What we do to facilitate external research

But we also value outside perspectives on our work. Which is why we are happy to cooperate with research conducted by external (scientific) parties and their researchers. By doing so, we hope to increase scientific knowledge in our policy area, allowing policy to be based even more effectively on research findings. These studies can also provide the IND with useful insights.

External researchers may request:

• interviews with IND employees;
• questions in writing for IND employees;
• insight into, for example, the number of residency applications or other quantitative data (providing this information is not already available in monthly, quarterly or annual reports or other public sources).

Conditions

The studies we participate in must meet certain conditions. In many cases, the requested information will already be available in existing public reports. We also have limited staff capacity, which is why we are very selective about which studies we participate in. 
We can only cooperate if our substantive and procedural conditions are met.

Substantive conditions 

• The study must align with the IND’s field of work (implementation of immigration and naturalisation policy). We give priority to research that is of interest to the IND.
• Given our limited staff capacity, we only cooperate with studies by: 
  o    persons working as researchers; or
  o    university students working on their master’s thesis.
• The requested information cannot be found in public sources (such as IND publications or publications by other parties). 

Procedural conditions 

• The application must include a detailed research proposal, including the motivation, purpose, research questions, data collection methods, analytical methods, intended report/publication of the results and a schedule of the planned research.
• The application must be submitted at least four weeks before the desired start date of the study. Allowing us sufficient time to assess requests and – if a request is approved – reserve staff capacity and make preparations.
• The researcher or master’s student agrees to our terms and conditions regarding the handling of confidential information.
   

How does it work?

1. Check whether your application meets the above conditions.
   No? Then there is no use in submitting your application. Unfortunately, we cannot approve your request. 
   Yes? Go to step 2.
2. Complete the Request for research cooperation form. Follow the instructions in the form.
3. Collect the requested documents.
4. Send the application form and the requested documents to INDOA@ind.nl.
5. Await the decision. Requests can take up to two weeks to process.
6. Receipt of the decision on your application. 
   Approved? →You will receive information about the next steps along with the decision. 
   Rejected? →End of the procedure. 

Want to know more? 

If you have any questions about the above procedure, please contact us at INDOA@ind.nl.