Survey Launched to Assess Local Views on Future of Hawai‘i’s Economy

Empty beach chairs in front of a hotel on Kāʻanapali Beach. (04.13. 2020) Gaylord Paul Garcia for Maui Now.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Liliʻuokalani Trust and Kamehameha Schools launched a new survey today to better understand what Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians think the state’s economy should look like after the pandemic.

Hawaiʻi’s Economy: Visions of a Better Normal Survey is a 15- 20-minute online questionnaire intended to help inform policymakers about local experiences during the pandemic; how COVID-19 has impacted residents’ lives; and what the hopes are of Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians alike for the future of the state’s economy.

The survey will be open for several months, and participants may respond multiple times, up to once a week, if their opinions change.

“We want to encourage community voices in envisioning a resilient and vibrant Hawaiʻi economy – a place and way of life that uplifts and strengthens families and communities,” said OHA CEO Sylvia Hussey. “The ultimate goal is for the survey to inform policymakers about the future direction of our state’s economy from a community perspective.”

The survey is a project of the Native Hawaiian COVID-19 Research Hui, a collaboration between Liliʻuokalani Trust, OHA and Kamehameha Schools. The goal of the collaboration is to gather and provide data that explore the ways Native Hawaiians have been impacted by the pandemic and the systemic conditions that place our communities at greater risk, and inform pathways for moving forward to create a new normal.

The hui has already published the COVID-19 Impacts on Native Hawaiian Businesses Issue Brief, in partnership with the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, the Kauaʻi Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, and the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce.

To participate in the Hawaiʻi’s Economy: Visions of a Better Normal Survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HIEconomicVisions or https://www.oha.org/economicvisions.

More information about the Native Hawaiian COVID-19 Research Hui and its projects can be found at https://sites.google.com/ksbe.edu/nh-covid19/home.

Additional information on COVID-19 relief resources from OHA, federal and local sources are available at www.oha.org/covid19.