Who We Are
LERRN is the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network. In June 2025, The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has awarded a C$2.5 million Partnership Grant to a network of 29 organizations and 80 partners to undertake a project entitled Reimagining Responses to Forced Migration Through the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN). The project runs from 2025 to 2031, with total support from partners estimated at an additional C$2.5 million.
The scale and complexity of forced migration is growing, yet the international community is unable to effectively respond to the challenge. New approaches are needed, especially in the global South where 76% of the world’s forced migrants are now found.
The project is founded on a shared belief in the need to transform our approach to forced migration research by amplifying the agency of those most affected by displacement and by adopting a deeply inclusive, interdisciplinary, collaborative and localized approach to the co-production of knowledge.
Our Vision: All forced migrants have timely and reliable access to protection that upholds their rights and access to lasting solutions.
Our Goal: The knowledge and expertise of those most affected by displacement shapes forced migration studies, policy and practice, contributing to a global forced migration response system that is more effective, legitimate and accountable for and to those most affected by displacement.
The project aims to mobilize a global partnership that embraces a wide range of perspectives, generates new forms of knowledge and unites diverse actors in designing and promoting transformative, yet practical responses to forced migration.
Our Strategies
- Ensuring the meaningful participation of forced migrants as equal partners;
- Investing in collaborative, partnered research with those most affected by displacement;
- Amplifying the agency of traditionally marginalized actors through training and mentoring activities; and
- Reimagining knowledge translation and mobilization to realize change in policy and practice.