RAND at a Glance

To help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.

Core Values

Quality and objectivity

Our People

Approximately 1,700 people from more than 50 countries work at RAND, representing diversity in work experience; academic training; political and ideological outlook; and race, gender, and ethnicity. Our project teams are assembled from among RAND's 950 research professionals whose collective expertise spans nearly every academic field and profession—from economics and behavioral science to medicine and engineering. Hailing from academia, government, and industry, RAND researchers combine theory with real-world experience.

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Locations

The RAND Corporation is a global organization with offices throughout the world. RAND's North American locations include Santa Monica, California, the home of its headquarters campus and the Pardee RAND Graduate School; Arlington, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Boston, Massachusetts. The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute has offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi. RAND Europe is located in Cambridge, UK, and Brussels, Belgium. The RAND-Qatar Policy Institute is in Doha, Qatar.

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Organization

Research is carried out by five units that address social and economic policy issues; by three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) that focus on national security; by professors and graduate students at the Pardee RAND Graduate School; and by RAND Europe, an independently chartered European affiliate.

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Organizational Structure
Core Research Areas

Funding

RAND is a nonprofit institution. Our research is commissioned by a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms. Additionally, generous philanthropic contributions, combined with earnings from RAND's endowment and operations, make possible RAND's Investment in People and Ideas program, which is used to support innovative research on issues crucial to the policy debate but that reach beyond the boundaries of traditional client funding.

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A Public Resource

RAND disseminates its research findings as widely as possible to benefit the public good. More than 10,000 RAND reports and commentary are available online at www.rand.org.

Governance

Since 1948, RAND has operated as an independent nonprofit organization. RAND's structure includes a Board of Trustees, which consists of distinguished public servants and leaders in the academic, business, and nonprofit sectors. Karen Elliott House, Former Publisher, The Wall Street Journal; Former Senior Vice President, Dow Jones and Company, Inc., serves as chairman of the board. Michael D. Rich serves as president and chief executive officer.

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Educational Opportunities

Since 1970, RAND has operated the Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS), an innovative and respected graduate school that is currently the world's leading producer of Ph.D.'s in public policy analysis. PRGS enrolls approximately 100 Ph.D. students from more than 20 countries; its 300 alumni are leaders in government, business, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

RAND also offers a number of internship and fellowship programs. The Graduate Student Summer Associate Program allows outstanding students to conduct short-term independent research within the framework of an ongoing RAND project; these summer associates are mentored by RAND staff. RAND also provides postdoctoral candidates with the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills through several RAND fellowships and programs.

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History

Project RAND began after World War II as a special initiative within the Douglas Aircraft Company of Santa Monica, California. The purpose was to continue in peacetime the advances in knowledge that civilian research scientists had been recruited to develop during the war. Early research was conducted for only one client—the U.S. Army Air Forces—and focused exclusively on U.S. national security. In 1948, Project RAND separated from Douglas Aircraft and became the RAND Corporation, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting scientific, educational, and charitable purposes for the public welfare. RAND diversified its research focus and for more than six decades has used scientific analysis to help individuals, families, and communities throughout the world be safer, healthier, and more prosperous.