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Programs, Thought Leadership
Wesley Winkler
Unlocking the Power of Narratives: Outputs from ...

Motive International hosted strategists, practitioners, software engineers, and researchers at the University of Mississippi's National Center for Narrative Intelligence for a Narrative Constructs in Joint Operations working group, a collaborative forum focused on examining the role of narrative as a strategic tool in modern military and information operations.  

Unlocking the Power of Narratives: Outputs from the Narrative Constructs In Joint Operations Working Group
Impact Initiatives, Thought Leadership
Salamah Magnuson, Morgan Keay & Kimberly Metcalf
Countering Hybrid Warfare: Mapping Social ...
Training & Education
Motive International
Motive Leads in Virtual Training & ...

Responding rapidly to DoD's need for remote training to maintain force readiness, our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and tech innovators adapted Motive’s signature courses to a fully virtual format. Since April, we’ve executed multiple iterations of highly-interactive online courses to soldiers and Marines working from home, quarantined on deployment, or constrained to virtual battle assemblies and drills. Find out more and see if these courses are right for your mission!

Motive Leads in Virtual Training & Education in the COVID-19 Era
Impact Initiatives, Thought Leadership, Training & Education
Motive International
A Pathway to Systemic Stability: ...

The current mass exodus of Venezuelans fleeing violence, economic collapse, and political instability in their home country is the largest migratory movement in Latin American history. Desperate to identify more effective and holistic policy and programmatic options to address the Venezuelan Migrant crisis, stakeholders in the region have expressed a need for a systems-level analysis to inform better strategies. This need inspired our team to conduct desk-based and in-country research relying on the rigorous and participatory Transforming Crisis Systems (TCS) approach.

A Pathway to Systemic Stability: Applying Motive’s Transforming Crisis Systems (TCS) to Colombia’s Venezuelan Migrant Crisis 
Thought Leadership, Training & Education
Morgan Keay
Dismantling Afghanistan's Opium Empire: How the ...

Since the toppling of their regime in 2001, the Taliban have demanded recognition from Kabul as a legitimate political actor in a country where they enjoy substantial support among segments of the population, not least for for the economic and infrastructural systems they helped cultivate and on which nearly all rural Afghans depend. The Taliban have a near monopoly on a global commodity representing a $4 billion dollar a year industry that necessitates the sustainment of elaborate supply chains: opium. But a deeper conflict analysis foretells a future in which the Taliban could soon be incentivized not only to walk away from its lucrative drug empire but become an ardent counter-narcotics partner to the Kabul government and its international backers.

Dismantling Afghanistan's Opium Empire: How the heroin-rich Taliban could become the world's most ironic counter-narcotics champion

A Tool for Guiding By, With and Through in Syria and Everywhere: A Case for Motive’s SCAT

A Tool for Guiding By, With and Through in Syria and Everywhere: A Case for Motive’s SCAT

Overcoming a legacy of broken pledges is just one of many hurdles in any future journey towards conceiving, authorizing, resourcing then carefully cultivating BW&T partnerships with any future partner. Yet instead of developing processes to ensure these myriad challenges are overcome, gut instinct and partisan politics still dominate U.S. decision-making on partnered operations, while informed analytic approaches to assess the risks, rewards, and requirements for successful BW&T are absent. Though there is no avoiding realpolitik, history makes a compelling demand for better tools to answer the critical questions of with whom, why, how and when to invest (or divest) from BW&T operations. One possible option: Motive International’s Social Contract Assessment Tool (SCAT).

From Precedent, Possibility: New Models for "Whole of Society" Foreign Policy

From Precedent, Possibility: New Models for "Whole of Society" Foreign Policy

Fragile and conflict-affected regions of the world threaten not only U.S. national security, but the stability and prosperity of markets and society. If we accept that governments, businesses, and citizens all stand to gain by addressing global crises, then a “whole-of-society” approach to U.S. foreign policy should be the norm. Yet in practice, full-spectrum, civil-military (civ-mil), public-private collaboration remains ad hoc and sub-optimized. This is especially true for U.S. engagements in the world’s trickiest places, namely fragile and conflict-affected regions. With the Trump Administration still forming its global strategies and re-shaping how resources and roles are arranged for U.S. foreign policy, comes an opportunity to re-imagine how stakeholders collaborate in countries facing crises. In light of proposed foreign assistance cuts, an expanding defense budget, and a more commercially-inclined Administration, civilian, military, public, and private actors may in fact have no choice but to leverage their comparative advantages like never before.

Finding Ender: Exploring the Intersections of Creativity, Innovation, and Talent Management in the U.S. Armed Forces

Finding Ender: Exploring the Intersections of Creativity, Innovation, and Talent Management in the U.S. Armed Forces

Current national-level strategic documents exhort the need for creativity and innovation as a precondition of America’s continued competitive edge in the international arena. But what does that really mean in terms of personnel, processes, and culture? This paper argues that an overlooked aspect of talent management, that of cognitive diversity, must be considered when retooling military talent management systems. Going one step further, talent management models must incorporate diversity of both skill set and mindset into their calculus. Specifically, the Department of Defense (DOD) needs to recruit, retain, and utilize Servicemembers and civilians with higher than average levels of creativity and a propensity for innovative thinking. It needs “enders.”

