An update from Hawai‘i Data Collaborative

In 2019, Hawai‘i Data Collaborative was created to address the need for data-guided decision making for those tackling some of the most critical issues facing the Hawai‘i community. Since that time, we’ve learned an incredible amount as our partners, our work, and the needs of the community have evolved. With this in mind, we’ve spent the past year in deep reflection about what is needed most in this moment and how we continue to evolve and follow community’s lead. We are happy to now share more with you about what’s ahead.

How we are evolving

Since inception, Hawai‘i Data Collaborative and the other Hawai‘i-based Omidyar Group organizations have worked independently of one another. While this is important for organizations like Honolulu Civil Beat and Public First Law Center, it is not critical for our organization, Ulupono Initiative, and Hawai‘i Leadership Forum. When our three teams joined together to reflect on the work and imagine the future, we realized that we may have greater impact by combining our efforts.

To do this, we will be making significant changes to our approach and structure:

• We are changing how we work, grounded in and guided by four principles: foundational health and well-being; reimagining the economy in relationship to ‘āina; centering indigenous wisdom and leadership; and, interdependent governance and mutual stewardship.

• Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, Hawai‘i Leadership Forum and Ulupono Initiative will be sunsetting and the staff of all three will transition into a new organization being formed under Sunshine Topping’s leadership, housed at Civil Beat Plaza.  This will take place over the next 18 months.

There isn’t a name or scope of work for this organization yet – that will be defined over the next 18 months. We look forward to sharing milestones as new details emerge about the work ahead and who we are becoming.

I have had the privilege of partnering with our board, Sunshine and my fellow leaders at Ulupono Initiative and Hawai‘i Leadership Forum to get us to this point and look forward to participating in the collective efforts of our broader team to shape our future.

What this means moving forward

There is still much to be determined with the new organization, which is expected to take shape in the months and year ahead.  What we know for sure is that this transition reflects our continued commitment to Hawaiʻi and our communities.

In the meantime, we are thoughtfully wrapping up our current work and will communicate directly with partners most affected by these decisions.  We will honor and complete our existing projects while pausing new initiatives until we have the new organization further solidified. As a result, we are not seeking new projects at this time, allowing us to be intentional about our wind-down, and then spending considerable time listening to community about how the new, combined entity, might contribute in meaningful ways.

Thanks to our partners, we have a strong foundation to build upon.  We are incredibly grateful for the relationships that have shaped our work these past seven years, and we will continue to share more as this exciting next chapter unfolds.