English version
Czech Science Foundation project No. 24-11907S (2024-2026): Transnational migration and digital inclusion.
Digitalisation, the process of integrating digital data and technologies into everyday life, has profound implications for economy and society, including the transnationalization of migration. Yet, while a large body of research suggests uneven patterns of digital inclusion between individuals and groups we do not know if and how this applies to transnational migrants in destinations and transnational households in origins. Our project is the first to analyse the relationship between digital inclusion and transnational migration. We integrate and extend theories of digital inclusion and transnationalism through a practice theory framework and evaluate this across the transnational migration system spanning Czechia, Moldova, Georgia and Germany. The findings add new knowledge on digitalisation, digital divide, digital inclusion, and transnational migration, and carry important implications for Czech digital strategy, social inclusion and, most widely, for re-framing the Migration Development Nexus (MDN) in the context of digitalisation.
Our project aims point at analysing the relationship between transnational migration and digital inclusion by (1) reviewing relevant policies and regulatory contexts, (2) extending theory with a practice theory frame, (3) testing this frame with a multi-site case-study, and (4) disseminating new knowledge into theory and policy.
Our team: We are a team of experts made up of several organisations. The project leader is prof. Dušan Drbohlav. The research team consists of representatives of the Geomigrace research centre from the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague, Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, NUVIT (National Institute for Innovative Technologies Research) and our foreign collaborators from the United Kingdom, Moldova, and Georgia.
Research Questions:
RQ1 What are the experiences of digital inclusion among transnational migrants in destinations and transnational households in origins?
RQ2 What accounts for the variation in digital inclusion of transnational Czech, Moldovan and Georgian migrants?
RQ3 What transnational processes are connected with the variation in digital inclusion among transnational households living in origin countries?
RQ 4 What practices connect transnational migration and digital inclusion and how do they influence the future directions of digital inclusion and transnational migration?
Questionnaire: We are currently collecting information and data, compiling thematic areas for interviews and preparing a questionnaire in three languages (Czech, Moldovan, Georgian). Once the questionnaires are ready, you will find them here.