Navigating the risks of corporate support of refugees – Scholar Q&A

July 12, 2023 • Jonathan McVerry

Last year, the number of refugees worldwide eclipsed 100 million. The ubiquity of the crisis attracts corporate support and advocacy of these displaced people. However, Brian Smith and Staci Smith say companies may not understand the intricacies of the crisis and their corporate efforts often don’t properly serve refugee needs. The Fulbright Scholars and Brigham Young University faculty members – Brian, associate professor of communication, and Staci, adjunct professor of management communication – say that to communicate about social issues, companies should listen to those who are "on the ground." That is why for their 2023 Page Center-funded prosocial communication study, the first-time Page Center scholars will develop prosocial tactics by studying the needs and strategies of refugees and NGOs in Europe and the United States.

How did this research and the proposal idea get their start?

Staci: We led a study abroad program with BYU students in the Summer of 2022. We wanted students to have an experience with research and with giving back. So, we went to help and serve in refugee centers. We folded clothes, we chopped vegetables, and we got to know refugees. Their stories were powerful. The experience really had an impact on the students, and on us. As we heard the stories and experiences of the refugees, we saw the need to develop resources and research in this area.

Brian: Following our study abroad, we were talking about what we could do next to help refugees. Our first thought was that we wanted to conduct research that could impact the refugee crisis for good. Staci suggested we focus on the female refugee stories and I wanted to explore the effectiveness of company support efforts. That way we could combine Staci’s expertise in crisis coping and resilience and my focus on corporate social advocacy. We saw this as an opportunity to develop a two-pronged approach to how companies can get involved with refugees in an impactful way.  One of the things that we have found is that companies donate, but may not completely understand.

Can you expand on that?

Brian: When talking to NGOs, they told us that the companies often have no idea what refugees need. The company might have no business interest in it and very little experience or expertise with the topic. We started thinking that maybe that’s an area of impact. We don't want to create research that says: Please give refugees more money. We want understanding. We want what’s actionable. We found that these people don't just need money. They want to be valued.

Can you talk about the time before you applied for the grant? What were you learning?

Brian: We were in Europe, which is where we started getting background on the issue. We wanted to do a pilot study to set up our research with the Page Center. We did interviews and met with a few NGOs to establish a relationship with them.

Staci: It took a long time for them to trust us and let us come in. Building trust has been an on-going process.

Brian: Just emails is not enough. We had to be there.

Staci: We just wanted to help, so we volunteered with refugee organizations around Europe while I was on Fulbright in Slovenia. Brian volunteered to teach weekly English lessons in the refugee center there. We told them we would serve in the centers regardless of whether or not they would help us find research participants. We really do care and we weren't just coming in wanting to use them for information. In fact, in Italy and Austria, we didn’t even ask for interviews the first year.

Were you able to notice as barriers were coming down and people and groups started to open up?

Brian: Some were quick. In Austria and Italy, we’d ask: “Can we come and help out?” They’d say, “Well, yeah.” Others were more difficult. Regardless of whether we were reaching out to NGOs in Europe or the US, we wanted to help, first and foremost. We did not want to use these centers to get information.

Staci: And with Austria and Italy, we did not do any research with refugees the first time around. We just wanted to help, and we wanted to get students involved in that experience. The refugee crisis is not going away. This is their everyday lives and our work with refugee centers is a long-term relationship.

Why is it important to take the time and extra steps to be there and to build trust?

Staci: For me, these females are going through a lot. They would tell me, “You want to hear my story? No one wants to hear my story.” So, I think the stories can get lost. Research says we hear male perspectives up to eight times more than female perspectives. So, when we visited these female refugees, I really wanted to hear what they had to say. We wanted to see how they were coping and dealing with these things. What strategies were they using? I watch these women. It’s real life for them. They can’t get a job. They’re trying to acclimate their children and themselves. They’re trying to integrate into a new country, and it’s very difficult.

What is the timeline for your project? What are some future steps?

Brian: We are doing parts of the study here as well. We have connections with some refugee communities who have fled oppressive governments here in Utah. We will work with them over the next few months, and we have the work we’ve already done before we got the grant. We always try to involve students in the research process. In fact, next spring, we have an opportunity to bring students to Europe as part of a service-learning experience to help with the research. We will be returning to some of the same refugee centers we have been working with for the past few years. We’re looking forward to sharing our findings with the other scholars at the Page Center roundtable.

Staci: The Page Center grant will help us legitimize female refugee voices and provide validity for developing research on how to support refugees. The Page Center is unique in its focus, and we're honored to be funded. We believe that we can have an impact and we can help the refugee crisis. It’s not going away, and we want to be part of the solution.