Creating collective solidarity: Insights from the development and process evaluation of civic action for refugee empowerment in Cincinnati

Objective: Our goal was to describe the development, progress, and functioning of Civic Action for Refugee Empowerment in Cincinnati (CARE: Cincinnati) as a model for community-based participatory research (CBPR) with refugees.We conducted a participatory evaluation to assess our collective ability to employ shared power and equitable decision-making, and to facilitate structures that build member ownership and solidarity. We identify principles and processes that can be used by researchers, practitioners, and activists interested in working toward the creation of more equitable community spaces for refugees. Method: Twelve refugee research team members representing seven different countries and ranging in age from 16 to 75 engaged in the participatory evaluation and are coauthors of this manuscript. All participants were interviewed by an external researcher, who transcribed and anonymized responses. Academic researchers first developed preliminary themes and then the entire research teamverified, prioritized, and expanded themes. Results: The experiences of refugee team members illustrate an iterative process of reflection and action that are both personally satisfying and encourage work for deeper change. The themes further illustrate that the CBPR process aided in developing a sense of solidarity among diverse team members and that the dynamic and participatory organization of the group fostered equitable and creative decision-making. Conclusions: Our participatory evaluation suggests that future research partnering with refugees that brings together diverse teams to share powerwill not only improve research quality and dissemination, but will also serve as a tangible benefit for refugee team members. The shared reflection, analysis, and action process inherent in the research process are individually motivating to refugee team members and foster possibility for transformative change. © 2021 American Psychological Association