Public policy and peace. At the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, they are housed in the College of Social Sciences through the Public Policy Center (PPC) and the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
In 2006, the PPC was established to provide opportunities for students, faculty and the community to study, research and engage in policy-oriented initiatives and projects. Since then, PPC has conducted key analysis and research focused on a broad range of public policy issues, including promoting a sustainable future, protecting the cultural and environmental aspects of communities, overcoming barriers to obtaining health insurance and confronting the issues of an aging population.
“We’ve always been very proud of the center’s role in providing policy analyses and research designed to solve complex social problems,” said Colin Moore, PPC director and a UH Mānoa associate professor. “And 2020, with the enormous double impacts of the pandemic and political upheaval, was really a year that revved up intense interest in a broad range of public policy topics.”
Three 2020 reports are representative of PPC’s cutting-edge research on the dramatic rise of coronavirus:
Hawai‘i During COVID-19: A Community Impact Survey
A community impact survey by Moore and PPC Assistant Specialist Sherilyn Hayashida looked at trust in government, frequency of wearing masks, views on long-term health impacts, the likelihood of receiving a vaccine when available, and attitudes about tourism. The statewide survey, in partnership with Ward Research, led to a better understanding of how Hawaiʻi residents faced the challenges presented by the coronavirus. A September update found that residents were quite critical of government response to COVID-19, with nearly half of respondents giving the state a low rating. On a more positive note, residents reported high rates of compliance with public health guidelines in public spaces.
Coming Back from COVID-19: Reopening Hawai‘i’s Restaurants
The comprehensive survey of Hawaiʻi restaurateurs by Political Science Professor Larry Nitz sought candid impressions about financial stress, operating strategies and anticipated survival during the last few weeks in July 2020. Questions addressed what eateries were doing to adjust to new city mandates, strategies that did and did not work, and expectations for survival. For example, in response to the query, “How many quarters can (your) business survive under present social distancing conditions,” the answers in July were alarming: About 70 percent said two quarters; 58 percent said the firm would never be profitable under current conditions; and 68 percent said rental forgiveness was necessary in order to survive.
Life Under Lockdown: Hawai‘i Resident Assessment of COVID-19 Restrictions
The project was first conceived in May 2020 by researchers Moore, Hayashida and John M. Knox, president of John M. Knox & Associates, after Hawaiʻi imposed unprecedented restrictions on its residents. The survey’s primary purposes were to learn about citizen responses to restrictions, and to get a preliminary sense of resident attitudes toward the reopening of tourism. Among critical findings, 88 percent thought various public health restrictions were “mostly reasonable,” and 67 percent would be willing to repeat most of the restrictions if a second wave of COVID-19 occurred. In addition, 81 percent of residents expressed the sentiment that they did not want “tourists coming to visit my community right now.”
Meanwhile, the pursuit of peace through the Matsunaga Institute dates back to the 1970s and 1980s. That’s when a national grassroots movement, powered by bipartisanship in Congress, included leadership from storied U.S. Senator Spark Masayuki Matsunaga of Hawaiʻi. In 1986, Matsunaga and Al Simone, then UH president, launched the Institute of Peace in Hawaiʻi, whose mission was to promote cross-cultural communication and peacemaking leadership.
Today, the Matsunaga Institute emphasizes critical thinking and collaboration to groom leaders to address contemporary and complex issues in Hawaiʻi, the Asia-Pacific region and the world. It is one of the most prolific units at UH Mānoa when it comes to events: In 2020 alone, there were more than 100 planned campus and community activities. They ranged from a January 10 “Living Pono: Peacebuilding Conversations” workshop, to a December 6 talk story with “Hibakushas” who survived the 1945 atomic bombings in Japan.
The Matsunaga Institute doesn’t shy away from addressing challenging topics. For example, in September and October 2020, a series of six virtual workshops, collectively titled “The Difficult Conversation Series,” tackled subjects such as racism in conflict resolution, reinventing government as a partnership rather than an adversary, and managing the tide of generational divide. Ticket price included admission to the six events, access to recordings of most sessions, and 2020-2021 membership to a co-sponsoring nonprofit, the Conflict Resolution Alliance (CRA). “Each workshop address(ed) a different facet of any peacebuilder’s life and career, so they can improve themselves and their communities’ conversations and work,” said CRA leader Katie Ranney, a UH Mānoa alumna with a master’s in communications and graduate certificate in conflict resolution from the Matsunaga Institute.
No matter how elusive the efforts may seem, the pursuit of peace and strong public policy will not be forsaken at CSS – even if moved into separate units after planned reorganization. “Public policies that address inequality and foster strong social ties contribute to peace, and peacebuilding skills like facilitation and conflict resolution lead to effective legislation and public programs,” said Moore. “We need both to create a more just society, where all people can prosper.”
