World class
innovative solutions
Our solutions and services take complex, multiple layers of data, convert them into insight and intelligence, enabling decision makers to build on their knowledge.
We present our findings and analysis in many ways, including Storymaps.
Methamphetamine Production in Afghanistan
The changing nature of methamphetamine production from ephedra in Afghanistan
The economic crisis is wreaking havoc on the Afghan population. Since the Taliban takeover, the Afghani has depreciated by a third, the price of basic food items has more than doubled and large numbers of public sector employees have found themselves without pay.
Using very high resolution satellite imagery collected in November 2021 and ground footage discretely filmed by researchers, it is estimated that the total volume of the ephedra at the bazaar was 11,886 cubic metres; enough ephedra to fill four Olympic size swimming pools, with some left over.
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Afghanistan Land Release Impact Assessment
Redeveloping Afghanistan after significant land clearance
Due to heavy contamination, significant land clearance activities were required over many years to enable the release of land in this area. Once released, the development of Ayno Maina could begin.
Drawing on very high resolution imagery from 2007 and 2021 and pre-trained deep learning models, the change in land use since clearance over a subset area of the Ayno Maina development has been measured across a number of land use types.
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IDP TENT COUNTING
An investigation into the effect of drought in North West Afghanistan
Alcis worked closely with the Norwegian Refugee Council to help monitor the movements of IDPs in Afghanistan by analysing the number, flow, and concentrations of humanitarian shelters provided by NRC.
We recognised that, using satellite imagery and GIS, data that can potentially save lives and reduce suffering can be obtained quickly and reliably and provided to those who need it.
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REVENUE MAPPING
How the economic benefits of the conflict are distributed in Afghanistan and the implications for Peace - A Case Study on Nimroz
Using in-depth fieldwork and high-resolution satellite imagery, this research estimates and maps the taxes earned by these actors.
It shows the degree to which each of these powerholders rely on taxes they collect on the trade in legal goods, contradicting the usual assumption that the warring sides depend mostly on drug money.
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KEEPING UP WITH THE KUCHI
Locating the nomadic tribes of Afghanistan
For thousands of years the nomadic Kuchis have travelled across Afghanistan looking for pasture and water to raise their animals, which provide cashmere and wool.
Alcis is working with a client to improve the wool and cashmere value chains of these nomadic people. However, little is known about the Kuchis.
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OPEN-SOURCE DATA IN THE PURSUIT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
How the use of free and openly available data can benefit the most vulnerable and hard to reach communities.
At Alcis, we work in fragile and conflict-affected states where data, and the infrastructure required to maintain it, is often unreliable.
This can result in a basic dataset that may be old, have gaps or missing attributes. Combining open-source data with our proprietary data results in more accurate and sophisticated analysis, as well as reducing the time needed to create or update large foundational datasets.
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TIMOR-LESTE COASTLINE ANALYSIS
How climate change is impacting the coastline of Timor-Leste and driving migration from coastal towns and cities.
Timor-Leste, or East Timor, is half of the island of Timor and located in a region of the pacific where sea levels are rising at alarming rates. In 2019 it had a population of just under 1.3 million, most of whom live along the coast.
Alcis was commissioned to carry out desk-based research and analyse the changes that have happened in the past and forecast the possible future impact.
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SYRIA, AGRICULTURE AND CONFLICT
Mapping the changes to agriculture due to the effects of war
Years of drought and years of conflict have taken their toll on the extent and quality of agriculture in Syria, in highly visible ways.
The relationship between war and food security, drought and crop quality can be clearly seen in Syria. This story map illustrates the links between these themes.
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AGRICULTURAL CREDIT ENHANCEMENT - PART TWO
An investigation into credit availability for rural Afghan farmers
For more than 25 years farmers in Afghanistan had no access to credit, severely restricting the development of their farms.
This USAID funded project set out to change that by providing loans to individual farmers so they could develop their farms into commercial enterprises.
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THE TRADE WAR ON DRUGS
How the US-China Trade War Increased the Global Supply of Opium
Political and commercial tensions between the United States and China have been growing steadily for years.
Rather than analyse the many reasons that led to this tension, we looked at how recent actions have had unintended consequences on seemingly unrelated phenomena.
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TALC MINING VALUE CHAIN
narrating the changes to a talc mining value chain in Achin, Nangarhar over recent years
The talc value chain consists of the talc mines, the local bazaar at which the talc is traded locally and crucially the road and bridge network required to transport the talc to the local and regional markets beyond
We mapped and analysed the value chain over recent years.
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THE RETREAT FROM KABUL
Mapping what happened during that fateful retreat.....
1842, 3 years after the British and East India Company forces had defeated those of Afghan Emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai and restored the former ruler, Shah Shujah Durrani, as emir, a deteriorating situation was making the British position more and more precarious.
We have mapped what happened next, which led to the retreat from Kabul.
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