via the ILO.
b) The refugee programmes of other UN agencies will directly benefit, such as UNHCR, as will other civil society organisations that work locally in the two cities.
c) The WFP's 'Tech for Food' project will be one of the digital initiatives to be studied. This ensures direct impact on its programme and the future work of the global WFP 'Innovation Accelerator'.
2) POLICY MAKERS:
a) This ground-breaking research will reach policy makers on an urban, national, and international level who regulate the economic lives of refugees and must rely on research evidence in designing their policies in inclusive ways.
b) The project will contribute to better labour market policies that take refugees' complex economic lives into account. Though its outputs and partnerships, it will reach diverse policy actors. This includes the labour and social affairs ministries in Germany and Lebanon who are in regular contact with the WFP and the ILO.
c) The ILO partnership opens direct channels of impact on international policy makers beyond the two countries studied: The global 'Future of Work' initiative creates momentum for impact through national debates around digital 'decent work'. Conferences and policy events around the ILO's centenary in 2019 will open doors for influencing policies via the ILO, and via the Working Paper and other outputs. This impact-amplifying global event lends urgency to the implementation of this project.
3) ONLINE WORK PLATFORMS, DEVELOPERS, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR:
a) Research of digital initiatives in Berlin and Beirut opens access to direct channels of impact on the developers and creators behind these platforms and programmes. The project results allow them to design programmes and platforms in empowering ways.
b) For this purpose, the briefing 'A Just Gig Economy for Refugees' will directly influence the approaches of third and private sector professionals and developers of online work systems.
c) An international conference at the University of Edinburgh will include main beneficiaries, such as ILO experts and platforms developers.
4) INFLUENCERS:
a) Integrating influential researchers like Alexander Betts and Richard Heeks into the project as Advisory Board Members will open additional channels of impact beyond academia.
b) The research visit to the OII provides another platform for increasing the project's relevance and visibility through influential channels, including a blog post via the OII's website.
5) WIDER PUBLICS AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES:
a) The project's own website will contribute to societal impact by making all non-academic project outputs freely available. The website will feature a frequently updated blog, social media updates, resources, links to publications, and a summary of the research project.
b) At least one briefing about displaced persons in the digital economy will be published on the leading humanitarian new site IRIN, to generate impact on its expert readership.
Organisations
- University of Edinburgh (Lead Research Organisation)
- Humans in the Loop (Collaboration)
- AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT (Collaboration)
- International Labour Organization (ILO) (Collaboration)
- NaTakallam (Collaboration)
- International Labour Organisation (ILO) (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
Publications
Andreas Hackl
Digital Work in the Planetary Market
Andreas Hackl
(2019)
Refugee work in the digital economy: Challenges and opportunities (Workshop report)
Easton-Calabria E
(2023)
Refugees in the Digital Economy The Future of Work among the Forcibly Displaced
in Journal of Humanitarian Affairs
Hackl A
(2022)
Good immigrants, permitted outsiders: conditional inclusion and citizenship in comparison
in Ethnic and Racial Studies
Hackl A
(2023)
Online work as humanitarian relief? The promise and limitations of digital livelihoods for Syrian refugees and Lebanese youth during times of crisis
in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
Hackl A
(2023)
Connecting without Protecting Intermediating the Internet Economy in Digital Livelihoods Provision for Refugees
in Journal of Humanitarian Affairs
Philip Rushworth
Writing code, decoding culture: Digital skills and the promise of a fast lane do decent work among refugees and migrants in Berlin
in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Rushworth P
(2021)
Writing code, decoding culture: digital skills and the promise of a fast lane to decent work among refugees and migrants in Berlin
in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
| Description | Thie research project has created world-leading knowledge about the current role of digital economies among refugees. Focusing on refugees who are involved in digital skill trainings, online work, or e-commerce, the project and its outputs (some of which are still in progress) offer for the first time a comprehensive evidence-based insight about digital refugee livelihoods. The research found that digital economies offer important opportunities for advancing the economic inclusion of refugees, who are often excluded from local labour markets and struggle to make a livelihood. However, at the same time, the research findings highlight the many barriers that stand in the way between a global digital economy and individual refugees who seek to earn a livelihood by digital means. Among these barriers are a frequent lack of digital literacy, uneven distribution of connectivity, a lack of financial inclusion and electronic payment mechanisms, as well as high competition on digital labour platforms. Even for those who do manage to work online or locally in a digital field of work, often after training in digital skills, the road to decent work is scattered with difficulties andd uncertainties. On many of the refugee-specific work platforms with which the project collaborated, refugees hope to earn a livelihood but often do so under sub-standard working conditions with little social protection and low pay. Against this backdop, the research findings highlight the opportunities digital economies provide but also point out the limits of digital livelihoods to become a quick-fix to many major problems in international development, such as youth unemployment. |
| Exploitation Route | This pioneering research project really managed to work on this theme at a time when it was still evolving. Through the many collaborations the project established with and among social enterprises, international organizations, and researchers, it became clear that there is a thirst for evidence-based guidance on how to design and implement development interventions that use digital technology in job creation and economic inclusion. Alongside benefits to research on this field, the insights we gained have already been taken forward by digital refugee employers, such as Humans in the Loop, to design policies that offer fairer working conditions. The visibility and wide public perception of the project has also resulted in a follow-up funding to begin when this grant ends, in the shape of a research consultancy with the ILO: this follow-up project conducted research on digital platforms work among refugees in Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya, with the aim to influence future programme and policy design at the ILO and among other development partners. The results of the project were published as an ILO report, which in turn led to a new applied project jointly run by ILO and UNHCR on improving working conditions for refugees in the digital economy, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East. There is a direct link between the research conducted under ESRC-funding and this applied work by UN agencies. