The Office of Hawaiian Affairs was born in an act of the 1978 Constitutional Convention with a mission, refined and sharpened in more recent years, to advocate for Native Hawaiian interests.

The mission has not changed, but the route by which OHA hopes to improve the lot of its beneficiaries — who typically fall short in comparison with other population groups — has acquired some needed redirection in the revision of its strategic plan, which was announced last week.

The agency's executive director, Clyde Namu'o, acknowledged that the market-driven decline in revenues from the Native Hawaiian Trust Fund, OHA's chief asset, helped to drive the search for ways to spend more wisely, trimming the equivalent of 28 full-time positions from the roster.

But the strategic plan was due to expire in 2011 anyway, he said, and with federal recognition for Native Hawaiians a more distinct possibility, trustees decided now was a good time to revisit strategy.

OHA's new blueprint is still being finalized, but the basic approach seems correct: The agency's focus should be on initiatives that improve welfare for Hawaiians in a more systemic way, carving out more staffing for research to identify the most acute needs. Grants to help individuals and discrete programs will be needed, but more money should be directed toward initiatives with potentially broader results. What would help bring Hawaiians to parity with other groups economically, for example? Would it be educational outreach? Financial literacy training?

But as trustees consider the plan's final touches, they must evaluate those staffing reorganizations with care, to ensure that OHA's new focus on research comes without sacrificing too much in continuity. They need to keep lines open with the community they serve so that critical needs don't get short shrift.

Only if the agency's elected stewards approach this reshaping with rigor will they attain the results they seek: better prospects for the Hawaiian community.