In the News

Virtual Interview: Christine Sakuda, Executive Director, Transform Hawai’i Government How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? Our mission at Transform Hawai’i Government (THG) is to advocate for an accessible, accountable and responsive government that enhances the quality of life for Hawai’i’s citizens, whether it be through an empowered workforce, innovative technology … Read more

Transform Hawai’i Government is in support of Uplift Hawaiʻi’s efforts to collaboratively collect ideas on how to reopen our state’s economy. The 5 principles to uplift Hawai’i: The health and well-being of all island residents A healthy relationship with our natural environment A diverse island economy with more local business and a new model for … Read more

Private Cable Owners Don’t Need To Disclose To The Public “To Burt Lum and many members of the Hawaii Broadband Hui, which Lum organized in March at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, a fundamental problem in Hawaii is that the three critical submarine cables are all owned by private companies reluctant to discuss their … Read more

  Hawaii expects to receive nearly $5 billion in sorely needed federal stimulus funds, thanks to the collective work of our congressional delegation, state leaders and advocates from every corner of the economy. Even with that staggering influx of funding, Hawaii is sure to feel the gaping hole in our economy caused by a pandemic … Read more

“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

Kaua’i County’s emergency proclamations are among the state’s most stringent. Of course, coronavirus caught much of the world and Hawai’i off-guard. However, in the private sector, small businesses rose to the occasion by digitizing their sales while some of our favorite restaurants quickly pivoted to offering online ordering and curbside pick-up through their websites. But … Read more

The nearly quarter of a million unemployment insurance applications that Hawaii has received during the COVID-19 pandemic are being processed on a government mainframe that was installed in the early 1980s, back when Pac-Man was a cutting-edge video game. It’s fragile and slow, with technology so obsolete that it predates using a mouse, officials say. … Read more

Let me paint a picture for you: Your kids or somebody else’s kids are “social distanced” away from school for what could be the longest type of spring break in history. The school principal reassures parents that they’ll migrate over to a virtual education model. Problem mostly solved, yes? After all, 81% of Americans have … Read more

Is government slow at applying technology to make our lives better? A McKinsey & Company global survey reported that digital government transformation fails at a rate of more than 70%. Here in Hawaii we have HITSP (pronounced “hit-spee”), meaning the Hawaii Information Technology Strategic Plan. Before your eyes glaze over from what may sound like … Read more

The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) is leading the state’s effort by modernizing its Financial Management System (FMS), a vital accounting platform that processed more than $1.5 billion in payroll transactions and $840 million in non-payroll transactions for HIDOE in fiscal year 2019. The executive branch’s goal is to align all state departments under … Read more