It was originally created by Dr. Barry B. Hughes of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. The model is free to use, and can be accessed in an online version or downloaded for stand alone use. There is extensive documentation of the use of the software in the help system and an online user forum for user questions. IFs has also been written about by Dr. Hughes in the book Exploring and Shaping International Futures with Evan Hillebrand, along with other reports and publications all of which can be found on the project's website..