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DBEDT's believes the current economic and fiscal conditions make the department's short-term mission of monitoring and strengthening Hawaii's economy and business sectors even more important. The department further believes its longer-term mission of focusing on competitiveness, human capital and innovation is even more important as Hawaii's economy and businesses cope with and prepare to emerge from the current economic and fiscal crisis.

Although the Executive's FY10/11 budget reduces DBEDT's personnel count and personnel and operating funds, the department expects to fulfill its duties and functions by leveraging state resources through public/private and public/public partnerships and through obtaining non-state funding.

Through efforts over the past 5 years to align the entire department with DBEDT's strategic directions, programs are also leveraging each others' personnel and budgetary resources, enabling us to be more efficient and effective doing more with the same level of or fewer resources.

The following table lists the department functions in general priority order and summarize the problems that each function addresses.

Operational Functions This Function Addresses Problems of
  1. Implement the Hawaii Five Point Economic Plan, targeted at stabilizing the economy and preserving and creating jobs.
  • Problems of current economic and fiscal crisis, namely
  • Decline in visitor arrivals, business activity and investment
  • Rising unemployment
  • Reduced consumer spending
  1. Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative targets the fundamental transformation of Hawaii's energy system to achieve 70% clean energy by 2030.
  • Problems of highest energy costs in the nation, impacting consumers and businesses
  • Energy cost volatility
  • Problem of the export of up to $7 billion a year out of Hawaii to purchase foreign oil
  • Problem of state's vulnerability to supply disruptions, natural or man-made
  • Problem of climate change
  1. Hawaii Innovation Initiative targets building of capacity of Hawaii's creative and entrepreneurial talent and our workforce to compete in an innovation-driven globally economy.
  • Problem of increasing competitiveness, productivity and efficiency across the board - with both existing and emerging industries
  • Under the current economic environment with businesses face decreasing revenues, increase in productivity is more important as it preserves jobs
  • Improved productivity and efficiency also key to businesses' preparing to emerge from period of recession into period of economic recovery
  • Problem that emerging industries even more at risk under environment of economic stress
  • Finally, problem of building the foundation for sustained growth of Hawaii's existing industrial sectors and emerging sectors
  1. Global Links targets increase in range and value of goods and services exchanged between Hawaii and its export markets.
  • Problem of additional markets for goods and services of Hawaii's existing and emerging businesses
  • Problem of increasing external investment capital flows to Hawaii
  • Important short-term and long-term
  1. Support public policy-making and public and private decision-making by providing data, research and analysis.
  • Problem of good data, research and analysis needed for informed public and private decision-making
  • More acute in the short-term as, need informed longer-termed policymaking
  1. Hawaii Open for Business targets a competitive business environment.
  • Need for an environment that accommodates business activity, especially in times of economic decline
  • Competitive business environment is also fundamental to the sustained growth of Hawaii's existing and emerging industrial sectors
  1. Workforce Housing targets creating workforce housing units in high-quality living environments.
  • Problem of the need for workforce or "gap" housing, which is more acute in times of economic decline
  • Government fiscal stimulus
  • Addresses long-term problem of structural imbalance in housing stock
  1. Planning and advocacy of policies, including land-use policies, targets the efficient use of public and private resources.
  • Problem of efficient and balanced use of land and other resources
  • Addresses need for planning more important for economic stabilization and recovery
  • Increased activity in Community Development Districts is part of fiscal stimulus.
  1. World Class Infrastructure - Analyze, recommend, advocate and implement plans to upgrade Hawaii's infrastructure.
  • Problem of building modern infrastructure as basis of a strong economy
  • Addresses need for "catch-up" in infrastructure investments
  • Government fiscal stimulus

Table 2 shows how the department's programs and activities align or support the functions listed in Table 1.


How we measure results

The process of economic development is complex. DBEDT engages in a number of activities and must be certain that the state's limited resources are used to produce measurable results.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, the director articulates an overall economic development strategy. Managers are responsible for understanding the department's strategy and creating economic development programs that turn the strategy into actions that have an impact on Hawaii's economy.

To be able to better discuss and evaluate DBEDT program activities, in 2006 the department introduced the logic model, a standardized framework designed to produce three desirable outcomes:

  • Clearly link the services provided to the DBEDT's 9 strategic directions and the overall effort to improve productivity in Hawaii's economy.
  • Identify observable, measurable indicators of how services are impacting Hawaii's economy
  • Better inform all stakeholders through open access to plans and annual results.


Each program manager is responsible for creating its specific logic model and presenting an annual program plan, the Yearly Activity Plan or YAP, to colleagues for feedback, collaboration, and improvement. The Yearly Activity Plans for fiscal year 2009 and 2010 are posted below by division and agency with the plan presentation slides.

We look forward to future improvements in our evaluation system and invite your comments.

DBEDT has adopted a logic model format originated by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which uses annual evaluations and measurements to identify changes to improve services and results.

More information on the Kellogg Logic Model can be found at http://www.wkkf.org/Pubs/Tools/Evaluation/Pub3669.pdf.

DBEDT Divisions

Creative Industries Division


Foreign-Trade Zone Acrobat icon


Research & Economic Analysis Division Acrobat icon


Strategic Industries Division Acrobat icon


Strategic Marketing & Support Division Acrobat icon


Administratively Attached Agencies
Aloha Tower Development Corporation Acrobat icon


Hawaii Community Development Authority Acrobat icon


Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation Acrobat icon


Hawaii Tourism Authority Acrobat icon


High Technology Development Corporation


Land Use Commission Acrobat icon


Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority Acrobat icon


Office of Planning Acrobat icon

Last modified 02-25-2011 11:21 AM