The British government has said it would not sign defence contracts with Scotland should it vote in 2014 for independence from the United Kingdom. RAND Europe vice president Hans Pung was interviewed by BBC Radio about the future of the Scottish defence industry should it secede. Pung notes, "It would be very difficult to move [aircraft carrier construction] quickly and easily elsewhere in the UK." The 6-minute interview starts at 44:13 in the programme.
As the leader of a research evaluation of the Wellcome Trust's African Institutions Initiative, Senior Analyst Sonja Marjanovic was a presenter and panelist at a conference organised by the London International Development Centre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Marjanovic spoke about how to evaluate complex, networked research capacity-building interventions.
While some downplay the burden that growing health care costs place on the United States, RAND Health Director Art Kellermann responds in the
Los Angeles Times that the U.S. healthcare system fails too many, too often, and at too high of a price. He cited a RAND Europe study that "compared 16 high-income countries to see how well they prevented deaths from medical conditions we know how to treat. The U.S. finished dead last."
RAND established a formal presence in Europe with the opening of the European-American Center for Policy Analysis (EAC) in Delft, the Netherlands, on 26 March 1992. The EAC was dedicated to "research and education on important policy issues facing Europe and North America in the post-cold War era and to foster cooperation between European and American scholars and policy analysts." In the 20 years hence, RAND Europe has expanded its research agenda and grown to be one of Europe's premiere providers of objective policy research.
"Horizon 2020 promises a novel industrial policy that tackles two issues: the inability to develop new technologies and market rigidity. The private sector cannot exploit many promising technologies due to risk-aversion and short-sightedness. A crisis-haunted public sector may be even less willing to take risks. Market rigidity, reinforced by the dominance of large incumbents in key sectors, undermines the competitiveness and agility essential if Europe is not to trail in the global recovery," writes senior research fellow Jonathan Cave in
Public Service Review: European Science and Technology
Hosting the 2012 Olympic Games this summer will place London and the UK at the centre of the world's attention — something that carries with it a wide range of potential security risks. Organizers must learn from the successes and problems of past games in the areas of transportation, infrastructure and security. RAND Europe offers policymakers a methodology that will help foster evidence-based decisions as they finalise security planning for the Games.
Security Jam is a massive online debate that will take place 19-23 March, bringing together thousands of participants to find concrete solutions to global security issues including crisis management, strategic partnerships, cyber security, and more. RAND Europe Defence and Security researchers will be participating in the discussions, and RAND Europe is proud to be a think tank partner of the Security Jam.
Senior Analyst Priscillia Hunt is presenting her research on developing macroeconomic models to support large-scale malaria prevention programmes, at the Wilton Park Sustainable Development Conference on Malaria on 20-22 February. Hunt and colleagues are working to capture a broader view of malaria's impacts on the economy and estimate the potential effects that reduced malaria could have on consumption inequality, poverty, and dynamic growth over time.
“In 2040, those over the age of 65 will represent more than 45% of the working age population aged 15-64 in the EU27. The reality is that people will have to work longer in the future, regardless of whether they want to or not. It’s inescapable," said Chris van Stolk in an interview with European Knowledge Networks about his report,
Impact of the Recession on Age Management Polices.
International Privacy Day celebrates the day in 1981 that the first international convention on privacy was signed. This year, the EU has published new rules governing the use of personal data protection, and the International Conference on Computer, Privacy and Data Protection is hosting discussions around how to modernise laws regarding personal data protection. Research by RAND Europe illustrates the complexities of maintaining privacy protections whilst supporting the legitimate use of personal data for economic and social purposes.
RAND Europe's annual review,
Spotlight 2011, focuses on selected present and past RAND Europe signature research. With 2012 being our 20th anniversary year, the report features some of our most recent work while reflecting on how RAND Europe has developed and remained relevant over the last two decades. It also highlights selected research and corporate activity in 2011.
Recent snapshots of fertility indicators across Europe look less depressing than they did a decade ago: The fertility rate for the European Union (EU) as a whole has stabilized, and it has increased in a number of member states. An article in the Fall 2011 issue of
RAND Review summarises the findings from RAND Europe's report,
Low Fertility in Europe: Is There Still Reason to Worry?"
