The Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission recently received a federal grant to make it easier for staff to work remotely.
The grant, totaling about $100,000, will be used to convert the commission’s hardwired server system in its offices on Maui to a cloud-based one. The funds were awarded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program.
Margaret Pulver, the commission’s public information specialist, said most staff do not have permanent laptops or mobile workstations. She said the grant will allow the commission to purchase mobile workstations for staff that can be used at the Maui offices and in the field.
She added that the project could be “transformational” to the work that they do.
“Most of us have only been able to receive laptops through past grants and attach them to specific projects. But really, we need them all the time,” she said. “We always need to be able to be mobile in the field because a lot of the work we do now is capturing digital information through photography or capturing GIS data live."
"So the ability to process that data in real-time is really helpful in terms of making us more effective and efficient at our jobs. So this is actually going to help us revamp everybody's system," Pulver told HPR.
The commission was created by the state Legislature to manage and restore the reserve.
Pulver said they plan to use funds to purchase equipment by December, and begin installing it and training staff after that.
