What Others Say About RAND
A prerequisite for formulating sound policy is understanding clearly which courses of action are possible and what can be gained or lost as you follow each of them. RAND is singularly able to lay out the options and insure that policy makers are not blind-sided. For this reason alone, RAND is a precious national resource.
Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States
Co-chair of RAND's 50th Anniversary Celebration
It's not enough for America to want to do right by all of its people. As we strive to improve our health care and education systems and to narrow the wage gap that separates the rich and poor, we have to be realistic and practical. RAND's people come up with real answers to very hard problems. They honed their skills on questions of national security and then applied them to complex domestic issues.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
Co-chair of RAND's 50th Anniversary Celebration
RAND's value has always been to provide a broad context for decisionmaking. By focusing the power of empirical analysis on the issues, RAND helps those who must decide our nation's priorities understand what's really at stake. A strong RAND gives America an extra edge in the 21st century.
Warren Christopher
Former Secretary of State
We Americans like to believe that for every problem we can find a solution if we put our minds to it. But the truth is that few policy problems have single right answers. To avoid serious mistakes, policy makers need meticulous, objective analyses of alternatives to decide what is possible, even if not what is perfect. No one does that task better than RAND. Analyses of the kind RAND pioneered are essential to constructive debate about the choices that have to be made to resolve difficult issues.
Shirley M. Hufstedler
Former U.S. Secretary of Education,
Former U.S. Circuit Judge
With the end of the Cold War, we entered an unformed, unnamed era. No single strategy can direct our policies in the years ahead. Instead, we have to make our way from one challenge to the next, determining what actions hold out the greatest promise for America and for the world. In this new era, the nation needs more than ever the kind of non-partisan, objective determination of facts and alternative strategies that is the RAND hallmark.
General Colin L. Powell
United States Army (Ret.)
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Thomas Jefferson's belief in the capacity of the people to govern themselves was based on the assumption that they would be well informed. RAND plays a significant part in providing the public and its representatives with timely and well-researched information on important issues confronting our society.
Arthur Miller
Bruce Bromley Professor of Law, Harvard University
More than any other such institution, RAND influenced the outcome of the Cold War. Looking toward the coming century's challenges, RAND's brilliance and independence will be more crucial than ever.
Vaclav Havel
Former President of the Czech Republic
RAND has changed the nature of the policy questions in a number of areas in American education - such as helping the at-risk population, improving testing, and restructuring higher education. I believe RAND's education research is making a difference in both policy and practice.
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