There is increasing recognition of the potential of migration in stimulating development in countries of origin. This acknowledgment accompanies a call to engage migrants and diaspora organisations in development cooperation. The present study analyses how multilateral organisations as well as European governments and development agencies have implemented such ‘migrants and development' policies over the past three decades. It focuses specifically on the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France, but also considers Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain. The extent to which the stated priority for this issue has been turned into concrete action has been limited up to now, with the exception of remittance policies. However, valuable lessons can be drawn from past and current experiences with the implementation of policies to support and to strengthen the engagement of diasporas and their members in the development of countries of origin. The study identifies a number of points of departure for implementing successful policies in this field such as: Recognising that migrants are already mobilised for development on their own initiative. Rather than ‘mobilising diasporas', development actors themselves should be ‘mobilised' to engage with and to learn from diasporas in development cooperation so as to establish a genuine two-way working relationship. It also highlights the importance of setting realistic expectations through increasing awareness of past experiences and studies that show migration is no panacea for development. Expectations must be set more realistically so as to avoid disappointment and the subsequent abandonment of the migration and development agenda. The study also focuses on successful alliance building implying that established development actors should recognise the added value of diaspora organisations and show a serious and long-term commitment through giving them a real say in policy formulation and access to substantial funding. In addition, the study also focuses on four key areas: Facilitating and reducing costs of remittances, supporting migrants to set up small enterprises in countries of origin and facilitating ‘brain circulation', Supporting collective development projects initiated or implemented by diaspora organisations and their members and finally, Supporting diaspora networks and capacity building of diaspora organisations along with creating durable alliances with established development actors.