The Profit Impact of Market Strategies (PIMS) is a comprehensive, long-term study of the performance of strategic business units (SBUs) in 3,000 companies in all major industries. The PIMS project began at General Electric in the mid-1960s. It was conducted at Harvard University between 1972 and 1974. In 1975 PIMS was taken over by a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization, formed for that purpose, called The Strategic Planning Institute (SPI). Since then, SPI researchers and consultants have continued working on the development and application of PIMS data. The PIMS database is available to individuals for a subscription price (in 2006) of $995 for one month's use and $2,500 for three months' use. Longer periods of subscription are available from SPI by special arrangement.