In addition to the use of routine and administrative data from various points in the migration process of resettlement refugees, primary data is collected through a migration-sensitive survey after arrival in Germany. These three different data sets are linked together with geo-referenced secondary data on small-scale contextual factors. The empirical research activities in INTER.SECT are accompanied by conceptual research on migration-related uncertainties as well as methodological work that deals with the ethical, legal and technical challenges of data linkage and is intended to lead to the establishment of a research infrastructure for future use. The interdisciplinary project is divided into six work packages (WP), which are implemented over the course of five years (2024-2029).
In this overarching work package, the other work packages and the cooperation between the project partners (Bielefeld University, IOM, TMF, BAMF-FDZ) are coordinated and managed. In addition, contact and exchange with other actors from the spheres of policy, civil society and research along the migration process at international, national and subnational level is generated in order to take into account the diverse, relevant perspectives over the course of the project and to ensure translation between science and practice. A further focus of this work package is on identifying and addressing research ethics challenges in INTER.SECT.
In WP1, the legal framework for the processing and linking of the various data sets is reviewed, considering international, national and subnational regulations. A key challenge is that existing consent for the use of official and routine data do not directly cover the research activities in INTER.SECT. The aim of this work package is therefore to define the legal options and the necessary technical and organisational measures for linking the various data sets.
The technical and organisational measures for the protection of research subjects (WP1) and the developed analysis methods (WP3) will be synthesised in a data protection concept, which will be developed under the guidance of the TMF team. For the data protection concept, a vote is obtained from the TMF Data Protection Working Group, which is recognised by the body of independent German federal and state data protection supervisory authorities.
Against the background of the legal framework defined in WP1, existing procedures for linking data are evaluated in WP3. Where legally permissible, either a data protection-compliant linkage is carried out at individual level (either by direct linkage or by means of cryptographic procedures through a privacy-preserving linkage). In parallel, distributed analysis is applied to the data records as a method. If the linkage can be performed, the results of the linkage and the distributed analyses could be compared, which would allow INTER.SECT to contribute to the evaluation of statistical methods.
During the primary data collection in INTER.SECT, newly arriving contingent refugees in Germany will be repeatedly interviewed as part of a cohort about their health status and contextual factors of their living environment. For this purpose, validated, diversity-sensitive survey instruments are used, the selection of which is informed by a conceptual review on “uncertainties of the migration process”.
Based on the data protection concept and linkage strategies developed in WP1-WP3, routine and administrative data will be linked and analysed with primary data from the survey (WP4) and publicly available geo-referenced secondary data (e.g. on socio-economic, demographic, political context characteristics). In addition to the outcomes (mortality and self-reported outcomes), exposures as well as mediators and moderators are defined in order to capture the relationships between contextual, individual and temporal factors. In addition to longitudinal analyses, repeated cross-sectional analyses are also carried out.