ISPI

What ISPI does

ISPI (Island Security Policy Institute) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization founded in 2026 and headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, that produces practitioner-led research on public safety, emergency preparedness, and security policy for island and coastal-state communities worldwide. The organization's core offering is the ISPI Research Library of 56+ publications (white papers, policy briefs, assessment reports, and commentary) distributed free of charge under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, spanning seven island-specific policy domains — Core Security, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement & Justice, Governance & Global Policy, Campus & Institutional Safety, At-Risk Youth, and Insider Threat. Research is produced under a proprietary five-pillar methodology (government agency sources, regional organizations, OSINT/Bellingcat two-source verification, an ISPI Global Expert Panel of 78 members across 14 disciplines, and AI-assisted synthesis under practitioner review) and is grounded in the founder's 40+ years of operational experience and 2,400+ documented behavioral threat assessments.

The organization's commercial surface includes the newly launched Island-Resilient Certification — positioned as the only practitioner-led security certification for hotels, ports, hospitals, universities, and corporations operating in island environments — alongside commissioned research engagements, training curriculum development, foundation grant partnerships, and book sales (six practitioner-focused titles commercially available via Amazon and Barnes & Noble). ISPI is SAM.gov registered as a federal contractor under NAICS 541720 (Research and Development in the Social Sciences), eligible for DHS, DOJ, FEMA, and State Department contract vehicles. Customer segments span federal agencies (DHS, DOJ, FEMA, State Department), Pacific and Caribbean island governments, U.S. Pacific territories, corporations, philanthropic foundations, and international organizations (UN, Commonwealth, CARICOM). Geographic reach spans 16+ countries across the Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Mediterranean, with research explicitly connected to all 39 Small Island Developing States via the Samoa Pathway and BPOA+30 frameworks.

The business model pairs free content distribution (used for demand generation and credibility building) with four monetized channels: commissioned research on a quote basis, foundation grants as a 501(c)(3), training engagements for island law enforcement and emergency management contexts, and the recurring Island-Resilient Certification program. Distribution is direct via the ISPI website with no registration required for publications, supplemented by an active research blog (28 posts), practitioner analysis published within 48 hours of breaking Pacific security developments, and direct commission inquiries.

Name

ISPI

Legal name

Island Security Policy Institute

Website

https://ispiglobal.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ISPI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, producing practitioner-led research on public safety, emergency management, and security policy for island and coastal-state communities worldwide, serving federal agencies, island governments, corporations, foundations, and international organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Security Policy Research Services

NAICS

National Security and International Affairs (928), National Security (928110), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Incident Command System (ICS) & Emergency Management Training/Exercises (Tabletop/Drills) (EUAHALAE), Safety, Security & Emergency Services (OSHA, Fire, EMS, Security CE) (EDAAALAK), Stakeholder Engagement, Indigenous/Tribal Consultation & Social Impact (SIA) (EUAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Island security policy research
• Public safety research
• Emergency preparedness analysis
• Behavioral threat assessment
• Nonprofit policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Research: ISPI accepts research commissions from federal agencies (DHS, DOJ, FEMA, State Department), island governments (Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean), corporations (hotels, ports, hospitals, energy), foundations (philanthropic and grant-making), and international organizations (UN, Commonwealth, CARICOM). Commissioned research engagements are the primary revenue stream for the nonprofit.
2. Foundation Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, ISPI accepts foundation grant partnerships. Foundations use independent research to strengthen island community grantmaking, commissioning ISPI to build evidence bases for their public safety, community resilience, and indigenous community programs.
3. Training Engagements: ISPI offers training curriculum development that translates practitioner research into operational training programs calibrated for island law enforcement and emergency management environments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISPI is a nonprofit research organization that produces practitioner-led research, analysis, and training on public safety, emergency preparedness, and security policy for island and coastal-state communities worldwide. Core deliverables include commissioned research for federal agencies, island governments, corporations, foundations, and international organizations; an Island-Resilient Certification program for hotels, ports, hospitals, universities, and corporations; training curriculum development; and 56+ free publications distributed under CC BY 4.0 across seven policy domains.

