LERRN is the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network. We are a team of researchers and practitioners committed to promoting protection and solutions with and for refugees. Our goal is to ensure that refugee research, policy and practice are shaped by a more inclusive, equitable and informed collective engagement of civil society. Through collaborative research, training, and knowledge-sharing, we aim to improve the functioning of the global refugee regime and ensure more timely protection and rights-based solutions for refugees.
Our work is focused in the global South, which hosts 85% of the world’s refugees, and responds to the needs and opportunities identified by our partners in major refugee-hosting countries.
We are generously supported by a Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, along with many contributions from our partner organizations. Our Partnership Secretariat is based at Carleton University, with our programs developed and implemented by Geographic Working Groups in Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon and Tanzania, along with Thematic Working Groups focusing on Protection, Solutions, and Diversity/Intersectionality.
The project officially launched in October 2018, following a three-year process of dialogue and collaboration between the research and practitioner communities. The project is expected to run until December 2025.
