Sonja Fransen is a Research Fellow at UNU-MERIT's migration group where she works on and manages several research projects on (forced) migration and policy impacts on (forced) migrant populations. She is also one of the principal investigators of the MISTY (Migration, Transformation and Sustainability) project, financed by NORFACE and the Belmont Forum, and led by Exeter University. This three-year research project aims to provide theoretical and methodological innovations on the linkages between migration and sustainability. The interdisciplinary consortium consists of teams in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

Previously Sonja worked as a researcher and teacher at the University of Amsterdam, where she mainly worked on the Migration as Development (MADE) project. This ERC-funded project studies the drivers of migration using a long-term and cross-national perspective. Sonja also worked as a postdoctoral researcher on several projects related to (forced) migration at UNU-MERIT in collaboration with the Centre for Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford. Sonja’s research interests include (forced) migration, return migration, (post-conflict) development, and remittances. She has extensive, both quantitative and qualitative, fieldwork experience in various countries, and is particularly specialised in migration and development in African and European countries. Sonja has also done various consultancies for NGOs and international organizations, including UNHCR and the World Bank. She has published several academic articles, book chapters, policy briefs, and reports in the area of (forced) migration studies and development.

	Selected publications by Sonja Fransen
Articles (journal, professional, popular)
Müller-Funk, Lea & Sonja Fransen, 2022, “I Will Return Strong”: The Role of Life Aspirations in Refugees’ Return Aspirations, International Migration Review, Online, DOI: 10.1177/01979183221131554, More information
Franco Gavonel, Maria, W. Neil Adger, Ricardo Safra de Campos, Emily Boyd, Edward R Carr, Anita Fabos, Sonja Fransen, Dominique Jolivet, Caroline Zickgraf, Samuel N A Codjoe, Mumuni Abu & Tasneem Siddiqui, 2021, The migration-sustainability paradox: transformations in mobile worlds, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 49: 98-109, DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2021.03.013, More information
Bilgili, Özge & Sonja Fransen, 2020, Evolution of migration trajectories and transnational social networks over time: a study among sub-Saharan African migrants in Europe, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Online, DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1804195, More information
Bilgili, Özge & Sonja Fransen, 2019, Return, Reintegration and the Role of State, Migration & Integration 8-Dialog zwischen Politik, Wissenschaft und Praxis, 8: 129-
Adger, W. Neil, Emily Boyd, Anita Fabos, Sonja Fransen, Dominique Jolivet, George Neville, Ricardo Safra de Campos & Marjanneke J. Vijge, 2019, Migration transforms the conditions for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Lancet Planetary Health, 3(11): 440-442, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30213-X
Bilgili, Özge, Craig Loschmann, Sonja Fransen & Melissa Siegel, 2019, Is the Education of Local Children Influenced by Living near a Refugee Camp? Evidence from Host Communities in Rwanda, International Migration(Special Issue), DOI: 10.1111/imig.12541, More information
Bundervoet, T. & Sonja Fransen, 2018, The educational impact of shocks in utero: Evidence from the Rwandan genocide, Economics and Human Biology, 29: 88-101, DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2018.01.005, More information
Bilgili, Özge, Craig Loschmann, Sonja Fransen & Melissa Siegel, 2018, Is the education of local children influenced by living nearby a refugee camp? Evidence from host communities in Rwanda, International Migration, 57(4): 291-309, DOI: doi.org/10.1111/imig.12541, More information
Schewel, K. & Sonja Fransen, 2018, Formal education and Migration Aspirations in Ethiopia, Population and Development Review, 44(3): 555-587, DOI: 10.1111/padr.12159
Fransen, Sonja, Carlos Vargas-Silva & Melissa Siegel, 2018, The Impact of Refugee Experiences on Education, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8:6, DOI: 10.1186/s40176-017-0112-4, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Özge Bilgili, 2018, The Constituents of Reintegration of Displaced Populations, Population, Space and Place, DOI: 10.1002/psp.2140
Fransen, Sonja, Carlos Vargas-Silva & Melissa Siegel, 2018, The impact of refugee experiences on education: evidence from Burundi, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8(1), DOI: 10.1186/s40176-017-0112-4, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2017, Return migration and economic outcomes in the conflict context, World Development, 95: 196-210, DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.015, More information
Fransen, Sonja, 2015, Remittances, bonds and bridges: Remittances and social capital investments in Burundi, The Journal of Development Studies, 51(10): 1294-1308, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2015.1041517, More information
Fransen, Sonja, 2015, The Socio-Economic Sustainability of Refugee Return: Insights from Burundi, Population, Space and Place, DOI: 10.1002/psp.1976, More information
Fransen, Sonja, 2015, Remittances, Bonds and Bridges: Remittances and Social Capital in Burundi, The Journal of Development Studies, 51: 1294-1308, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2015.1041517, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Katherine Kuschminder, 2014, Lessons learned from refugee return settlement policies in Africa: A case study on Burundi's Rural Integrated Villages, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33(1): 59-67, DOI: 10.1093/rsq/hdt023, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Valentina Mazzucato, 2014, Remittances and household wealth after conflict: A case study on urban Burundi, World Development, 60: 57-68, DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.03.018, More information