Product overview

ISPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization producing practitioner-led research on public safety, emergency preparedness, and security policy for island and coastal communities worldwide. The core offering is the ISPI Research Library comprising 58+ publications (white papers, policy briefs, assessment reports, commentary) across seven policy domains, complemented by the Island-Resilient Certification program for hotels, ports, hospitals, universities, and corporations operating in island environments, and Commissioned Research Services for government agencies and organizations requiring custom island-specific analysis. Supporting the research portfolio, Founder Warren Pulley has authored six published practitioner-focused books covering threat assessment, emergency preparedness, campus safety, multi-threat safety integration, workforce challenges, and access control. The Hawaii Policy Research Series provides island-specific analysis of Hawaii's most pressing challenges across housing, homelessness, law enforcement, emergency management, infrastructure, climate, healthcare, and AI governance. ISPI's research integrates AI-assisted analysis tools alongside practitioner expertise for literature review and pattern identification, with all conclusions developed and approved by human research leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISPI Research Library (56+ Publications) A comprehensive collection of practitioner-led research publications including white papers, policy briefs, assessment reports, and commentary across seven island-specific policy domains: Insider Threat & Workplace Security, Emergency Preparedness & Resilience, Public Safety Workforce, Campus & Institutional Safety, Law Enforcement & Justice, At-Risk Youth & Community Safety, and Governance & Global Policy. Free to download under CC BY 4.0.
• Island-Resilient Certification The world's only practitioner-led security certification for hotels, ports, hospitals, universities, and corporations operating in island environments worldwide. Addresses gaps where assets were built for continental assumptions rather than island realities.
• Commissioned Research Services Custom research engagements for government agencies, corporations, foundations, and international organizations requiring island-specific policy analysis. Includes assessment reports, original research reports, and training curriculum development calibrated for island law enforcement and emergency management environments.
• The Prepared Leader Threat assessment, emergency preparedness, and safety frameworks for colleges, institutions, and businesses drawing on FEMA, DHS, and FBI standards combined with frontline operational experience.
• Threat Assessment Handbook Practitioner frameworks for identifying, scoring, and prioritizing threats before they materialize, grounded in ISPI's record of more than 2,400 documented real-world assessments.
• Uniformed Silence The systemic challenges facing public safety professionals in island communities including workforce culture, institutional barriers, mental health stigma, and the policy reform agenda required to build sustainable public safety workforces.
• Integrated: Mastering Multi-Threat Safety in Volatile Environments A comprehensive integrated safety framework combining physical security, behavioral assessment, emergency management, and policy into a single practitioner-grounded model for island and coastal community contexts.
• Campus Under Siege Behavioral threat assessment gaps, mass notification failures, access control weaknesses, and crisis leadership frameworks for university administrators and trustees.
• Locked Down: The Access Control Playbook Physical security architecture, access control policy frameworks, and implementation guidance for schools, campuses, and corporate environments.
• Hawaii Policy Research Series (HI-01 to HI-10) Island-specific policy research covering Hawaii's most pressing public safety, community resilience, and governance challenges including housing affordability, homelessness, law enforcement workforce crisis, Maui recovery, federal funding uncertainty, infrastructure deficit, Native Hawaiian land rights, climate resilience, aging population healthcare, and AI governance.
• White Paper Series (WP-01 to WP-12) Flagship research documents including Island-State Security, Insider Threat Framework, Island Emergency Management Framework, Campus Safety Framework, Law Enforcement Workforce Policy, Supply Chain Security, Community Policing, Workforce Development, At-Risk Youth, Democratic Resilience, AI Governance, and Corporate Security & ESG.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600M+ island residents served globally across 39 SIDS nations
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federal Government Agencies (DHS, DOJ, FEMA, State Department)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISPI is registered on SAM.gov under NAICS 541720 (Research and Development in the Social Sciences) and is eligible for DHS, DOJ, and FEMA contract vehicles. Federal agencies commission ISPI for island and coastal-state research because standard federal frameworks were built for continental communities. Engagements include homeland security grant program allocation research for Pacific territories, DOJ COPS workforce development research, FEMA emergency management framework adaptation, and State Department INL law enforcement capacity building research for Pacific Island partner nations.
• International Organizations (UN, Commonwealth, CARICOM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN bodies, Commonwealth programs, and CARICOM commission ISPI for small-state and island-community security policy research. ISPI's research connects to the 39 Small Island Developing States through the Samoa Pathway (2014) and BPOA+30 framework, making island-specific research applicable across the full spectrum of island communities worldwide.
• Pacific Islands ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecretary General Baron Waqa opened the Pacific Fusion Centre National Security Coordinators Roundtable June 10, 2026 as the Pacific faces documented polycrisis. ISPI provides governance capacity research that enables Pacific Island governments to evaluate security decisions with full understanding of consequences.
• Federal Framework Bodies (DHS Insider Threat Mitigation, CISA, FEMA NIMS, FBI)minorOthersISPI's research draws on and extends the frameworks, data, and guidance of DHS Insider Threat Mitigation, CISA Insider Threat Program, FEMA NIMS, FEMA Continuity Planning, DOJ COPS Office, Bureau of Justice Statistics, OJJDP Youth Justice, NCJRS, FEMA Ready.gov, and SAMHSA Behavioral Health — identifying where those frameworks succeed and where island-specific adaptations are required.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat: Intergovernmental organization serving Pacific Island states, producing regional security and governance policy research. Comparable on SIDS-relevant policy analysis and Pacific Island governance focus, though it is an intergovernmental body rather than an independent nonprofit.
• Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS): CARICOM agency coordinating regional crime and security policy across Caribbean member states. Comparable as a regional body commissioning and consuming island-security policy research, mirroring ISPI's CARICOM-facing service line.
• Pacific Community (SPC): Principal scientific and technical organization serving Pacific Island states, with portfolios touching disaster risk reduction and community resilience. Comparable as a Pacific-wide institution producing applied research for SIDS, though international rather than U.S.-domiciled.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Major bipartisan policy research organization covering international security, Pacific policy, and homeland security. Comparable as a practitioner-informed think tank publishing accessible analysis for government and corporate clients, though it is far broader in scope than ISPI's island-specific focus.
• RAND Corporation: Large established policy research institution with broad portfolios across homeland security, international affairs, and Pacific research. Comparable as a federally-eligible research nonprofit delivering practitioner-grade policy analysis, though RAND operates at much larger scale across many domains.

