Awareness exists of ways in which diasporas link UK and overseas and recognition of the need to bridge gaps exists For some funders the need is to be creative and flexible about how they interpret their mandates, whether they have a UK, London or international remit (and to communicate this creativity and
flexibility) Some funders and policy-makers need to embrace new ways of working that better reflect today’s complexities and realities in terms of how issues affect the people they are aiming to support Funders and policy-makers should collaborate more to tackle social challenges that blur traditional sectoral, departmental or geographical boundaries but to do this they need to be clear about why, what they are seeking to achieve, etc, and also remain within
their legal limits, geographically and sectorally Policy-makers with both domestic and international remits are appreciating the two-way linkages between diasporas and their home regions; however, some need more convincing on the positive role of diasporas here in international development Diaspora communities need to be more proactive in putting ideas on funders’ agendas for them to take up (and they need to identify the fora where they can engage with funders)
Diaspora communities need to conduct their own purposeful action research into more effective use of remittances, more cost/tax efficient means of transferring financial resources, how events back home impact upon them, how their activities here impact upon people back home, and how communities can enhance their
capacity to deal with combined issues that affect them here and there.
