Second Hawaii Annual Code Challenge Promotes Tech Modernization in Hawaii

The second Hawaii Annual Code Challenge (HACC) shows how software and island life make for a great pairing. Launched last week, HACC is the latest effort by the State of Hawaii to transform how the government conducts business in the state.

HACC brings together programmers, developers, coders, public servants, students and citizens to brainstorm and create technology solutions for the state by challenging participants to come up with ways to modernize existing government functions.

Teams of community participants will get to choose a key challenge facing the state and will have 720 hours to come up with technology solutions. Winners will be chosen among top teams that develop ideas for potential implementation by the state. As part of the awards, Adobe will be contributing 50 Creative Cloud licenses to the winning students

In a true spirit of collaboration, HACC expands the one-day hackathon model to one month to allow for private-public dialogue and exchange of ideas – an integrated approach to tech modernization. Adobe joins the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, the High Technology Development Corporation, local nonprofit Hawaii Open Data, and multiple state departments and agencies, to help promote tech innovation in Hawaii through citizen engagement.

But more than just a standalone event, HACC is part of a larger multi-year government strategy to redefine how the state uses technology. The conference actually used Adobe Sign to register participants. The State of Hawaii previously partnered with Adobe to move to paperless workflows. Hawaii CIO Todd Nacapuy used a top-down approach to encourage early adoption of new systems and then worked at the department-level to find tailored solutions to unique departmental challenges. HACC applies a similar forward-thinking approach by providing a platform to enable the local tech community to find tailored solutions to challenges faced by the state.

As the State of Hawaii continues to promote innovation through citizen engagement, Adobe looks forward to being part of events like HACC that help government agencies discover new ways technology can drive efficiencies.