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Description | The findings of this project have been used widely and this impact is reflected in two ILO reports for policy makers and practitioners published in 2021 (see publications), as well as a launch webinar organised by the ILO for one of the reports which had more than 150 participants. Moreover, these reports and the visibility of the research generated by ESRC funding directly contributed to the creation of a new 4.4 million USD ILO-UNHCR project that seeks to improve the working conditions of refugees in the digital economy. I was also able to generate an exchange between practitioners that could be considered impact: a workshop I organised in 2019 brought together social entrepreneurs, development practitioners, and researchers on the topic of digital refugee livelihoods and learning. This was one of the first workshops that brought together key actors in this field who chared their insights and learnt from each other for improved future practice. A write-up of the workshop and a list of participants was distributed through the project website. Moreover, at the outset of the grant I held a workshop at the ILO in Geneva in which I presented the research aims and I understood that thus workshop was beneficial to ILO staff. In 2022 and 2023, the expertise and research evidence gained through this project also led to a series of publications published by the ILO as well as an Implementation Agreement signed between the School of Social and Political Science, Edinburgh, and the ILO: the agreement involved myself leading a team of 7 consultants contracted through the University's subsidiary Edinburgh Innovations, to conduct research towards the publication of 8 ILO county policy briefs on refugees and the digital economy, as well as an overarching synthesis report, and a background paper for an ILO global forum on the topic to beheld in late 2023. Prior to this, the research had also collaborated with several providers of refugee online work in the co-design and implementation of surveys and interviews. In one case, in a collaboration with the social enterprise Humans in the Loop, the research findings were used by the enterprise in their own impact assessment. I further contributed expertise and feedback for this work platform's fair work policy and ethical AI agenda. They also selected me as Board Member in their enterprise. The two reports I published through the ILO on the research topic have become reference works on the topic of refugee work in the digital economy. Major UN agencies and international actors developing this area of work have been using this work and I have had numerous meetings and discussions with UN agencies and international organisations where I provided expert advice. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Other |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Influence on ILO priorities and research/programmes |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Impact | The research contribution I have given the ILO in a) developing a new programme agenda, b) obtaining funding for a new multi-stakeholder and international project on digital refugee economies has significantly contributed to its ability to address the societal/economic problem of refugees access to digital work. |
| URL | https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/youth-employment/publications/WCMS_816539/lang--en/index.htm |
| Description | ILO (research consultancy) |
| Amount | $29,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | International Labour Organization (ILO) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Humans in the Loop |
| Organisation | Humans in the Loop |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The research collaborated with Humans in the Loop in order to distribute surveys and interviews refugees that worked through their online platform in digital remote work. The PI has also provided feedback to their fair work policies and has been selected to serve as a Board Member of the social enterprise. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The research collaborated with Humans in the Loop in order to distribute surveys and interviews refugees that worked through their online platform in digital remote work. The PI has also provided feedback to their fair work policies and has been selected to serve as a Board Member of the social enterprise. |
| Impact | The data gained from the collaboration contributed to publications under this grant. The research we co-conducted also influenced the impact assessment the organization did (link included above). |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with International Labour Organization |
| Organisation | International Labour Organization (ILO) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The collaboration with the ILO led to the production of an ILO Report title Digital Refugee Livelihoods and Decent Work (see publications, in press). The collaboration then merged into an Implementation Agreement signed between the School of Social and Political Science at Edinburgh and the ILO, to conduct research towards several ILO publications on the role of digital economy among refugees. These reports, including 8 country policy briefs, 1 Synthesis report, and 1 background paper for an ILO Global Forum, are currently in progress and schedule to be published throughout 2023. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The ILO contributed by ways of editing and feedbacking on the draft of the report. The ILO has also paid for the layout of the report and for the printing of 100 reports as an ILO book. The ILO has further offers continuous input and guidance regarding the implementation of the findings from this ESRC project for real world change, allowing me to use my expertise and build o the findings of the research to shape international policy regarding refugees in the digital economy. |
| Impact | The collaboration resulted in an ILO Report title Digital Refugee Livelihoods and Decent Work, and by ways of follow-up consultancy work, to another ILO report titled Towards decent work for young refugees and host communities in the digital platform economy in Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Egypt. As of 2023, an Implementation Agreement between Edinburgh and the ILO has led to a number of other outputs, all of which are currently forthcoming and in press. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with Natakallam |
| Organisation | NaTakallam |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The research collaborated with Natakallam, and online provider of refugee work in the field of language services, throuugh co-designing an online survey that was distributed among their freelancers. The PI led the design on the survey and conducted analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided access to their freelancers by distributing the survey and by co-designing the questions with the research in a way that were suitable for the refugee beneficiaries. |
| Impact | The data gained from the collaboration fed into the analysis of all publications that are coming out from the project. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Research collaboration in Lebanon fieldsite |
| Organisation | American University of Beirut |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The CCECS at AUB is in collaboration with my project in order to research graduates and participants of their digital skill trainings. They provided access to the graduates from theiur programmes and this collaboration offers a pathway to impact future programme design. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The CCECS at AUB is in collaboration with my project in order to research graduates and participants of their digital skill trainings. They provided access to the graduates from theiur programmes and this collaboration offers a pathway to impact future programme design. |
| Impact | Not yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Refugee work and digital livelihoods: workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop aimed at creating capacity around digital refugee livelihoods and prepared the ground for two forthcoming publications: an ILO Working Paper and a special issue on digital livelihoods and refugee work. The event was held at the University of Edinburgh and included members of social enterprises, development practitioners, researchers, and postgraduate students. The event succeeded in producing a collaborative collective that continues to work on these issues. The workshop report under publications includes all content. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://refugeework.net/refugee-work-in-the-digital-economy-challenges-and-opportunities-a-workshop-... |