DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR INTEGRATIONS- UND MIGRATIONSFORSCHUNG E.V.

Their core work

DeZIM (the German Center for Integration and Migration Research) is a Berlin-based social science institute that studies how migration shapes European societies — covering integration processes, diversity policy, and social cohesion. Their work combines empirical research with policy relevance: they produce evidence that governments, municipalities, and civil society organizations use to understand and manage migration-related change. In EU projects they typically function as a national case-study expert or qualitative research specialist, contributing German and comparative European perspectives. Their research methods are primarily qualitative and intersectional, examining how race, class, gender, and place interact in migrant communities and receiving societies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first documented H2020 project (CROSS-MIGRATION, 2018-2020), DeZIM worked on cross-national comparative analysis of migration — broad, data-oriented, policy-informing research at the European level. By their second project (SOLiDi, 2021-2024), the focus narrowed and deepened: they shifted toward solidarity, intersectionality, place-based belonging, and organisational change — more theoretically grounded and community-level in scope. This suggests a trajectory away from macro comparative mapping toward micro-level social dynamics and applied diversity work within institutions and communities.

DeZIM appears to be moving toward applied social innovation and diversity governance — making them increasingly relevant for projects that need to translate migration research into institutional or policy change at the city or organisational level.

How they like to work

DeZIM has participated in EU projects exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — a pattern consistent with a specialist institute that brings domain expertise rather than project management capacity. Despite only two projects, they have worked with 24 distinct partners across 13 countries, suggesting involvement in large, multi-partner consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. This makes them an accessible but focused partner: they join large networks when their migration and diversity expertise is needed, rather than building or driving projects themselves.

DeZIM has built a notably wide network for a small institute — 24 unique partners across 13 countries from just two projects. Their collaborations are European in scope, consistent with the cross-national nature of migration research.

What sets them apart

DeZIM is one of the few German research centers dedicated exclusively to integration and migration research, giving it a focused national and comparative expertise that generalist social science institutes lack. Its location in Berlin — a city defined by diversity and migration history — and its policy-connected mandate make it particularly valuable for projects needing German case-study grounding or connections to federal migration policy discussions. For consortia needing to address diversity governance, social cohesion, or intersectional analysis of migrant communities, DeZIM offers depth that broader sociology or political science departments typically cannot match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SOLiDi
  The largest funding award to DeZIM (EUR 252,788) and an MSCA-ITN training network — rare for a policy-oriented research center — covering solidarity, intersectionality, and organisational change across a multi-year horizon.
• CROSS-MIGRATION
  An early coordinated action bringing together cross-national comparative migration data, establishing DeZIM's European research credentials and network before their deeper thematic shift.