Recognition for State of the Takiwā Digitisation

Boffa Miskell, and the collaboration between Mapihi Martin-Paul and Brian McAuslan, is a finalist in the Kaitiaki o te Taiao category of this year's Te Hapori Matihiko awards.

The Matihiko Awards provide recognition for Māori people and projects to celebrate their contributions in te ao matihiko, digital and tech. The Kaitiaki o te Taiao category recognises contribution to digital projects which have a positive impact on sustainability and te taiao. 

The original State of the Takiwā pilot project began in 2004 with mana whenua from Murihiku and was based around assessing the cultural health of the Waiau River catchment. The pilot project involved developing specific paper-based, hard copy forms to undertake data collection. This information was then manually loaded into a database, which is then used to analyse and create reports to understand the overall ‘state’ of the takiwā or cultural health of a catchment. 

Mapihi and Brian collaborated to develop a digitised version of the State of the Takiwā forms that enables Papatipu Rūnanga representatives to complete their cultural health assessments on iPads or mobile devices on site. Being able to have a handheld device, as opposed to completing six different paper forms, has notably enhanced efficiency and uptake by a range of mana whenua representatives, from kaumatua to rangatahi.

This is the first time Boffa Miskell has entered these awards. Izzy Clark, our design technology coordinator, says, “Te Hapori Matihiko is an organization that supports Māori who work online or with technology, may have digital roles or aspects in their roles, or just have an interest in technology and the digital field.

“A lot of us at Boffa Miskell are using technology in new ways, especially designers with BIM and CAD modelling software. I’m passionate about supporting and uplifting Māori in STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Architecture, Maths) fields, so these Awards seemed like a great opportunity. Hopefully next year, with a little more time to prepare, we’ll be able to submit a few more examples of the mahi we’re undertaking.”