Specializing in offering demographic, tourism and economic information about the island, the Kauaian Institute is up and running. Founded approximately two months ago, the Kauaian Institute is an independent research organization whose mission is to provide accurate, detailed and timely
Specializing in offering demographic, tourism and economic information about the island, the Kauaian Institute is up and running.
Founded approximately two months ago, the Kauaian Institute is an independent research organization whose mission is to provide accurate, detailed and timely information about all aspects of life on the island.
“Kaua‘i businesses want a better sense of what’s coming down the pike, and how their particular market segment stacks up,” said Kauaian Institute Research Director Ken Stokes. “They also know you cannot understand Kaua‘i without understanding our towns, so they want more location-specific data as well. The institute has worked very hard to make this possible.”
Stokes accumulates statistics and key information for key figures in business, government and the nonprofit sector on the island, and throughout the country.
The Kauaian Institute maintains an extensive computer database of public and private information about Kaua‘i, including monthly and annual indicators from the past 33 years.
“Our goal was to create a base of subscribers with our package of informational services,” said Kauaian Institute Marketing Director Larry Feinstein. “That is the near-term goal for us. In some ways, the package materials are our entree into the marketplace.”
The Kauaian Institute also maintains an extensive geographic information system (GIS) for mapping the physical, economic, and ecological features of the island with client-tailored themes, 3D images, and virtual-reality programs.
The GIS mapping information includes property assessment data, contours and sightlines, land-use features and block-level demographic maps.
Kauaian Institute subscribers get regular e-mail updates on Kaua‘i markets, including month-ahead forecasts for local economic indicators, quarterly market-share analysis, and annual demographic portraits for the island’s 18 towns, plus special access to the institute’s GIS services for site-specific studies.
“We are very excited to be able to provide helpful insights into the shape and direction of the island economy,” said Feinstein. “Our new mapping and location analysis tools should prove very useful for those trying to understand how our island ecosystems function.”
Four new subscriber services from the Kauaian Institute provide long-needed market information and analysis based on the best available demographic and geographic data in a user-friendly format that can help local businesses better understand their place in the island’s economy and ecology, the men said.
The Kauaian Institute’s information services reflect its mission to provide accurate, detailed and timely information about all aspects of life on Kaua‘i for decision-makers in business, government and the nonprofit sector.
A well-known author and advocate of “green economics” on Kaua‘i with Mainland experience as a strategy consultant and an master’s degree in business administration from Stanford, Stokes sees the institute’s research effort as an extension of his previous work, including the publication last year of his book, “Tending the Garden Island”, from Kauaian Press.
Stokes’ book was largely based on annual economic and ecological indicators for the island since 1970.
For more information about the Kauaian Institute, view www.kauaian.net, or call Feinstein or Stokes, at 822-3892.
TGI Business Editor Barry Graham can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
