Functional overview of ʻ Ike Wai project

IV. FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS and SUGGESTIONS The Site Review Team was impressed with Hawaii Sea Grant’s performance these past four years. In particular, the team concluded that HISG continues to demonstrate leadership excellence, is committed to engagement of stakeholders, and collaborates nationally and regionally with other Sea Grant and NOAA programs, other federal, state and local partner agencies, as well as private organizations. HISG meets the Standards of Excellence expected of all Sea Grant programs.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. As soon as practical, a permanent Associate Director should be hired for HISG. The position is vital and Dr. Lerner needs support to (1) manage day-to-day programmatic operations, (2) ensure that the Program complies with the requirements of the National Sea Grant Office, and (3) coordinates university-based research from the development of ideas and proposals through the final reporting phase, once the projects have been completed.

SUGGESTIONS 1.The successful Centers of Excellence effort should be evaluated and a process be put in place to determine their efficacy. This will help inform any future changes to such projects ranging from adding new ones, continuing existing ones, spinning-off mature ones, and perhaps cancelling those that did not produce the anticipated results. 2. It is also suggested that Dr. Okimoto document the process followed by HISG to assemble the highly leveraged Sea Grant Extension program he leads. This information is not only of interest, but also important to other Sea Grant programs seeking similar approaches to identifying new partners and obtaining additional funding.

SUGGESTIONS 3.HISG should formally meet with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ Cooperative Extension Service to discuss additional opportunities for collaboration and sharing of staff and other resources. This is particularly important now that the Program is embarking on a thrust in water resources sustainability and security, and the College’s Dr. Mehana Vaughn is one of the Sustainability Initiative faculty members. 4. All place-based extension agents should consider setting up small, effective, local advisory committees to help with programmatic prioritization. Not only will this help the agents identify emerging issues and possible educational programs, but it will also help set local priorities and obtain additional local support.

5. HISG should consider a prioritization effort or discrete criteria to more strategically invest its efforts. The SRT lauded the Program for its many close working relationships and partnerships. But, Dr. Okimoto and others on the management team should be concerned that the some of the staff senses considerable “pull” to do more as a result of its already successful engagement. 4.HISG should continue working closely with the agencies to ensure that the extension agents are protected and able to maintain their neutral, non-advocacy positions. Agency-based extension agents and others within HISG who receive substantial salary support from agencies might, on occasion, find themselves in controversial and difficult positions as they answer to multiple bosses, i.e. University of Hawaii, HISG and the agency. UHSG should continue to work closely with agencies that jointly fund these positions and consider establishing strong guidelines about providing advice versus providing operational staff needs (e.g., filling staff shortfalls) & 2014 Best Management Practice

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Most of the state and local agency partners cost-share or directly fund extension agents. The university-wide cluster hiring initiative has resulted in an increase in the number of scholars teaching, conducting research, and performing outreach under a Sustainable Coastal Communities rubric and is considered a best practice. Particularly impressive is that all seven faculty members have 0.25 FTE appointments in HISG for the purpose of conducting outreach and engagement. HISG requires that graduate students engaged in competed research projects provide 40 hours of outreach activities as part of the grant. It helps communicate or translate research findings to different audiences, engage with stakeholders, allow students to hone presentation skills, and provide additional Sea Grant presence at more educational events. The Program actively explores opportunities for additional revenue generation. Colorful books and other publications are sold through local book stores, selected gift shops, and through Amazon.com. A new smart app will be available for purchase at Hanauma Bay.

The Second Conference on Water Resource Sustainability Issues on Tropical Islands December 1 - 3, 2015 | Hilton Hawaiian Village | Honolulu, Hawaii Presented By Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), Hawaii and American Samoa Water and Environmental Research Institute (WERI), Guam Puerto Rico Water Resources and Environmental Research Institute (PRWRERI), Puerto Rico The Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute (VI-WRRI), U. S. Virgin Islands University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program University of Hawaii Department of Geology and Geophysics USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (PIWSC), Honolulu, Hawaii National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) United States Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), Hawaii and American Samoa Water and Environmental Research Institute (WERI), Guam Puerto Rico Water Resources and Environmental Research Institute (PRWRERI), Puerto Rico The Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute (VI-WRRI), U. S. Virgin Islands University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program University of Hawaii Department of Geology and Geophysics USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (PIWSC), Honolulu, Hawaii National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) United States Geological Survey (USGS)