ISPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that provides leaders with the information and analysis they need to make evidence-based decisions on public safety, emergency preparedness, and security policy for island and coastal communities worldwide.
ISPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to public safety, emergency preparedness, and security policy for island and coastal-state communities worldwide. We provide leaders with the research they need to make evidence-based decisions — from inside the operational reality of island communities, not from a continental campus looking outward.
Island communities — from Hawaii and Guam to Malta, Trinidad, and the Maldives — face public safety challenges that mainland security frameworks were never designed to solve. Isolated supply chains, limited law enforcement resources, concentrated populations, and unique emergency management constraints require dedicated, specialized research. ISPI builds that research.
"Every policy recommendation we publish has been stress-tested against real operational conditions — not theoretical scenarios. That is the ISPI difference."
— Warren Pulley, Founder & Executive DirectorISPI conducts original research across 25 topics in five policy domains — practitioner-led outputs that translate decades of operational experience into evidence-based policy guidance for governments, institutions, and communities worldwide.
ISPI's active research projects — currently in development. Register for notifications when each paper publishes via the contact form.
ISPI produces policy reports, research books, white papers, and commentary — practitioner-authored outputs translating operational experience into actionable policy guidance.
Short-form policy analysis and commentary on current events — ISPI researchers respond to breaking developments across our 25 research topics. Subscribe to receive commentary as it publishes.
ISPI's leadership brings verified operational experience across every domain the institute researches — practitioner knowledge that no academic institution alone can replicate.
ISPI's research is grounded in verified operational experience across six institutional domains — built from decades of direct field service, not academic study alone.
ISPI organizes its research geographically — ensuring every policy output is grounded in the specific realities of each island region we serve. Over 600 million people live on islands worldwide. Every one of them is within ISPI's research mandate.
ISPI convenes practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and institutional leaders — translating research into dialogue and dialogue into action.
ISPI's research is sponsored by U.S. government agencies, state and local governments, Pacific Island governments, international organizations, foundations, and industry — following the diversified funding model of leading independent research institutions.
The world's only AI policy intelligence tool grounded in practitioner-led island security research. Ask questions across ISPI's 25 research topics and receive synthesized policy guidance grounded in verified operational experience.
Access the Policy Advisor →ISPI accepts research commissions, training engagements, grant partnerships, speaking invitations, and media inquiries. Government agencies, foundations, universities, and island community organizations are welcome to reach out.