Cracking the Code on Assessments, Monitoring & Evaluation

Cracking the Code on Assessments, Monitoring & Evaluation

On 1-2 OCT 2019, the CENTCOM J3 Counternarcotics (CN) division -- in partnership with NESA -- sponsored a seminar and workshop called “Cracking the Code on Assessments, Monitoring & Evaluation (AM&E)” led by Motive International SMEs Ms. Morgan Keay and Dr. Salamah Magnuson. With participants from across CENTCOM, SOCOM, SOCCENT and from OSD/Counternarcotics, the event cultivated participants’ AM&E skills in the Theory of Change and Types & Targets of Change (T2Delta) methods, then facilitated the application of these methods to the CENTCOM CN portfolio.

Supporting the Trickiest Task: How Civil Affairs Can Bring Essential and Missing Capabilities to Geographic Combatant Command’s Mandate to Prevent Conflict

Supporting the Trickiest Task: How Civil Affairs Can Bring Essential and Missing Capabilities to Geographic Combatant Command’s Mandate to Prevent Conflict

This paper, a collaboration between Motive CEO Morgan Keay and US Army Civil Affairs Major Clay Daniels, was originally published in The Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute’s quarterly journal  Volume 3, 2016-17 Civil Affairs Issue Papers: Leveraging Civil Affairs, alongside other the winning papers from 2016 Civil Affairs Association's Annual Symposium.

Beyond "The Kremlin Playbook": recommended reading on Russian influence operations

Beyond "The Kremlin Playbook": recommended reading on Russian influence operations

Published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in 2016, “The Kremlin Playbook” was a prescient warning about Russia’s goals and tactics with regard to influence operations in central and eastern Europe. It has since become an indispensable reference to those working unravel the machinations of contemporary Russian influence. However, as IO campaigns have intensified, so has the examination of policy and technical tools to identify such campaigns and their sources, defend against them, and build more resilience around US institutions and election infrastructure. For those interested in deepening their understanding of the threat and potential responses, Motive SME Instructor and emerging technologies expert Geoff Odlum offers his recommendations of additional think-tank resources and reports.

Meet Motive’s Resident Diplomat: Geoff Odlum

Meet Motive’s Resident Diplomat: Geoff Odlum

Motive’s CEO, Morgan Keay, sat down with fellow Motive instructor and Subject Matter Expert (SME) Geoff Odlum to discuss working with Motive after nearly three decades as a U.S. diplomat, how emerging technologies are shaping global peace and security, and options for bridging the civil-military divide.

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Social Contracts on NATO’s Front Line: Motive’s SCAT Helps Reveal Policy Dilemmas and Practical Opportunities

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Social Contracts on NATO’s Front Line: Motive’s SCAT Helps Reveal Policy Dilemmas and Practical Opportunities

In April and May of 2019, a team of Motive International experts composed of Dr. Salamah Magnuson, Morgan Keay and Kimberly Metcalf conducted an investigation of societal dynamics in Estonia through in-country field research focused on social cohesion and national security. The purpose of this initiative was to apply Motive’s Social Contract Assessment Tool (SCAT), a framework designed to identify and characterize social institutions and the sources of legitimacy that underpin them in transitioning or threatened societies in order to inform policies, plans and activities to mitigate threats and promote stability. 

U.S. Hegemony is in Decline, So What?

U.S. Hegemony is in Decline, So What?

In answer to question of what alliance structure would be “most appropriate for the US interests in the 21st Century?” Morgan Keay, CEO of Motive International, asserts that the U.S. must move towards “cross-sectorism”. In order to constructively compete with the rising influence of China and the European Union, and prevent armed conflicts, the U.S. must develop systems for stronger integration of diplomatic, commercial, humanitarian and military efforts.

Watch the video of the complete discussion, and learn more about Motive’s Transforming Crisis Systems course, offering integrative conflict mitigation strategies for military operations.

STRENGTHENING GLOBAL DEFENSE INSTITUTIONS

STRENGTHENING GLOBAL DEFENSE INSTITUTIONS

Client/Partners: Booz Allen Hamilton and the Center for Civil-Military Relations

Motive is part of a consortium implementing a multi-million dollar U.S. interagency program to cultivate accountable, effective defense sectors in 36 partner nations around the world. This involves deploying subject matter expert advisors and practitioners to help guide locally-led security sector reforms at the policy, strategy, and operational levels for improved accountability, sustainability, and effectiveness of defense and security institutions.

