December 2023

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MNA developed forecasts through 2030 for the shipment volumes for eleven major categories of primary metals for the American Foundry Society.  In its analysis, MNA researched trends in metal production for the past 20 years as well as survey data from individual foundries detailing operational output for the past seven years.  Detailed forecasts for each primary metal category included shipment volumes for the individual industry NAICS codes supplied by American foundries, totaling over 130 individual forecasts.

November 2023,

 

MNA facilitated a follow-on Department of the Air Force Modeling and Simulation (DAF M&S) Council workshop to review information covering capabilities, initiatives and policies, including some at a classified level.  A total of 28 personnel, both in-person and individual, attended the workshop.  At the conclusion of the last day, the participants conducted an after-action review (AAR) and created an action plan task list covering numerous items such as developing an unfunded requirements process, a formalized feedback process, and future priorities.  Additionally, multiple attendees held a facilitated sidebar discussion to address persistent issues with inter-Council communications.

March 2023

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MNA partnered with Armada Corporate Intelligence to conduct economic analysis for the National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB).  The purpose of the study effort was to determine the impact of the NWPB activities on the demand for watermelon and the return on investment (ROI) from NWPB activities.   MNA used point of sale data from across the country and simulated various scenarios to determine the impact of various funding levels on watermelon demand.  MNA and Armada briefed the results of the analysis to industry at the 108th annual National Watermelon Association's convention in February, held in Asheville, NC.

February 2023,

 

MNA personnel attended the 9th Annual REHOPE Freedom Gala “Sky’s the Limit 2.0” on January 27, 2023.  The REHOPE Freedom Gala raised funds for REHOPE of Greater Kansas City which offers long-term, residential housing and restorative programs and services for adult women and minor girl survivors of human trafficking.  MNA President, Dr. Rick Morris, sits on the Board of Directors of REHOPE and has been instrumental in developing strategic plans for the growth and expansion of programs and services for adult women and minor girl survivors.  MNA continues to support efforts to eradicate human trafficking by providing information, analytical support and resources.

December 2022,

 

In May and November of 2022, MNA facilitated Department of the Air Force Modeling and Simulation (DAF M&S) Council Workshops to capture functional area modeling and simulation capability needs, validate capability gaps and document feedback and lessons learned from the Functional Area leads M&S capability development process. Over 35 personnel, both in-person and virtual, attended both workshops.  In addition to facilitating the 2-day events, MNA facilitators captured dialogue, trends and Executive Council meeting discussions to enable the Council to identify issues and pain points, lines of effort and expectations for the Councils mission and future state.

February 2022,

 

MNA personnel attended the Restoration House 8th Annual Freedom Gala on February 5th, 2022.  The Freedom Gala raises funds for the Restoration House of Greater Kansas City which offers long-term, residential housing and restorative programs and services for adult women and minor girl survivors of human trafficking.  MNA President, Dr. Rick Morris, sits on the Board of Directors at Restoration House and has been instrumental in developing strategic plans for the growth and expansion of programs and services for adult women and minor girl survivors.  MNA continues to support efforts to eradicate human trafficking by providing information, analytical support and resources.

September 2021,

 

Awarded in August 2021, MNA has teamed with Wright Venture Services and McGurn Consulting to provide instructional designer services to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kauffman FastTrac program.   The Kauffman FastTrac program equips entrepreneurs with the business skills and insights, tools, resources and peer networks necessary to start and grow successful businesses. MNA applies adult learning principles, graduate-level instruction, curriculum design and development and course evaluation in an agile approach to refreshing the Kauffman FastTrac on-line course content and Facilitator Guide.  MNA is also supporting the migration of the current course content to a new Learning Management System (CANVAS) and guiding the development of a Spanish version of the course.  Working with a team of Subject Matter Experts to develop the most up-to-date content, MNA’s efforts will result in the course being more relevant and inclusive to today’s entrepreneurs.

June 2021,

 

MNA provided knowledge management support to MC CoE’s knowledge management office.  MNA conducted an analysis and assessment of their existing strategy, processes and internal standard operating procedures (SOPs), reviewed and assisted with the update of their knowledge management (KM) strategy, and helped them redesign a short- and long-term KM action plan.   MNA assisted with the alignment of the KM strategy to a KM dashboard and maturity model.  MNA also created a users’ guide to standardize the creation and updating of process maps.

May 2021,

 

On May 20th, MNA's CEO, John Nelson, delivered a presentation for the  Simons Center National Security Forum at the Des Moines Embassy Club West.  The Arthur D. Simons Center for Ethical Leadership and Interagency Cooperation, a program of the Command General Staff College Foundation, is a research, analysis, and publication center  committed to the development of interagency leaders.  Currently serving as Senior Research Fellow of the Center, John discussed the scope of the human trafficking problem confronting our communities and the challenges associated with combatting it.  He then described a systems-based, whole of community approach that MNA was instrumental in developing and implementing in communities.

October 9, 2020

 

In September 2020, MNA was awarded a General Service Administration (GSA) Professional Services Schedule task for the Office of Professional Services and Human Capital Categories (PSHC).  PSHC is responsible for the strategic leadership, oversight, and management of the Federal Acquisition Service’s professional services, human capital services, and charge card management programs and contracts. MNA is developing a KM program to support the mission of PSHC.  MNA is developing customized taxonomies for each functional component of PSHC, content management processes and procedures, training focused on content management and Google best practices and a knowledge road map to guide PSHC personnel toward a more streamlined content management system. The KM program will advance PSHC’s ability to create, organize, share and transfer knowledge to enhance individual and organizational performance.