Molly Morgan Jones, research leader for the Mapping Pathways project, visited Addis Ababa to present findings at the biennial International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) 2011. The conference was attended by more than 10,000 delegates from around the world, and many expressed an interest in having their countries serve as additional Mapping Pathways case-study sites. The project provided one of the few presentations on antiretroviral-based prevention.
RAND Europe President Jonathan Grant often explores the "science of science" and the role of research in policymaking. In a recent commentary in
Research Fortnight, he and a colleague examine the role of research funding and economic growth, particularly the difference between "multipliers" and "spillovers." They write, "The Government identifies the ‘UK’s world-class research base’ as a key driver of economic growth. But does the evidence of returns from public investment in R&D match the rhetoric?"
Jerzy Buzek MEP, President of the European Parliament, was the guest speaker at RAND Europe’s annual Brussels reception on 29 November. His talk highlighted the importance of research and development in Europe and the need to invest more in research talent and redouble efforts to increase the intensity and quality of research across the continent. Buzek also paid tribute to RAND Europe's contribution to policy making, a process which offers 'real solutions to the real problems of our fellow citizens.'
RAND Health Director Art Kellermann was the guest speaker at the inaugural lecture of the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) in November. He spoke about the challenges of acute care in the U.S. health system. CCHSR is a joint effort of RAND Europe and the University of Cambridge Institute of Public Health, aimed at informing policy and strategy through evidence-based assessment of health services in the UK and internationally.
The Science Media Centre held a press briefing to inform journalists of the EU's Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe: Reframing Addictions Project (Alice-Rap) and the latest scientific thinking on addiction. As part of the briefing, RAND Europe senior analyst Priscillia Hunt presented her research on "How big is the big business of addictions?" — and, in particular, whether incentives can be applied to firms involved in the production of substances and services that can lead to addiction, to encourage them to reduce the likelihood and danger of addiction.
RAND Europe is a partner in Mapping Pathways, a project to explore the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV/AIDS. Molly Morgan Jones is leading the project's literature review, which analyses all the research that has been published on the topic. In an interview on the Mapping Pathways website, Morgan Jones described her team's findings to date and how their observations will help to inform research ideas for Phase 2 of the project.
As part of RAND Europe's contribution to the UK government's Peace and Development Programme in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa, Matt Bassford facilitated a two-day workshop in Addis Ababa for the Department for International Development, with the aim of developing a Theory of Change for the programme. Workshop participants included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, and regional experts.
The euphoria with which the United States greeted the news of Osama bin Laden's death caused discomfort to many Europeans. The uneasiness was not only about celebrating the death, but it also raised concerns that America may now lean towards a more isolationist foreign policy potentially causing NATO to drift into irrelevancy. However, with active participation and strong European leadership, the partners will find themselves in a unique position to redefine the alliance in important ways.
The Delegation for Strategic Affairs is the unit of the French Ministry of Defence responsible for reflecting on strategic defence and security questions facing the country. For the past two years, the Delegation has awarded RAND Europe a grant to disseminate to the English-speaking world the work it does for the French Ministry of Defence and to publicise other relevant work (such as on transatlantic relations). To date the grant has funded research syntheses, report translation, and report printing and dissemination. Some of these are available below.
Jennifer Rubin, Director of RAND Europe’s Communities, Safety and Justice Programme, spoke at a TEDx event. She explored the hidden nature of the scale of serious and organised crime, such as drug and human trafficking, and suggested how a new approach inspired by methods used in the natural sciences could help to address these issues.
Europe Day celebrates the proposal for European cooperation that Robert Schuman presented on 9 May 1950. With a near-twenty-year record of engaging in high-quality pan-European analysis to assist European policymakers, RAND Europe is making its own contribution to more streamlined and effective governance in the EU. Recent work includes contributions to the EU's eGovernment strategy, work on social policies and the labour force, migration and fertility, and tackling cyber crime. The key reports are all available to download from our website.
With European governments seeking smart, sustainable solutions to increasingly complex challenges, innovation and learning become essential tools for good policymaking. RAND Europe's annual review, Spotlight on 2010, features many research projects that illustrate the value of learning and knowledge sharing to improve policymaking. It also provides an overview of RAND Europe's activity in 2010.
The Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research was formally established in November 2010 as a collaboration between RAND Europe and the University of Cambridge. Health researchers at RAND and the University's Institute of Public Health have been working increasingly closely together for the past 18 months with major successful joint grant applications, joint publications and and a thriving research programme.
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