Strategy · Innovation · Impact
Innovation Resources Group pairs senior strategic judgment with advanced geospatial analysis to help organizations decide what to protect, where to act, and how to fund it.
Our clients face high-stakes decisions about land, water, and limited resources. IRG supports them with decision-support tools, conservation and land-use planning, and decades of hands-on experience, translating data into actions partners can defend, fund, and sustain.
Our mission
We partner with land trusts, universities, agencies, and communities to protect what matters most, pairing scientific rigor with practical implementation so partners can decide what to protect, where to act, and how to fund it.
What we do
We help conservation organizations and communities decide where to focus. Our strategic plans integrate ecological value, climate resilience, equity, and community priorities into actionable, fundable strategies, grounded in realistic capacity and funding assumptions, and structured to guide action over time. We approach planning as a decision-support process, not a document-production exercise.
We build transparent, defensible models that rank opportunities and surface trade-offs. Using the Logic Scoring of Preference (LSP) method, refined across nearly two decades of practice, we combine spatial, ecological, and stakeholder-driven criteria into clear scoring frameworks that can be explained, updated, and adapted. Our models help clients direct funding, identify high-value parcels, and build consensus around priorities.
We deliver professional geospatial analysis and map products for plans, funding applications, and public engagement: suitability and prioritization mapping, visibility and viewshed analysis, hazard and flood-risk mapping, habitat and watershed assessment, and social-vulnerability analysis, all built to professional cartographic standards from authoritative data.
We assemble clean, analysis-ready datasets at scale. From multi-state parcel acquisition across hundreds of jurisdictions to schema standardization, deduplication, quality control, and address-standardized (USPS-CASS) mailer preparation, we handle the data groundwork that makes outreach and analysis possible, with attention to licensing and data-privacy requirements.
We make findings usable. We design and deploy StoryMaps, data explorers, and web-based decision tools that put maps, criteria, and results in the hands of staff, partners, and the public, including custom applications that let non-technical users query data and obtain estimates without specialized software.
We help quantify the value of nature. We measure the costs and benefits of land-management strategies on ecosystem services such as water quality, biodiversity, recreation, timber, and carbon, then build tools that deliver valuation estimates directly into planning and project-evaluation workflows.
Our work
Decision support tool development
Multi-Benefit Conservation Prioritization Tool · 2025
IRG developed a GIS decision support tool using the Logic Scoring of Preference (LSP) method to identify high-priority conservation parcels that provide overlapping stormwater, ecological, and recreational benefits. The tool supports transparent, data-driven investment decisions and helps the County target multi-benefit outcomes.
Geospatial modeling
Conservation-Aligned Affordable Housing Site Model · 2024
Designed a parcel-based GIS model to evaluate sites for conservation-aligned affordable housing with potential for greenspace and recreational connectivity. The tool, built in ArcGIS Online, allows non-technical users to visualize opportunities and inform strategic site selection.
Strategic conservation planning
Eno River Strategic Conservation Plan · 2024
Partnered with the Eno River Association on the development of a watershed-scale prioritization model that integrated ecological criteria, climate resilience, and community values. The resulting plan provides a roadmap for protecting high-value landscapes while engaging stakeholders in long-term stewardship.
Geospatial analysis and landowner engagement
Marsh Conservation and Restoration Strategy · 2025
Delivered GIS analysis and landowner identification services to support marsh conservation and restoration strategies along Maine's coast, in partnership with the University of Maine and the University of Delaware. The work informed regional planning for tidal habitat resilience and coastal ecosystem protection.
Geospatial planning support
Comprehensive Plan Update · 2025
Working with Clarion Associates as a support firm, contributing to the County's plan update by providing geospatial support for natural resources, hazard mitigation, and coastal resilience elements. IRG's input is helping shape forward-looking policies rooted in green infrastructure and working landscape protection.
Community engagement and StoryMaps
Loxa-Lucie Headwaters Initiative StoryMap · 2024
Developed an interactive StoryMap combining conservation priorities, existing protections, and development pressure data to highlight the Loxa-Lucie Headwaters Initiative. The tool serves as a community-facing platform to elevate awareness and support for local conservation action.
Conservation assessment
Confidential Client · 2024
Conducted a comprehensive evaluation of two surplus properties in North Carolina to assess their conservation values and identify potential disposition. Using a combination of desktop GIS analysis, field reconnaissance, and post-site evaluation, IRG developed a set of strategic recommendations addressing environmental value, risk factors, and opportunities for long-term stewardship.
Strategic advisory and options analysis
Nature for All Coalition Options Analysis · 2024
As a strategic advisor to the Nature for All Coalition, IRG collaborated with Amigos de los Rios on a comprehensive options analysis for enhancing recreation, conservation, and resilience across the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Emerald Necklace San Gabriel & Rio Hondo Urban River corridors. IRG developed actionable recommendations for expanding federal designations, improving visitor access and stewardship, and leveraging workforce and funding to uplift communities and protect vital green infrastructure in the Los Angeles region.
Our clients
The people
Will Allen is a nationally recognized expert in strategic conservation planning and geospatial decision support, with more than 30 years of experience applying GIS, land suitability analysis, and structured decision-making frameworks to land use and conservation challenges. As a Principal at IRG, Will leads the development of data-driven tools and spatial models that help communities, agencies, and nonprofits maximize environmental and economic outcomes with limited resources.
Will's body of work spans over three dozen strategic conservation plans and includes award-winning projects across the U.S. that integrate ecosystem service valuation, climate resilience, stormwater management, and habitat protection. His portfolio reflects a deep commitment to actionable planning—helping clients convert complex data into clear, fundable, and impactful strategies. Will is a co-author with Dr. Kent Messer of The Science of Strategic Conservation: Protecting More with Less and a pioneer in the use of Logic Scoring of Preference (LSP) and optimization methods in conservation.
His leadership in advancing applied GIS solutions is recognized through affiliations with The Conservation Fund, where he served for nearly three decades, and through his roles as a founding board member of the Society for Conservation GIS, co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Conservation Planning, and fellow at the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research. Will holds a BA in Urban Studies from Stanford University and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jamie has more than twenty-five years of experience leading projects and teams focused on delivering measurable outcomes at the intersection of spatial data, innovations in technology, and environmental management. His work crosses nearly every discipline and industry, leading enterprise projects for organizations like the Nature Conservancy, Gannett Fleming TranSystems, the U.S. Air Force, the Virginia Department of Transportation, NASA, and Dominion Energy.
Jamie started his career as a geospatial data and software specialist for the USDA Forest Service, the Conservation Fund, and GeoDecisions. In 2000, he founded WorldView Solutions, a geospatial consulting and software firm acquired by Gannett Fleming in 2018. In 2016, he co-founded the technology startup Outdoor Access, a platform using geospatial technology to give outdoor enthusiasts exclusive short-term access to private land for hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping while helping landowners earn additional income from their land.
Jamie earned a Bachelor of Arts, with Honors, from the College of Wooster, and a Masters in Environmental Management, with Honors, from Duke University.
Connect with us
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