COMMUNITY PRACTICE

We believe that self-governance requires strong, connected communities that are organized around shared values, with the power to shape important decisions. Islander Institute supports efforts that listen to, understand, and amplify the voices of island communities. We do this by designing and holding spaces for community conversations, building deep trust relationships with community leaders and advocates, helping articulate community views, and training organizations in community organizing practices. Over the years, we have brought these practices to important social issues including food systems, education, access to justice, and renewable energy planning.

Our longest running work has been in community health beginning decades ago with foundational learning in Waiʻanae, Oʻahu and from partners in community health centers, ʻāina-based organizations, and many others across the islands. In 2014, Kōkua Kalihi Valley and Islander Institute held a series of community conversations which led to the development of a new framework of health called Pilinahā. In 2018, the Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi asked Islander Institute to design and conduct a statewide community health needs assessment. The novel ideas from that project spawned presentations and real world applications such as a community health impact assessment for Kahului Community Center Park on behalf of Hale Makua Health Services. These concepts continue to influence health policy and practice today.

Most recently, Islander Institute is helping to bring more community voices into workforce and economic development. In 2023, Islander wrote A Good Job in Hawaiʻi on behalf of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative based on community conversations. This builds on over two decades of our work in community-based economic development including asset building, tax policy, entrepreneurism, and secondary education.