Dr Fisher is a political geographer with expertise in forced migration and refugee integration. As part of his Fellowship with SPICe, he will investigate Scotland’s response to the war in Ukraine and the reception of people forced to flee Ukraine. 

A focus on multi-level government 

His research will provide the Scottish Parliament with an overview of: 

  1. Scotland’s response to the need to resettle people from Ukraine, the actions being taken to support long-term integration at a local level, and the barriers that are prohibiting integration.
  2. Insights into the interactions between Scottish local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government throughout the crisis response and now, following the period of urgency. 

The Fellowship scheme aims to provide the Scottish Parliament with specialised resources it would not otherwise have access to and increase the use of academic knowledge, skills and research within the Parliament.  

Dan said: “The governance of asylum and refugee integration remains an important issue to the Scottish Parliament, being the subject in various Parliamentary debates and Parliamentary Committees. The response in Scotland to the war in Ukraine was monumental and there is much that can be learned that will be relevant for future crises and to further support the integration of people from Ukraine.” 

As part of the scheme, Dan will produce a Parliamentary briefing to summarise and share his findings with the Parliament, and a blog for the Centre for Public Policy. 

To apply for the scheme, Dan submitted his proposal to the open call for applications and was appointed in September 2024. He will work one day a week in the Scottish Parliament until March 2025. 

Find out more  

Visit Dr Dan Fisher’s academic profile. 

Listen to Dan discuss his research on the UofG Spotlight podcast, On the Election: A Deep Dive into Immigration Policy 

Read more about the scheme on the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) blog. 

 


First published: 7 November 2024