Videos

Principal Investigator Manica F. Ramos describes these community partnerships as the seeds of a movement toward broader, sustained change in how researchers collect information on and for communities and families. The ECEM aims to uncover the root causes of—and solutions to—continued racial/ethnic or linguistic gaps in outcomes within New Hampshire’s communities.

Community co-researchers were motivated by a desire to help families recognize their power to advocate for change in their communities. They were driven by personal and professional motivations to help members of their community more effectively navigate child care, health care, and other critical—but often inaccessible—services.

The community co-researchers shared their favorite part of the work: The simple act of listening to families and communities to learn what they most need. Listening allowed co-researchers to better connect with communities, make recommendations to tailor services based on community members’ responses, and recognize common challenges among the many New Hampshire communities.

Community co-researchers spoke about their communities’ greatest needs. These included the need to repair broken trust between communities and the governments and research organizations with which they may need to work, and the need to overcome language barriers that prevent some community members from accessing needed services.

The community co-researchers reflected on which strengths among New Hampshire’s diverse families brought them the most joy. Their answers speak to an almost universal strength: that these families feel a sense of unity among themselves and within their broader communities of friends and colleagues.

One community co-researcher reflected on her participation in an audio-only format. She valued her co-research experience in part because she identified with many of the lived experiences shared by New Hampshire’s refugees and immigrants.