Public Input Sought on Innovation Grant Proposals

The County of Kaua‘i’s Office of Economic Development (OED) is inviting the public to review and comment on the recently received proposals for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Innovation Grants.

As part of the selection process for grant recipients, community input will be factored into the scoring. The public is encouraged to submit substantive and constructive comments on these projects, rather than cast a general vote or show support for a specific organization. Anyone interested in participating in this review process can provide feedback via the following website, https://kauaiforward.com/innovation-grant-2023/. This website will be available during the public comment period, until 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2022.

The intent of OED’s Innovation Grants program is to support new programs or projects that advance innovation by identifying and solving local problems in the areas of new industry and business, agriculture, workforce development, creative industries, sustainability and energy, tourism destination management including Hawaiian cultural support, special events support and product enhancement. 

These grants will provide varying amounts up to $50,000 of funding per proposal for projects that generate short-term and long-term economic growth and diversification on Kaua‘i. To learn more about the Innovation Grants, visit the Kaua‘i Forward website, https://kauaiforward.com/innovation-grant-2023/.

“We understand that efforts to diversify our economy and solve problems will always be a ‘kākou’ thing,” said Nalani Brun, OED Director. “We wholly embrace that and want to thank the community in advance for engaging with us in this process of awarding funding to our partners.”

Each proposal’s public scoring and comments will be given to the selection committee for review and final scoring. The selection committee will consider both the quantity and quality of comments as well as how or why the public feels this project deserves consideration.

If you need an auxiliary aid/service, or other accommodation due to a disability, contact Therilyn Martin Haumea at tmhaumea@kauai.gov or (808) 241-4299 as soon as possible. Requests made as early as possible will allow adequate time to fulfill your request. Upon request, this notice is available in alternate formats such as large print, Braille, or electronic copy.