shiftN has a long track record of working with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the context of the Global Futures Forum (GFF). This is a multinational alliance of agencies that aims to promote best practices in open source intelligence in tackling emerging and future global security challenges. It is structured as a network of thematic ‘communities of interest’ (COI), focusing on themes such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism and others.

shiftN has been involved in the facilitation of the Forum’s annual meetings, notably in Washington (2005), Prague (2006) and Vancouver (2008). In addition, shiftN has worked with the Radicalization and Illicit Trafficking communities in developing novel tools for sense making, analysis and disruption.

In 2007, shiftN worked with the GFF Radicalization COI to develop future scenarios.  In 2008, shiftN started to work with the Illicit Trafficking COI to develop a suite of systems maps to support organized crime disruption strategies. This work continues up to the present date and has been co-sponsored by the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).  In 2009, shiftN facilitated a scenario development exercise, sponsored by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Services (CSIS) on the future of Iran as regional power.