Research
Recent Research Projects
Together, these findings offer a clearer picture of NHPI life today—celebrating resilience and leadership while identifying areas where policy and investment can better serve our communities.
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) is proud to release the 2025 Community of Contrasts Report, a comprehensive national snapshot of the nearly 1.6 million Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) living in the United States.
This Report shares disaggregated data that illustrates the strengths, needs, and contributions of NHPI communities. Drawing from the latest census and survey data, the report highlights the diverse experiences of NHPIs across key issue areas including:
Demographics
Education
Health
Economic Justice & Housing
Immigration
Language
Civic Engagement
Read the full report here to explore detailed findings, stories, and recommendations that uplift and advocate for the thriving future of NHPI communities across the nation.
Research Philosophy
Our research agenda is grounded in concepts and pillars outlined by Dr. Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies. Dr. Smith, professor of indigenous education at the University of Waikato and of Ngati Awa and Ngati Porou iwi, called for a complete program of research by indigenous people, for indigenous people, articulating the profound history between Western scientific research and the cultures that were/are treated as available, silent “subjects.”
She envisioned a decolonizing framework where indigenous scholars would not just deconstruct Western scholarship, but also impact the material realities of indigenous communities - health, poverty, education. In this context, we aim to create and invigorate research that is conducted with and alongside communities, in pursuit of the empowerment, and ultimately liberation, of all Pacific Islanders.
Agenda
Center the voices of Pacific Islander communities
Generate knowledge about the lives and experiences of Pacific Islanders
Understand how systems and structures impact Pacific Islanders
Focus on how Pacific Islanders navigate social systems and structures
Partnerships
EPIC welcomes research partners interested in uplifting Pasifika voices and stories. Demographers, data scientists, storytellers, and researchers across disciplines can reach out through our contact page for opportunities to support EPIC's research work.