Conference session

Intersectionality is one of the “big ideas” of our time and is an important companion to community-based research (CBR). This workshop session asks: How can we meaningfully infuse intersectional thinking and practice across the life cycle of community-based research (CBR)? What are the steps, questions, hurdles, and possibilities that arise when doing so? The session begins to answer these questions by drawing on initial lessons from the three-year Intersectionality in Action Partnership (IAP) project. The IAP was organized around two CBR teams where the community partners had identified a need for intersectional applications to housing and homelessness; yet a third team studied the experiences of these two housing projects, tracking and learning with them about the joys, challenges, and possibilities of intersectional theory and practice in CBR. One key result of the IAP project is a toolkit to guide CBR teams—community partners, academics, and other interest holders—through the journey of integrating an intersectional approach. Attendees of this interactive workshop will be among the first people to pilot some parts of the toolkit and provide feedback before it is made public. Attendees will also hear from community and university IAP members about their experiences with learning and doing intersectionality across the three years of the project. We hope this research will benefit anyone involved in intersectional, CBR, or housing research.