Hawai'i Island Clusters of Opportunity

The Hawai'i Island Clusters of Opportunity (HICO) Project, underpinned by real-time, reliable data, aims to engage vested community leaders in building a more equitable, sustainable economy for all of Hawai’i Island. Following a nationally tested process developed by Collaborative Economics and Next Generation Sector Partnerships, it leverages economic cluster data to foster industry-led growth strategies, emphasizing collaboration across talent development, infrastructure, and innovation to ensure required investment and boost competitiveness. The project’s initial focal point was a two-plus year investment in outreach to more fully understand current circumstances, secure funding partners to develop critically needed data, and organize a leadership summit to drive actionable opportunities for growth that would ensure a more equitable, sustainable economy.

Data from the Your Economy Time Series (YTS) database with D&B grounding, preliminarily vetted for accuracy and relevance, forms the foundation of HICO's analytical efforts. This innovative – complex - data has identified four key Clusters of Opportunity within Hawaii Island’s economy.

The identified clusters - Knowledge & Technology, Diversified Healthcare, Hospitality & Experience, and Agriculture & Food - encapsulate 42% of the island's employment, with notable job growth trends. The positive growth sectors of the four Clusters of Opportunity represent 76% of the island’s job growth over the past decade. The bubble chart analysis within the report offers a visual review of these trends, capturing job growth, industry concentration and total employment in ways that enable an easier comparison of key growth segments within the Clusters of Opportunity.

Using this cluster analysis and Collaborative Economics expertise, action teams are being convened to further examine the opportunities and requirements they jointly identified within and across sectors by 20+ Hawai’i County business leaders in a summit held in Waimea at the Keck Observatory Conference room on December 4, 2023. These business leaders have committed to working together to further finalize specific strategic, implement commitments, and identify measurable outcomes for each of the four economic clusters.

HICO's approach combines detailed analytics with community-driven action, positioning Hawai'i Island to harness its strengths for sustainable economic growth. The project's vision extends beyond immediate gains, advocating for a synergy between business leaders, public policy and non-profits to cultivate an enabling environment for greater equity and future prosperity.