Dr Gabriella D’Avino

• PhD in Social Policy, University of Birmingham, 2024
• MA in Social Research (Social Policy), University of Birmingham, 2020
• MA in Human Rights, Culture & Social Justice, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2015
• BA in International Relations & Diplomatic Affairs, University of Bologna, 2013

Gabriella D’Avino is undertaking a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Global Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Birmingham. Her project, UNPACK-NET: Unpacking Networks in Forced Displacement and Education, extends her research on refugee social networks to higher education in the UK and Australia. Previously, Gabriella held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at The Open University, where she examined the evolution of refugee resettlement policies and the legal and institutional frameworks governing community sponsorship and complementary pathways in the UK.

Gabriella completed her PhD in Social Policy at the University of Birmingham in 2024, passing with no corrections. Her doctoral research developed a mixed-methods approach to social network analysis, combining participatory techniques and visualisation tools to examine how social relationships shape refugee integration under different UK resettlement schemes. Her findings have been published in international journals, including the Journal of Refugee Studies and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Alongside her academic research, Gabriella has extensive experience in international comparative research and consultancy, collaborating with academic institutions, international organisations and civil society actors across Europe and beyond. She holds an MA in Social Research from the University of Birmingham and an MA in Human Rights, Culture & Social Justice from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research is informed by previous experience supporting asylum and immigration cases and a commitment to producing evidence that advances academic knowledge and informs policy and practice.

UNPACK-NET: Unpacking Networks in Forced Displacement and Education

UNPACK-NET investigates how social networks influence refugees’ access to and experiences of higher education in Australia and the UK. Through a comparative, mixed-methods and participatory research design, it examines how personal, community and institutional relationships interact with education systems and migration policies to shape educational opportunities.

The project combines interviews, focus groups, surveys and participatory social network mapping, with the aim of developing an interdisciplinary analytical framework, a participatory social network analysis toolkit and policy recommendations. The project is undertaken in collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Birmingham.

Refugee Sponsorship Research Hub

Gabriella has contributed to the University of Birmingham’s Refugee Sponsorship Research Programme, developed within the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity (IRIS). Since 2016, the programme has examined the design, implementation and outcomes of refugee sponsorship schemes in the UK and internationally, generating evidence to inform policy and practice.

Her contributions include comparative research, systematic literature reviews, qualitative fieldwork and policy analysis, focusing on refugee integration, social networks, volunteer engagement, governance and complementary pathways. The programme has produced academic publications, research reports, policy briefs and practitioner resources, contributing to national and international debates on refugee sponsorship.

Advancing Refugee Protection and Integration: Resettlement, Community Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways

Funded through an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at The Open University, this research examined the evolution of refugee resettlement policies and the legal and institutional frameworks governing community sponsorship and complementary pathways in the UK. The project explored how different regulatory and governance arrangements shape refugees’ access to protection, mobility and integration, with particular attention to schemes including Community Sponsorship, Homes for Ukraine and Communities for Afghans. It contributed to understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with community-led and hybrid models of refugee protection.

Refugee Integration in Scholarship: Conceptual Ambiguity, Geographic Gaps and AI-Assisted Scoping Review

Gabriella is a co-investigator on a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust-funded project examining how refugee integration has been conceptualised and studied in academic scholarship between 2001 and 2025. The project combines a systematic scoping review with quantitative mapping and qualitative full-text analysis to investigate conceptual developments, methodological approaches and geographic inequalities in knowledge production. It examines how concepts such as integration, assimilation, belonging and inclusion are defined and operationalised across disciplines and contexts. The study also evaluates the potential and limitations of AI-assisted methods for large-scale evidence synthesis, with particular attention to transparency, reliability and researcher oversight.