Read the full 2022 Annual Report here.
Aloha!
THG’s Board of Directors recognized early on that 2022 would be a critical year for Hawai‘i. With the support of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, THG was able to seize new opportunities to fulfill its role as a consistent voice for government modernization this past year.
Elections Yield New Opportunities for THG
It was an election year with major changes in state government. With Gov. David Ige leaving office after two consecutive four-year terms, we knew that we would be welcoming a new governor and lieutenant governor. In addition, all 51 legislative seats were up for election. Reapportionment redefined the boundaries of legislative districts and gave candidates opportunities to expand their sphere of influence.
It was imperative that THG aggressively reach out to the candidates to ensure the positive momentum underway with the state’s modernization efforts continues, or risk having these efforts come to a grinding halt or significantly drop down the state’s priority list. A commitment to modernization from our state’s top leaders is important for our progress as a state.
A Consistent Voice for Continuity
As an organization that has been the consistent voice for government modernization through changes in administrations and that celebrates bright spots in state innovation while also uncovering challenges that impede progress, THG believed it was imperative to reach out to the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to ensure they were aware of the role of THG and our contributions in moving our state forward. It was also an opportunity for THG to reaffirm our commitment to work in collaboration with whomever was elected to office.
Enhanced Communications
To prepare for these important candidate meetings, THG recognized the need to refine its messaging and its accomplishments. THG enlisted the support of Strategic Communication Solutions for overall organizational and thought-leadership positioning and Crystal Clear Communications for social media support.
Advocacy for Systemic Change
In addition, with the support of Hawaii Public Policy Advocates, THG was able to successfully help move a number of legislative initiatives forward, which were ultimately passed into law by Gov. David Ige. Two of the most significant initiatives for THG are the establishment of a chief data officer, a new position that reports to the state chief information officer, and a data task force. They will support data governance and overall data strategy.
Supporting Innovation and Providing Resources
Realizing the state is at a critical junction, THG initiated two comprehensive studies. THG commissioned Anthology Research to conduct interviews with more than 95 leaders in all 18 state departments with several objectives in mind: to document the overall progress of the state’s modernization efforts, to quantify what has been accomplished to date, identify specific departmental backbone projects on the horizon, and factors that are hindering the state’s progress.
For the second study, THG partnered with the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative to gain insights into the data constraints of state government and the challenges of the non-profit provider community and private philanthropic organizations. The findings are also included in this annual report
Educating the State Government Community
Education continued to be a priority in 2022. In partnership with Gartner and the TRUE Initiative, THG hosted roundtable discussions and workshops throughout the year on topics of interest to government transformation leaders, including cybersecurity, data governance, cloud innovation and replacing the aging workforce who have institutional knowledge of legacy systems. These sessions provided opportunities for state leaders to gather virtually and in person to celebrate progress, identify common challenges across state government and identity ways THG can support change management initiatives.
Outlook for 2023
THG is optimistic about 2023. Through our public and private partnerships, we now have a wealth of information to take government modernization to new levels. THG has always stated that government modernization involves much more than updating hardware and software. It is a people-centered process, not an IT process. It involves cultural change and a fresh, new way of thinking and doing the business of government. Adopting a new mindset and new processes must work in tandem with new IT systems for government modernization to take root, grow, and bear fruit for Hawai‘i residents.
THG envisions playing a critical role in change management processes for the state, while continuing to bring the community together to advocate for systemic change.
Mahalo for everyone’s support,
Christine Maii Sakuda, Executive Director
To learn more about the partnerships and projects THG undertook in 2022, read the full 2022 Annual Report here.