The Fund for Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security. They promote sustainable security through research, training and education, engagement of civil society, building bridges across diverse sectors, and developing innovative technologies and tools for policy makers.
Combining social science techniques with information technology, they have produced the patented Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST), a content analysis software product that provides a conceptual framework and a data gathering technique for measuring conflict risk. They produce The Failed States Index, an annual ranking of 177 countries across 12 indicators, that is published by Foreign Policy magazine.