This bipartisan educational certificate program equipped 15 congressional staffers with the information and analyses necessary to appreciate the significance of the Pacific Islands and the US role in the region. By focusing on crucial forward-looking issues, the inaugural program of CSPP provided staffers with a more comprehensive understanding of the region and its significance to US Indo-Pacific policy. This program followed the launch of The Pacific Islands Matter for America/America Matters for the Pacific Islands, sponsored by the US Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs and with support from the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus.

Key Program Elements:

• A certificate program consisting of a series of 60-minute interactive discussions—either online or in-person on the Hill, depending on circumstances—held twice a week across April and May 2022. Certificates of Completion are awarded to participants who attend at least half of the planned sessions.
• Each session features a single theme/topic, and includes speakers from government agencies, think tanks, universities, and other policy institutions.

Session topics included:

• The United States as a Pacific Nation: Freely-Association States & US Territories in the Pacific
• Compacts of Free Association (COFA) and COFA negotiation updates
• Strategic Competition & Security in the Pacific
• Development in the Pacific Islands (USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, AUSAID, NZAID, and more)
• Connectivity and Commerce
• Allies and Partners in the Pacific (AUS, NZ, Japan, UK, France)
• Climate Change, Environment, and Energy
• Multilateral Regional Cooperation (PIF, PICL, SPC, etc)