Innovation fund needs caution, oversight
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the Aloha State.
It's mostly boosted by people who want to stay put and make things happen right here — with a little help from your taxpayer dollars.
House Democrats would like to oblige. They're proposing $100 million for projects that would fund research and development in the life sciences, create new jobs, give a boost to our quality of life, and establish Hawai'i as an innovative state that "knows how."
Betting on research that can yield a good return for the state could be a good use for taxpayer dollars.
But entrepreneurs and legislators should understand that state money comes with strings attached.
Any funding for private enterprises needs to go through a process that is completely transparent every step of the way.
Before a so-called "innovation fund" is established, lawmakers should design a grant program that will make all parties accountable.
As fiduciaries, legislators have the responsibility to make sure our money isn't spent on just any wild-haired notion. If the goal is to diversify the economy and produce jobs, then the taxpayers have a right to know precisely how and where that is happening.
The eight people House Speaker Calvin Say presented during his opening-day speech may indeed be just what our state's economy needs.
Many of the entrepreneurs are locals like Waiakea High School alum Dustin Shindo of Hoku Scientific, which does work on cell membranes. Hank Wuh, an Iolani graduate, is the founder and CEO of Cellular Bioengineering, which has won awards for the development of the Neural Matrix chip.
They are just two examples of the kind of companies that could be developed with state funds.
Such companies could very well determine our future. Enterprise Honolulu estimates that the number of companies in the technology sector has grown to about 1,500, which employ 30,000 people and bring in $3.5 billion in revenue a year.
The creation of a $100 million "innovation fund" sounds like a great investment. But only if it comes with the proper public oversight.
