In the News

“Nearly a decade ago, as Hawaii climbed out of the Great Recession, some state officials sought to create an IT system that would make it easier to apply for government benefits – including unemployment insurance – during tough times. Specifically, they aimed to create an online portal, shared across multiple agencies, where locals who needed … Read more

Quality data is essential for Hawaii’s government, business and nonprofit leaders to provide meaningful input or make informed decisions on policies, programs and budget allocations. Without data, leaders cannot confidently make effective decisions and know whether their decisions achieved the intended results. Data influences multiple areas that are important to Hawaii residents. Data informs us … Read more

It’s a familiar story at the Hawaii State Capitol: A bill is authored by top legislative leaders, strongly supported by experts in the field and publicly opposed by no lawmakers, and yet it mysteriously dies in the waning days of session. Such was the case of House Bill 532 in 2019, which called for establishing a chief … Read more

Transform Hawaii Government conducted a poll in Fall 2021 to understand public sentiment on the importance of a responsive, transparent tech-enabled government. We are glad to share the results in the following summary.   Report: https://transformhawaiigov.org/media/1220/thg-2021-report-1322-final.pdf

In this episode of Transform Hawaii Government’s (THG) Digital Talk Story series, Executive Director Christine Sakuda speaks with Senator Donovan Dela Cruz about the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on government service delivery, current priorities for government modernization, and how the community can get involved to advocate for modernization. Sen. Dela Cruz represents District … Read more

As Hawai’i continues its economic recovery coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders from the public and private sector are suggesting building a more robust digital economy as a key component of business within the state. That was the message Governor David Ige and top business leaders shared at the Entrepreneurs Sandbox for the event, … Read more

Like many business and community leaders across the islands, I was eager to hear Gov. David Ige present his State of the State address on Jan. 25. My hope was that more details would be shared on how Hawaii would bring its economy back. Unfortunately, many media outlets and political pundits felt the governor’s speech … Read more

At a time of stretched resources and high demand for state-run services, due to the pandemic, Hawaii’s online government infrastructure has come under increased scrutiny. Christine Sakuda, executive director of the nonprofit Transform Hawaii Government, or THG, is paying close attention to efforts to modernize aging systems like the Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance process, … Read more

“As Hawaiʻiʻs schools gear up for reopening next month, some students in the islandʻs more remote and rural communities will be doing so without adequate equipment for online learning. But efforts are underway on the Big Island to get as many computers as possible to students in need before the end of summer. Long-time Big … Read more

Transform Hawai’i Government was pleased to host a conversation with Minister Audrey Tang to discuss Taiwan’s successful response to COVID-19 using the power of digital social innovation. Minister Tang provided an overview with an open Q&A session. The presentation covered: Taiwan’s successful addressing of the corona virus using the power of digital social innovation, and … Read more