HSCB Technical Performance Evaluations

The Human Socio-Cultural Behavioral modeling program (HSCB) funded dozens of modeling projects intended to develop cutting edge computational models to enable the Department of Defense and the US government more broadly to understand and operate in other cultures. The Army Geospatial Center coordinated the technical progress evaluations (TPEs) and NSI was a key participant. The TPE team developed evaluation criteria that considered scientific criteria such as the theoretical, methodological, and empirical grounding of the models and how data were used to support the models. A key focus of the program was to model the complex systems in which DOD personnel operated and models were assessed in terms of their ability to capture dynamics such as measuring 2nd and 3rd order effects and emergent phenomena.

POC: For inquiries regarding this work, please contact Dr. Lawrence A. Kuznar (lkuznar@nsiteam.com)

Project Team: Dr. Lawrence A. Kuznar, Mariah Yager, Sarah Canna

Description: The Human Socio-Cultural Behavioral modeling program (HSCB) funded dozens of modeling projects intended to develop cutting edge computational models to enable the Department of Defense and the US government more broadly to understand and operate in other cultures. The program operated under the auspices of the Director, Defense Research & Engineering. The projects were so numerous and diverse that there was a need for systematic evaluation of their scientific and operational progress.

The Army Geospatial Center coordinated the technical progress evaluations (TPEs) and NSI was a key participant. The TPE team developed evaluation criteria that considered scientific criteria such as the theoretical, methodological, and empirical grounding of the models and how data were used to support the models. A key focus of the program was to model the complex systems in which DoD personnel operated and models were assessed in terms of their ability to capture dynamics such as measuring 2nd and 3rd order effects and emergent phenomena. The relevance of the models to military operations such as intelligence, counterterrorism, information operations, and humanitarian missions. Models were also evaluated in terms of their ability to store data, to scale to larger problems, and to operate on the government hardware. Another key evaluation dimension was the quality of visualizations that enabled users to readily comprehend model results and make decisions. NSI experience was key for developing criteria. The NSI team also participated as evaluators in the TPEs, providing the US government with vital feedback on model performance, validity, and scientific quality.

Explore More Solutions

Our solutions help our clients understand people and their behaviors in order to make better and more reliable decisions.

See how in our National Security Portfolio or our Human Capital/Data Science Portfolio.

More National Security Projects

National Security

SMA

Goals-Means (GM) Meta-Model: Integrating Social Environments, Tech Pathways and Decisions to Act

NSI contributed a hybrid leadership decision-making Goals-Means (GM) meta-model to the IARPA PAINT (Proactive Intelligence) program. The primary benefits of this model were fourfold: (i) allowing insight into the likely intentions, strategies and choices of foreign leaders; (ii)enabling comparison of sets of potential decision outcomes as explicitly linked to empirical data analyses; (iii) allowing perturbations, modifications and updating of original input data; and (iv) accommodating both data-rich analyses and those analyses where available data is sparse.

View Project

National Security

SMA

Middle East Unrest and Influences

For the past several years NSI has provided US Special Operations Command Central Commander with a variety of research and analyses focused on the numerous conflicts, unrest, and the broader influences and regional dynamics of the central Middle East.

View Project

National Security

SMA

China IW IOTA Analysis

In support of Valens Global on behalf of the Irregular Warfare Center, the NSI team applied its IOTA framework to outline a range of Chinese irregular warfare related activities and how those activities relate to strategic objectives and interests to gain insight into its implied strategy. The IOTA Framework is designed to illuminate the strategic impact of an actor’s activities—which can take place on different time scales, in different locations, and in different domains (diplomatic, information, military, economic)—yet align with the actor’s objectives in support of its key national interests. Understanding the relationships between a competitor’s activities (including those that are intentionally clouded), its theater and strategic objectives, and its high-level national interests provides analysts and decision makers with the context necessary to make sense of observed changes in activity.

View Project

Looking for Human Capital/Data Science Solutions?

View Human Capital/Data Science Portfolio

Site-wide Search

Search all site content, including all NSI and SMA publications, SMA Speaker series, NSI Team member bios, services, portfolio projects, company info, and more.