Hawaiʻi Ocean Innovation Challenge proposal

Getting Ahead of the Next Disaster: Hawaiʻi’s Ocean Innovation Challenge

Establish an Ocean Innovation Challenge, proposed by the Hawaiʻi Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) building on Act 186 Relating to Marine Affairs, to identify and test innovative solutions to Hawaiʻi's most pressing ocean and coastal resilience challenges. The Challenge would bring together government, communities, researchers, businesses, nonprofits, and funders to identify priority problems, test promising solutions, and address barriers to putting them into practice. Green Fee funding would support the Challenge and real-world pilot projects, with a goal of attracting matching private and philanthropic contributions. Context given: Hawaiʻi's 2026 disasters have created more than $1 billion in damage, recovery costs, and preparedness needs (https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/office-of-the-governor-news-release-hawai%CA%BBi-faces-approximately-1-billion-in-disaster-recovery-and-resilience-needs/); extreme weather and climate events are becoming more frequent and more severe, with costs extending beyond physical damage to lost homes and livelihoods, damaged ecosystems, and long-term disruptions to communities, so investment should shift toward getting ahead of disasters rather than responding after they occur. The stated goal is reducing future losses, protecting communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure, and creating opportunities for Hawaiʻi-based and Hawaiʻi-connected solutions to address local needs and scale across the Pacific.