I start 2021 on a hopeful note by beginning work on the book that will come of of my ERC Consolidator project Future Migration as Present Fact (FUMI). Specifically, I am taking part in a Book Proposal Accellerator programme together with other, mostly US-based academics. The long-term effects of Covid-19 infection are curtailing my capacity, though, so I am constantly having to adjust my ambitions for what I can achieve.

Later in the year I hope to start fieldwork in Ghana and Cape Verde that has been postponed due to Covid-19. Fortunately, we can already start analysing data from the same two countries that was collected by dedicated pandemic-defying colleagues in late 2020 for the MIGNEX project on migration and development.

At PRIO I look forward to developing the newly launched PRIO Migration Centre that I co-direct with Marta Bivand Erdal. We will be presenting the ambitious PRIO Guide to Migration Journals and starting a series of webinars with an innovative format. Stay updated via our newsletter!

Early in 2021 Maryam Aslany, Mathilde Bålsrud Mjelva, Tone Sommerfelt, and I are finalising a huge review of research on migration aspirations as part of the project Quantifying Migration Scenarios for Better Policy (QuantMig). It is fascinating to get an overview of what surveys in different parts of the world have found. The first of its kind, our paper will make a difference in the field of migration and development.