ISI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 1978 and specializing in the improvement of the human condition by providing sound, ethical and sustainable ecosystem management services. Our services are provided primarily to nonprofit organizations, communities, governments and selected for profit entities, and combinations thereof, wherein the activities involved are consistent with meeting the ethical guidelines for developing, nurturing and maintaining the resiliency, viability and sustainability of ecosystems.

Ecosystems are dynamic and evolving entities with artificially, but deterministically drawn boundaries that define the components of the system and, most importantly, the relationships among the identified and unidentified components and pathways for the flow and exchange of information, materials and energy that make that particular ecosystem operational, functional and viable. When determining the boundaries of the ecosystem in question, it must incorporate and have some coherency with natural laws and principals, which are an inherent and integral aspect of any functional ecosystem.

As the name implies, Inquiring Systems is the mechanism for, and the process of, making a systemic inquiry into the situation, activity or organization that is to be managed or not, as the situation warrants. That is, we never approach a situation with a predetermined set of insights about that ecosystem nor do we necessarily apply the same methods or techniques for addressing the situation regardless of the ecosystem involved. The methods and techniques to be used must be compatible with each unique situation and the corresponding ecosystem of which that situation is a part. In order to determine what factors are critical in the understanding and appreciation of the system and how it functions, we also need to develop clear, concise and well-thought through goals and objectives so that the proper and appropriate boundaries of the ecosystem that is under scrutiny, can be ascertained and selected. Our effectiveness in the understanding of the ecosystem that is being scrutinized, as well as a full and respectful appreciation of what we do not know about that ecosystem, are fundamentally determined by using the collective wisdom of everyone involved, our analytical skills and capabilities and our intuitive grasp of the complex relationships that characterize all ecosystems.  We incorporate all of these qualities into an organizational approach to problem-solving that ensures clarity about the level of resolution that we are operating in and also provides the guidance to determine well-defined, achievable and measurable objectives.  While we may not fully understand all that is happening within any ecosystem, and we may not even agree with what is happening or even the outcomes that result therefrom; however, fundamental to our inquiring systems approach to problem solving is that we have an "appreciation" and a "respect" for the whole system, everything that resides in that system as well as the complex relationship that are inherent to the overall health of that ecosystem. 

Health, in any ecosystem, is not the absence of disease or problems, but rather, the ability of the ecosystem to recover.  We strive to preserve that capacity to recover (the essence of sustainability) and/or to restore the resilency needed to recover and become healthy once again.

ISI provides comprehensive ecosystem management services that include:

Ecosystem Assessments (including organizational assessments)
Business Creation and Development Services
Ecosystem (including business and project) Management Services
Workshops and Seminars on related topics
And, such other services as may be necessary to properly manage the selected ecosystem

All of ISI's services are ethically directed, comprehensive, cost effective and designed to be compatible with the ecosystem in which we are working. For example, if the ecosystem in question is a nonprofit entity; then, amongst other things, we would be cognizant of the mission, the true clients served by the entity's services, the outcomes expected from the delivery of these services, the resources (including people) that are engaged in performing those services, the cultural components of the organization and the potential impacts and implications of our actions on the environment in which that ecosystem operates.

ISI is engaged in many projects of its own and we also act as a fiscal agent and/or fiscal sponsor for many organizations in order to facilitate their development, operation and management until they have the capability and wherewithall to operate independently as economically viable and sustainable entities. 

 In addition, ISI has provided and continues to provide the following services:

• Technical assistance services to 3,400 clients in all aspects of ethically directed ecosystem management including business planning and management, financial planning and management, market planning and management, capital acquisition, resource conservation, environmental management, debt management, organizational development, personnel policy planning, program planning and management, contract negotiation, business recovery, conflict resolution and systemic problem-solving.
• Financial management, business development and business recovery assistance to 270 companies.
• ISI has acquired in excess of $136 million in capital for its clients.
• Workshop and seminar training to over 26,000 individuals in 27 states and 3 countries.