April 28, 2020

 

MNA has teamed with Armada Corporate Intelligence to deliver a Strategic Intelligence System to organizations.   Using intelligence methodologies and predictive analytics, the program identifies key cause/effect relationships in business, economics, and geopolitics. When events happen, how strong the ripple effect is, how far it spreads, what it affects, how many additional ripples it creates and so on is critical for businesses to understand.

December 10, 2019

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MNA's efforts in support of organizations fighting human trafficking in the Topeka and Kansas City metro areas was recently featured in an article in The Leaven, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

November, 2019

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MNA planned and executed a table-top exercise in support of a local police operation to counter illicit Massage Businesses and their networks in Johnson County, Kansas.  The table-top exercise served as a rehearsal exercise for a multidisciplinary task force created to coordinate law enforcement agencies with trauma-informed victim service organizations.  Follow-on actions included an after action review and the collection of written observations, insights and lessons learned.

November 08, 2019

In November 2019, MNA was awarded a GSA Professional Services Schedule task order for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  MNA will provide facilitation and conflict resolution services at a series of tribal engagement workshops in support of the Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Program (TTAP).  The FHWA provides stewardship over the construction, maintenance and preservation of the Nation’s highways, bridges and tunnels.  FHWA also conducts research and provides technical assistance to state, tribal, and local agencies in an effort to improve safety, mobility, and livability.

August 23, 2019

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Since January of 2019, MNA has been supporting Freedom Now USA's efforts to combat human trafficking in Topeka and Shawnee County, KS.  In August, Freedom Now USA completed the investigative phase of the campaign and is moving into developing its detailed plan of action.

December 04, 2018

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MNA assisted in the preparation and conduct of BIG SEARCH Kansas City (BSKC) in Oct 2018.  Its purpose was to find missing children in the downtown KC area and build awareness of human trafficking in the local community.  In addition to assisting with BIG SEARCH planning and preparation, MNA provided operational support to the BIG SEARCH Command Center and participated in several searches for missing children.
 

September 21, 2018

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On Sep 21, 2018, MNA was awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) Contract under GSA Schedule 00CORP, The Professional Services Schedule (PSS).  Under this contract, MNA will provide expert consulting services that include:  management and strategy consulting; facilitation and decision support services; advisory and assistance services and; research, evaluations, studies, analyses, scenarios/simulations, reports, and business policy and regulation development.
 

July 20, 2018

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MNA is teamed with Worldwide Counter Threat Solutions (WW-CTS) on the $25 Billion VECTOR (Veteran Enterprise Contracting for Transformation and Operational Readiness) contract.  VECTOR is a multi-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract that has a five-year base period and five option years and is a set-aside program for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB)...

July 19, 2018

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MNA President, Dr. Rick Morris, recently assumed the role of Director of Professional Development on the Board of Directors for the Kansas City Chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA).  In this capacity, Dr. Morris leads the chapter’s professional development efforts towards IIBA multi-level certification and actionable understanding of the emerging practice of digital business analysis.  On July 11, 2018 Rick initiated a learning launch to begin the professional development program for chapter members.  The initial learning ...  

July 11, 2018

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The 86th Military Operations Research Society Symposium (MORSS) was held at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California from June 19 – 21.  With an attendance of nearly 1,000, the symposium featured presentations, panels, training and discussions in multiple working group, special sessions, demonstrations, and tutorials.  MNA continued its support to the operations research community with Britt Bray chairing Working Group 20 (Analytic Support to Training and Education) and John Nelson serving as the chair for Composite Group D (Resources/ Readiness/Training).

July 02, 2019

Over a 2-day period, MNA facilitated a table top exercise (TTX) with federal and local law enforcement partners to enhance interoperability and interagency cooperation, focusing on improving communications for daily operations and contingencies. 

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The desired end state would establish conditions to reduce the potential for blue-on-blue situations caused by non-standard communication procedures. The goal was to maximize effective and efficient endgame success from initial detection to interdiction of illegal traffic...

May 31, 2019

MNA attended the 2-day Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Centers of Excellence (CoE) Summit at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus, May 30-31.  This event involves the activities of a consortium of hundreds of universities conducting research to address homeland security challenges.  

May 28, 2023

Maria Minchew and John Nelson attended the annual security conference at the University of Kansas that brought together scholars and practitioners to explore the intersections of organized crime and terrorism and government responses to the crime-terror nexus. The conference showcased research on the changing nature and types of terrorist-criminal connections and the new challenges they pose and discussed ways in which the U.S. government and intelligence community have tackled this complex problem set.

May 22, 2018

MNA facilitated a crisis incident response exercise in conjunction with law enforcement partners from over 6 different agencies to improve crisis response processes and procedures and assist LE partner agencies in developing better planning, communication, coordination and decision-making skills.   Over a 5-day period, MNA coached and facilitated exercise workshops to help participants identify gaps and required improvements to their crisis response protocols. 

April 30, 2018

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Britt Bray, MNA’s Chief of Operational Analysis delivered a presentation on the development of information requirements at the 2018 SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing Symposium in Orlando, Florida on April 19th.  The presentation, titled, “What do you need to know? Specifying information requirements with clarity” was included as part of a five-presentation session on Optimization of Information Sources.  To learn more about the symposium see the link below.