SBIR-STTR Award

Altusys will develop an analytical tool to enable Marines or Soldiers at the company or lower level to assess local economic conditions and develop courses of action to impact the economy. Presuming that rapid re-employment of the host-country civilian labor force and rapid repair of the infrastructure contribute to stability, the project addresses itself to the immediate post-combat infrastructure repair projects available to local commanders acting autonomously. Altusys will identify the minimal additional training needed to provide personnel with the skills to collect simple measures to support a Provisional Economic Analysis that is Rapid and Local (PEARL). Relying on pre-existing Department of Defense doctrine regarding “how to do,” the analytical tools developed would identify ”what to do” as a short list of projects likely to provide economically and politically successful local economy improvements. Algorithms applied to templates for standard kinds of infrastructure projects will identify projects that can be done “now” with the resources available “now” for a “now” that is revealed upon real time, post-combat, inspection and measurement of the area of responsibility. Altusys’ breadth of experience will ensure that economic and anthropological inputs are tempered by the experience of veterans of real stabilization operations.

Keywords:
Stability Operations, Counterinsurgency, Economic Analysis, Analytical Tools, Information Systems, Human Systems

Junior infantry need usable tools and methods for collecting and interpreting significant information about the local economic environment through observation and questioning, and for developing daily tactical courses of action based on those interpretations. Altusys will lead a multidisciplinary team of software engineers, user researchers, experts in economic analysis, modeling, and development, and experts in human data collection in dynamic areas to develop a tool that facilitates informed engagement within local environments in conflict areas, enabling the collection of high quality local information, the extraction of valuable insights, and enhanced decision-making in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency situations. These techniques provide methods and tools for turning routine local observations and interactions into insights and action, even in areas where information is not readily accessible. The proposed methodology developed in Phase 1 lays the foundation for research and development of technology methods, standards, and tools to support seamless implementation of the methodology by junior infantry. The tool will enable junior tactical operators across forces and units to collect, analyze, view, and share data, supporting intelligence coordination and situation-aware decision-making and mission command.

Keywords:
Situational Awareness, Tactical Operators, Methodology, Local, Software, Human Intelligence, Disaster Response, Economic Development