Charles River Analytics, a developer of intelligent systems solutions, announces a contract award from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) as part of the Strengthening Human Adaptive Reasoning and Problem-solving (SHARP) program. The goal of the SHARP program is to develop, demonstrate, and validate methods to augment intelligence analysts’ adaptive reasoning and problem-solving capabilities (ARP) and to enhance their ability to reason through complex problems common to the intelligence community. As part of the SHARP effort, Charles River is leading a team of top researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of New Mexico, and Harvard University to test the effectiveness of a Multifaceted Intervention for Robust, ARP-Focused Customized Learning and Enhancement, or MIRACLE.
Dr. Victoria Romero, the Principal Investigator for the SHARP effort at Charles River, explained, “For MIRACLE, we have drawn from cutting edge research on the effects of brain training and mindfulness practice to develop a program of training for improving cognitive abilities among high-performing adults. We are putting this training program to the test through a series of rigorous, empirical studies designed to demonstrate ARP improvement above and beyond the benefits of analysts’ typical daily activities.”
“The long-term goal of SHARP research is to develop evidence-based tools and methods that can improve the quality of human judgment and reasoning in complex, real world environments,” commented Dr. Adam Russell, SHARP program manager at IARPA. “Any successful results from SHARP research could lead to significant benefits for the Intelligence Community, in particular, as well as society, in general.”