Direct peers

• Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS): U.S. Department of Defense institution in Honolulu delivering security-focused executive education and policy research for Indo-Pacific practitioners. Highly comparable as a Hawaii-based, federally-affiliated security policy and capacity-building organization serving Pacific island and Indo-Pacific audiences.
• Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI): Federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC) operator focused on homeland security analysis for DHS. Comparable as a DHS-eligible nonprofit delivering practitioner-led homeland security research, though it is far larger and broader than ISPI.
• Pacific Forum International: Honolulu-based foreign policy research institute focused on the Indo-Pacific, including Pacific Island security and governance. Comparable as a Hawaii-based, practitioner-led policy think tank producing island and Pacific security analysis for government and international audiences.
• East-West Center: Honolulu-based research and education organization focused on U.S.-Asia-Pacific relations and Pacific Island policy. Most direct geographic and topical peer to ISPI, sharing Hawaii base, Pacific Island focus, and federal/funder-eligible nonprofit structure, though its portfolio is broader than security alone.

Emerging players

• Crisis Response Consulting: Boutique security and emergency management consulting firm serving corporate and institutional clients with practitioner-led services. Comparable in the practitioner-led emergency preparedness and threat assessment services market ISPI addresses through training engagements and the Island-Resilient Certification.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/isglobalpolicy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/warren-pulley-31b2aa384

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ISPI