Advancing Equity Through Research
By bringing a DEI lens to our research and dissemination efforts, we consider structural, historical, and contextual factors with the aim of ensuring that the implementation of our recommendations advances equity.

Photos by Diane Baldwin and Grace Evans/RAND Corporation and Andrea Wenglowsky. Design by Haley Okuley/RAND Corporation.
One of the most critical aspects of our DEI strategy is how it intersects with our mission and values. We strive for careful consideration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our research and public engagement. This informs how we compose our teams; how we formulate our research questions; how we design, execute, and communicate our research; and, ultimately, how we pursue impact.
What We're Doing to Advance Equity
-
Innovation Portfolio Focuses on Equity
For decades, RAND has deployed philanthropic support and income from operations to research that pushes the boundaries of what's possible and supports our ability to imagine. For several years, President and CEO Michael Rich devoted this funding stream to support research that seeks solutions to societal inequities and provides the data, evidence, and methods to inform more effective and more equitable policy. Projects are examining such topics as reducing the Black–White wealth gap, equity in vaccine confidence, and educating undocumented immigrant children.
-
Impact Awards Bolster Community Engagement
Impact Awards give research projects a boost in visibility, enabling researchers to expand their outreach efforts to make a bigger difference to individuals, communities, and nations. A recent award is supporting a project to develop and disseminate visual stories that explore the impact of environmental racism on communities. Another award will help a project team inform the design and execution of programs to counter extremist activity online and prevent racial, ethnic, and gender-based violence.
-
Pardee RAND Curriculum Integrates Social Justice and Racial Equity
Pardee RAND Graduate School added social justice and racial equity to its cross-cutting academic threads. This will empower graduates and the school community with the training and resources needed to engage in research and action that addresses inequitable social structures and systemic racism.
Learn more -
Evidence and Equity Collaborative
RAND, in partnership with the eight other social and economic policy research organizations of the Evidence and Equity Collaborative, is coproducing a collaborative learning agenda that will help build our capacities to conduct more equitable research.
Learn more -
Seminar Series on Equity and Public Policy
RAND Social and Economic Well-Being holds seminars and meetings to examine the future of public policy and the role of equity. The series explores how equity factors into the design of RAND's research and policy studies; the role of equity in how public policy is shaped; and how equity influences our choices in translation, dissemination, and connection of our findings to policymakers and policy influencers.
DEI in Research Communications and Outreach
Words matter, and so do the images we use to help communicate our work. A team of RAND experts in publishing, digital communications, and design developed guides to help improve research and corporate communications. A writer's guide explains the use of more-inclusive language, and a visual guide explains sourcing and selecting more-inclusive images.
-
Gender Equity in Asia Initiative
The RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy launched the Gender Equity in Asia initiative to provide a forum for scholars to discuss gender equity issues relevant to the Asian context, develop a research agenda in selected areas and geographies of Asia, and disseminate recommendations to policymakers in Asia and other audiences.
Learn moreUpdated Research Quality Standards
RAND completed an update of its Standards for High-Quality and Objective Research and Analysis. In this revision, the standards draw greater attention to relevance and new attention to transparency, legitimacy, engagement, and inclusion. Applying the standards is core to our systematic consideration of diversity, equity, and inclusion principles in research products and in research activities across RAND.
Learn more
RAND Voices
Leading the Way: Research Centers Addressing Equity, Inclusion
RAND has centers and institutes that are dedicated to solving new and enduring policy challenges related to advancing racial equity, improving the lives of veterans and their families, addressing homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing in Los Angeles, forging paths toward equitable and sustainable work opportunities, and understanding the causes and consequences of disability in the United States.
We are grateful to the donors whose generous support helped us establish some of these research centers.
RAND Research and Policy Insights on DEI Issues
RAND research and commentary explore issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion from a variety of angles and across multiple disciplines. Here are some recent offerings:
Explore More: Community Health and Well-Being, Digital Equity, Educational Equity, Environmental Equity, Gender Discrimination, Gender Equity, Health Equity, LGBTQ+ Populations, Military Veterans, Neighborhood Influences on Health, People with Disabilities, Racial Discrimination, Racial Equity, Social Determinants of Health, Social Equity, Workforce Diversity, Workplace Well-Being
Join Us in Shaping the Future of RAND
Our creative environment thrives on new ideas and spirited debate. We're looking for talented individuals with unique backgrounds, work experiences, and outlooks.
Search For Jobs at RAND Apply to the Pardee RAND Graduate School