Professor Heaven Crawley FAcSS has been appointed the Head of Equitable Development and Migration at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. A leader in her field, Professor Crawley has more than 30 years of experience undertaking research on international migration and inequality in different institutional settings.
Professor Crawley currently holds a Chair in International Migration at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. She has been Director of the South-South Migration, Inequality and Development Hub (MIDEQ) since 2019, a project supported by UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund. The MIDEQ Hub is a global consortium of 18 research institutions, six international organizations and numerous local and regional partners that aims to transform knowledge and understanding of the relationships between migration, inequality and development in the context of the Global South.
She was previously head of asylum and migration research at the UK Home Office, Associate Director at the Institute for Public Policy Research and managed an international research consultancy before returning to academia to establish the Centre for Migration Policy Research at Swansea University. She has served as a specialist adviser to the UK Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee and Joint Committee on Human Rights on three separate occasions and as a patron/trustee to the Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, Asylum Justice and Migrant Voice.
Professor Heaven Crawley remarked: “I am delighted to be joining United Nations University Centre for Policy Research at this critical time for international migration policy. I have spent much of my career engaging a wide range of audiences in efforts to increase understanding of the relationships between migration and inequality and how these are connected to wider development processes. The Centre is an ideal platform to continue this work and advance solutions-focused policy research.”
Professor Crawley has published extensively on a wide range of asylum and immigration issues including the drivers of migration and migrant decision-making, gender issues in forced migration, refugee and migrant rights, the experiences of children and young people on the move, attitudes towards migration and migrants, and politics of migration policymaking.
“Heaven is a wonderful addition to our senior team,” added Dr David Passarelli, Executive Director of United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. “Her extensive work on migration has highlighted the need for fairer and more equitable partnerships in international development. Her leadership of this research pillar at UNU-CPR will lead to the development of innovative policy options that are fair, practical, and ambitious.”
Professor Crawley holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Sussex and a Doctorate from the University of Oxford. In 2012, Heaven was conferred the title of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in recognition of her contribution to the social sciences and to evidence-based policymaking.