Research will be carried out in various stages which will employ diverse methodologies and actions, including:

1. Legal and political analyses of bilateral agreements and international treaties to organize labor flows signed by Spain and countries of origin; this objective includes diverse hiring methods. Legal and political analyses of circular migration initiatives and mobility partnerships or associations within the European Union.
2. The compilation and analysis of the data available in Spain on hiring in countries of origin, including diverse economic sectors and regions; this objective will be completed by an exploration and analysis of the data provided by different actors in the countries of destination and origin, the private sector (businesses), civil society (trade unions, immigrant organizations) and institutions in emitting countries (public administrations and consulates).
3. The creation of an (exploratory) inventory of cases/experiences based on the data compiled which “maps” the initiatives developed in Spain and identifies their scope. The inventory will also be created from structured interviews with qualified informers such as experts, trade union leaders, members of business organizations, consular technicians, workers in employment offices, migrant organizations and confederations of migrant associations, etc.
4. The selection of project cases or experiences to be the subjects of in-depth analyses. These analyses will study their objectives, how they function, their evolution and the involvement of diverse actors in Spain and in the countries of origin. This will allow the projects to be evaluated, establish a comparative analysis and build a tentative typology of “modalities or systems of hiring in countries of origin”.
5. The creation of indicators and measurements of circular migration specifically for some of the selected experiences.