Hawaii runs on tourism and the military. For thirty years, the state has talked about building something else. The results haven't been there.
The new DBEDT Deputy Director, Dane Wicker, laid out a vision this week for what economic development in Hawaii should actually look like.
Building a facility is not economic development. Jobs created, businesses supported, private investment attracted, new markets reached. That's the scorecard. Not square footage, not ribbon cuttings.
He names three industries the state is focused on for the next four years: food and product manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries. Real programs are behind each one. The Food and Product Innovation Network gives local entrepreneurs shared manufacturing space to move from kitchen to commercial scale. The Hawaii Technology Development Corporation is funding advanced manufacturing. Community colleges are building the workforce pipeline.
Hawaii still ranks near the bottom of most business climate indexes. Costs are high. Permitting is slow. Getting product to market from the middle of the Pacific is expensive.
But the state is now asking businesses what they need and measuring results by whether they got it. That's a different conversation than Hawaii has been having.