As prescribed in its Environment Shaping development planning methodology, IS2 relies on its diverse experience to bridge concept and practice and arrive at smart and practical applications for many contexts. Our range is broad — from designing means to analyze infrastructure projects in profoundly insecure environments like Afghanistan to “large load” energy analysis methodologies in the Pacific Northwest United States.

Assessment

IS2’s asset-based methodologies shift emphasis from “needs” and “gaps” to assets and opportunities, maximizing the potential for success in development and stabilization operations. Years of government agency and field experience discerning the specific nature, dynamic and challenges of places like Indonesia, Sudan, Uganda, and Congo has given IS2 a special sense of how to best mesh program developers’ intentions with the “ground truth.”

Planning

With years of experience planning with and for the U.S. Government and its partners, IS2 employs an unusual depth of understanding of development, conflict and military issues as well as a special sense of how to navigate complicated bureaucratic, political and funding challenges.  IS2’s special focus on coupling best field practices with cutting edge planning processes and methods virtually ensures successful outcomes.

Evaluation

As project manager and co-developer of the ambitious Measuring Progress in Conflict Environments (MPICE) project, IS2 understands both the intellectual and practical challenges that face evaluators of programs in conflicted environments.  IS2 has participated in the design and “real world” testing of comprehensive evaluation processes specifically designed for conflicted areas, as well as specific methodologies in virtually all sectors to accurately capture not only objective facts, but also locals’ perceptions of the effectiveness of programming and policy.