Intersection of Migration and Local Governance: Lessons on Methods and Research Design

Abstract

A recent study interrogating the ways in which municipal authorities in South Africa
are governing their mobile communities demonstrated that there is potential for both
conceptual innovation and methodological rigor when integrating the cross-cutting
systems of migration and local governance. However, this integration also posed a
number of challenges that were apparent both during the data collection phase, as well
as when the diagnostic tool was designed. The process of implementing this research
raised methodological and conceptual questions about how these two areas of work
intersect. This paper aims to reflect not on the results of the study itself, but on the
methodological process issues that can lay a foundation for a better understanding of
how to study the intersection of two interdisciplinary fields. This research took place
in five South African municipalities in Limpopo, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga, selected
because they reflect a broad spectrum of migration dynamics and demographic patterns.
An institutional ethnography approach was drawn on, which included mixed
methods fieldwork with document review, key stakeholder interviews, focus groups,
and community mapping took place in all five municipalities, taking an inductive approach
to developing a diagnostic tool, which was applied retrospectively based on the
data gathered. This paper found that resolving a number of divergent conceptual issues
is important to effectively interpret results around the intersection of the cross-cutting
fields of governance and migration. This methodological reflection is important on
its own, but it will also help ensure that future initiatives around strengthening local
governance, or making systems more responsive to the needs of migrants, are on solid
conceptual, methodological, and practical ground.