Brown, Richard, Jørgen Carling, Sonja Fransen & Melissa Siegel, 2014, Measuring remittances through surveys: Methodological and conceptual issues for survey researchers and data analysts, Demographic Research, 31(41): 1243-1274, DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.31.41, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Katherine Kuschminder, 2014, Lessons learned from refugee return settlement policies: A case study on burundi's rural integrated villages, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33: 59-76, DOI: 10.1093/rsq/hdt023, More information
Brown, Richard, Jørgen Carling, Sonja Fransen & Melissa Siegel, 2014, Measuring remittances through surveys: Methodological and conceptual issues for survey designers and data analysts, Demographic Research, 31(41): 1243-1274, DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.31.41, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Katherine Kuschminder, 2014, Lessons Learned from Refugee Settlement Policies in Africa: A Case Study on Burundi's Rural Integrated Villages Approach, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33(1): 59-67, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Valentina Mazzucato, 2014, Remittances and Household Wealth After Conflict: A Case Study on Urban Burundi, World Development, 60: 57-68, DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.03.018, More information
Caarls, Kim, Sonja Fransen & Ruerd Ruben, 2013, Can migratory contacts and remittances contribute to reconciliation and reconstruction in Rwanda?, International Migration, 51(s1): e98-e117, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00747.x, More information
Siegel, Melissa & Sonja Fransen, 2013, New Technologies in Remittances Sending: Opportunities for Mobile Remittances in Africa, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 5(5)
Fransen, Sonja & Katherine Kuschminder, 2012, Back to the land: The long-term challenges of refugee return and reintegration in Burundi, New Issues in Refugee Research, 242, More information
Book chapters
Fransen, Sonja & M. Caarls, 2018, Allowing refugees to work or not?, in: A. Weinar, S. Bonjour, and L. Zhyznomirska, The Handbook on the Politics of Migration in Europe, Routledge Press, UK
Fransen, Sonja & Melissa Siegel, 2017, The multi-dimensional reintegration of first- and second-generation returned children, in: M. Ensor and E. Gozdziak, Children and Forced Migration: Durable Solutions during Transient Years, Palgrave Macmillan, London
Fransen, Sonja & Melissa Siegel, 2016, Diaspora Engagement after conflict in the Great Lakes Region: A Comparison of Burundi and Rwanda, in: D.J. Besharov and M. Lopez, Adjusting to a world in motion: Trends in global migration and migration policy, Oxford University Press, UK
Fransen, Sonja & Melissa Siegel, 2016, Diaspora Engagement Policies after Conflict: Burundi and Rwanda, in: D. Besharov and M. Lopez (Eds.), Adjusting to a World in Motion: Trends in Global Migration and Migration Policy, Oxford University Press, Boston
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Fransen, Sonja, Katherine Kuschminder & Melissa Siegel, 2012, Implementation of cross-country migration surveys in conflict-affected settings: Lessons from the IS Academy survey in Burundi and Ethiopia, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2012-019
Siegel, Melissa & Sonja Fransen, 2012, New Technologies in remittances sending: Opportunities for mobile remittances in Africa, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2012-018
Fransen, Sonja & Melissa Siegel, 2011, The Development of Diaspora Engagement Policies in Burundi and Rwanda, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2011-038
External working papers
Müller-Funk, Lea & Sonja Fransen, 2020, Return aspirations and coerced return: A case study on Syrian refugees in Turkey and Lebanon, IMI Working papers, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Hein de Haas, 2019, The Volume and Geography of Forced Migration, IMI Working Papers No. 156
Fransen, Sonja & Katherine Kuschminder, 2012, Back to the land: the long-term challenges of refugee return and reintegration in Burundi, More information
Research reports
Diker, Eleni, Sarah Roeder, Mohammad Khalaf, Ortrun Merkle, Lisa Andersson & Sonja Fransen, 2021, Comparative Reintegration Outcomes between Forced and Voluntary Return and Through a Gender Perspective, Commissioned by: International Organization for Migration (IOM), Knowledge Management Hub Research Fund, More information
Theses
Fransen, Sonja, 2015, The economic and social effects of remittances and return migration in conflict-affected areas: The case of Burundi, PhD dissertation Maastricht University / United Nations University
Briefs
Fransen, Sonja, Katrin Marchand & Levi Vonk, 2013, Remittances, Entrepreneurship and Development. International Policy Debate on Remittances, Entrepreneurship and Development, Migration policy brief No 15, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Lisa Andersson, 2011, The Emerging Remittances Market in Burundi: Opportunities for Development, Migration Policy Brief No. 6, IS Academie, More information
Fransen, Sonja & Melissa Siegel, 2010, Diaspora Engagement in Burundi: The Emergence of a Migration Policy, Migration Policy Brief No. 3, IS Academie, More information
Other (editorship, media appearance, keynote, etc.)
Siegel, Melissa, Sonja Fransen & Michaella Vanore, 2010, Website Evaluation 'Geld Naar Huis': User-Friendliness, Effectiveness, and Financial Sustainability, External policy report, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, More information