Public Policy Center > 2004 Annual Conference
2004 Annual Conference
"The Best of .... Creating Effective Public Policy"
Over 100 participants from the public, private and nonprofit sectors came together to deliberate on what makes for effective public policymaking at the 2d Annual Public Policy Center Conference which took place Friday, May 14th at the East West Center.
Co-chairs Les Ihara and Dolores Foley observed that "the public policy community gathered was the most diverse we've seen in a long time" and contributed to lively conversations and heightened interest in how policy making is conducted and in what practices lead to effective policy outcomes.
After a panel shared some of the "ingredients" that made for effective policymaking in two programs---needle exchange and prescription drugs--participants deliberated further on necessary ingredients for effective policy making. Over 25 "best practices" were added to the list of "starter ingredients" which included: Transparent, Inclusive, Context, Thorough Research, Deliberative, Planning Accountability, Leadership. Further refinement of these ideas will be determined at our follow-up meeting on July 26 at the State Capitol.
David Matthews, a national and international spokesperson for deliberative democracy, challenged us to "put the 'public' back into the public's business" in our conference's keynote address, "Six Practices of Democracy."
Maximum involvement and creativity in a marketplace atmosphere--open space technology--got conference participants engaged. They deliberated on "Hawaii's most pressing policies that we must act on NOW." Twelve "open space" groups addressed issues they were most passionate about and were willing to take responsibility for resolving. These were: 1) Job Development for Family Sufficiency; 2) Overpopulation; 3) Clean Elections; 4) Affordable Housing; 5) Youth Inclusion/Engagement; 6) War in Iraq; 7) Public School System Reform; 8) Get Off Oil; 9) Vision for Hawaii; 10) Health Care Reform; 11) Long Term Care and Financing; and 12) Citizen Participation and Influence on Public Policy. Each group examined these issues and reported on their highest hopes, what's needed to achieve the vision, specified action plans, and next steps to get closer to the vision.
For more details, visit our "Open Space Reports" online. 
You may also join our ongoing dialogue by visiting the Forums at the Sustainable Hawaii website.
Home | Faculty | Academic | Reports & Papers | Community | Contact Us | News and Events | Site Index | College of Social Sciences | University of Hawaii at Manoa