APPLYING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

APPLYING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Partners: Sterling Business Network

Working with a network of Eastern Caribbean business, policy, and civil society innovators, Motive highlighted opportunities for tourism development in Grenada based on a the "Triple Bottom Line" approach, which seeks to balance economic, social, and environmental value creation. This drew on our team's proven success launching community-based tourism ventures and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in some of the most challenging travel destinations on earth, including Afghanistan and Mongolia. 

ADVISORY SUPPORT FOR CARIBBEAN-FOCUSED MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISE

ADVISORY SUPPORT FOR CARIBBEAN-FOCUSED MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISE

Client: U.S. Army South

Applying Motive’s signature tools & methods for humanitarian crisis analysis and planning, we helped U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH) refine their strategy for a multinational military exercise focusing on a mass migration scenario in the Caribbean. Our efforts brought Department of State, USAID, and Dept. of Defense stakeholders together for exercise planning, and helped the executing HQ better leverage UN and NGO capabilities in order to restore stability following a humanitarian crisis. 

Subject Matter Expert Support to Civil Affairs Command Post Exercise

Subject Matter Expert Support to Civil Affairs Command Post Exercise

Client: 351st Civil Affairs Command/364th CA BDE

Helping cultivate readiness for U.S. Army Civil Affairs personnel to synchronize with interagency and inter-organizational partners in the context of stability operations, Motive provided an expert in diplomacy and humanitarian affairs to role play a UN Country Representative and to deliver instructional input for a 5-day, 200-person Command Post Exercise (CPX) at Camp Withycombe, Oregon in February 2017.

SUPPORT TO A CARIBBEAN-FOCUSED MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISE

Client: U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH)

Applying Motive’s signature tools & methods for crisis analysis and planning, we helped ARSOUTH refine the strategy for a multinational military exercise focusing on a mass migration scenario in the Caribbean. Our efforts helped bring Dept. of State, USAID, and Dept. of Defense stakeholders together for exercise planning and execution to understand leveraging UN and NGO capabilities restoring stability. 

FOOD SECURITY ALIGNED BUSINESS MODELS IN NIGERIA

FOOD SECURITY ALIGNED BUSINESS MODELS IN NIGERIA

Client: African Government

Motive convened a network of global stakeholders around the concept of local agro-processing ventures that source ingredients from smallholder farmers to produce “strategic food items.” This powerful initiative aims to create market opportunities for farmers and job seekers, inject much-needed capital into fragile markets, and domesticate the production of food security goods in West Africa.

International Women's Day: Adding Gender to Impact Investment Portfolios

International Women's Day: Adding Gender to Impact Investment Portfolios

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day this week, it is hard not to think of the progress and remaining challenges facing our global society in achieving gender equality. We have Malala Yousafzai and Hillary Clinton as examples of high-profile women leading their own movements, with the United Nations focusing on all women, with “Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls” as their fifth-ranking Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).  And – just as we see with most social issues – the conventional way of approaching positive change, like counting the number of women who show up to a hand-washing training, is not nearly adequate. International investors, who are already exploring innovative ways to solve large-scale environmental, agriculture, energy, and health issues, are also looking at how to bring impact investing to bear towards gender equality.

Motive International Parleys FiiRO on School Feeding Program

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In order to further consolidate the relationship between the Institute and Motive International – an American company, a team comprising of Ms Morgan Keay-Chief Executive Officer; Miss Jennifer Prillaman- Business Development Executive and Tunji Ladner – the Nigerian Representative visited the Institute on Monday, 25th January, 2016. The team was received by the Director-General/CEO of the Institute, Dr. (Mrs.) G.N Elemo assisted by Dr. Dele Oyeku (Director, Extension & Linkage) and Mr. Patrick Usen, the Chief Executive Officer, Inter-Heritage Promotions Limited, a Consultant to the Institute on R&D commercialization.

The DG/CEO, Dr. (Mrs.) G.N Elemo said she was very glad to receive Ms. Morgan Keay and her team back to the Institute for further discussion on developing a sustainable model for the National School Feeding Programme.

Ms. Morgan Keay reinstated the interest of Motive International as a social enterprise in food and nutrition security and strategic partnership to facilitate commercialization of the Institute’s R&D results most especially in the areas of food and nutrition. She further stated that her company can facilitate the inflow of patience capital to both the private and public sectors in pursuance of the National School Feeding Programme. She said her company is already discussing with the Lagos State Government on School Feeding Programme and has indicated FIIRO as its technical partner for menu formulation and standardization.   

The DG/CEO in her response informed the team that the Institute is always willing to partner with organizations that can add value to its programs. She said the Institute is willing to share in the experiences of Motive International especially on the management aspect of the School Feeding Programme with the aim to develop a sustainable model for the National School Feeding Programme based on best practices all over the world. At the end of the discussion, both organizations renewed their resolute interest to work together for mutual benefit in national interest.  

Via: Federal Institute of Industrial Research at Oshodi: http://www.fiiro.gov.ng/index.php/fiiro-news/214-motive-international-parleys-fiiro-on-school-feeding-programme

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