About Us
We are simply about strategy, whether it is for positioning, planning, marketing, enrollment management, or fundraising. Our experience tells us that a cogent strategy is what separates the best organizations from others.
ISA is an innovative research and strategy firm for independent schools, colleges, universities, and non-profits. Led by the innovative thinking of founder Ian Symmonds, ISA sets the consulting standard for the next generation of educational strategists. Since our inception in 2003, we have served over 155 clients, representing 45 states, two countries, and several territories.
Armed with a strong team of experts in research, consulting, and creative services, ISA has grown into one of America's foremost strategic educational consulting firms. Our clients are large and small, tuition-driven and well-resourced, and little-known to well-known. They share a common need for cogent, fact-based strategy. We're the firm that delivers for them.
Because we look at organizations from a holistic perspective - and from the internal and external view - we find the intersection between mission and market opportunity. Our unique consulting methodology is predicated on five essential principles that enable clients to be strong, well-positioned, and with a sustainable future. They include:
- Research - Let's work with facts, not anecdote
- Strategy - We must position properly and set a clear strategic direction
- Advance - Enrollment, marketing, and development systems must be optimized
- Create - We should tell our story really well
- Inspire - Let's get people excited with something remarkable and relevant
We tend to work quickly and efficiently. With most clients, we can launch a project with a formal kick-off meeting and site visit, collecting qualitative data while on campus. We then set our research gears in motion, gathering the information we need to return back to the campus with key findings and strategic recommendations.
We offer a full range of strategy services for independent schools, colleges, universities, and non-profits, including the following: market research, strategic planning, marketing planning, branding, identity, institutional identity, enrollment management, capital campaign planning, creative services, and executive search.