HACER works independently, and in collaboration with other partners, to design, implement and disseminate research, conduct culturally responsive evaluations, and disseminate timely and important information in Spanish. We believe that historically, the voices of Hispanic/Latinos, as well as other populations of color in the United States, have been systemically excluded, misinterpreted, and misrepresented in public discourse. Therefore, we make it a point to ground our work in community needs and priorities to give our Hispanic/Latino community control and ownership of which stories Hispanic/Latinos tell and how those stories should be represented.

Our staff is well-versed in working with diverse populations. In addition to being a multilingual and multicultural team, HACER staff bridges differences in many components of our work. Our researchers are bilingual in Spanish and English and have lived and/or worked in Latin American countries and come from a diverse range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. All our staff is experienced in working with Hispanic/Latinos in Minnesota and around the country.

We have conducted dozens of community-based projects on some of the most pressing topics facing Latinos in Minnesota such as immigration/migration, public health, social welfare, educational inequity, housing, community development and demographic change, economic concerns as well as criminal justice and crime prevention.