The goals seem interdependent. Why separate them into five categories?

Balance and integration are critical to this plan. Hawai‘i 2050 strives not only to achieve the goals of each of the components of sustainability, but to reach the necessary balance between goals. The sustainability components are inter-related and inter-dependent. We divided the goals into five separate sections because that structure makes it easier to understand for the reader. In reality, and for implementation purposes, all goals and actions work together.

For example, for higher wage jobs, we need a qualified work force, which requires strengthening our public schools, which includes addressing Hawai‘i’s high school drop-out rate. These strategic actions cut across several of the goals of Hawai‘i 2050 and must be coordinated and conducted simultaneously. The actions and outcomes of each component impact the other.

What are indicators? What do they do?

Measuring progress for Hawai‘i 2050 is a parallel to companies measuring performance through financial statements or program evaluations. Similarly, employee performance reviews, student report cards, and management audits all provide mechanisms to understand where we are in relation to goals and standards.

More than anything, measures of progress set Hawai‘i 2050 apart from previous long-term statewide planning initiatives. In our review of the best practices of other state and municipality sustainability plans, some sort of public report card is a crucial element in ensuring that the public, lawmakers and opinion leaders know and understand both progress and failings relative to sustainability goals. We recommend fifty-five indicators which measure the overall economic, environmental, cultural and community well-being of our state.

We believe performance indicators are a crucial component of Hawai‘i 2050. A good indicator helps the public understand the current status of an issue, whether the situation around it is improving or worsening, and how far we are from success. Effective indicators are relevant, easy to understand, reliable and based on accessible data.

Why doesn’t education have its own goal?

Education is a critical component of Hawai‘i 2050. We chose to integrate education into each of the five goals, rather than have it stand alone, because separating it out would not do justice to the fact that education is fundamental to the accomplishment of each goal, and is not distinct from them. It is certainly important enough to merit its own category, but our choice was to make education an integral part of all of the goals.

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