News & Updates
Building Data Capacities for the Uncertainties Ahead
According to a recently released report from Aloha United Way, 40% of households in Hawai‘i are below the “ALICE threshold,” where expenses outpace or are precariously close to income. The years ahead are likely to present new challenges for supporting Hawai’i’s struggling households, as federal funding and data policies are likely to shift under the new administration and majorities in Congress. As potentially significant changes in federal policy loom, we will need to do much more to ensure local stakeholders and policymakers have the best data available when confronted with tough decisions.
Meet the City and County of Honolulu’s First Chief Data Officer: Kira Chuchom
Kira Chuchom joined the City and County of Honolulu on April 1, 2024 as its first Chief Data Officer. Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative sat down with Chuchom to discuss her background, what excites her about this new position, her experience in the role so far, and her approach and vision for making data work better for our government and community.
A Discussion with Hawai‘i’s First State Chief Data Officer
In 2022, Hawaiʻi joined the growing list of states with a Chief Data Officer (CDO) role, when Governor Ige signed Act 167 into law. Housed within the State of Hawaiʻi Office of Enterprise Technology Services, the CDO role “supports the the state’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) in overseeing a comprehensive state strategy to govern data capture, storage, maintenance, visualization, analysis, sharing, integration, and access that will drive transparency and customer satisfaction for the public.” Now six months in, we invited Hawaiʻi’s inaugural CDO, Rebecca Cai, to share insights about the role, the approach she envisions, and her experiences thus far.
The Chief Data Officer: An Opportunity For a New State Data Strategy
In Hawaiʻi, we now have the opportunity to appoint a Chief Data Officer (CDO) and data task force to create a strategic approach that leverages data to improve government efficiency, services, decision making, and policy. If set up well and leveraged appropriately, the CDO and data task force could have a significant impact on not only the effectiveness of our state government, but on all organizations that rely upon – or, are relied upon – by state government to serve the public interest at large.