Photo by Diane Baldwin/RAND
The RAND Alumni Association (RAA) was established in 1992 to provide RANDites with social and professional engagement opportunities. All former RAND staff members, Trustees, summer associates, post-docs, RAND graduate school students, and RAND research fellows, including military officers, are part of our RAND alumni community.
The Natalie and Robert Crawford Alumni Impact Award (formerly the Alumni Impact Fund or “AIF”) was created to provide the RAND family with an opportunity to help RAND researchers extend the reach of projects with the potential for greater impact. Dollars collectively raised by RAND supporters have helped give completed RAND research projects a boost in visibility and move them closer to having impact and making a difference to individuals, communities, and organizations. RAND alumni help choose which projects are supported through the fund.
In 2023, “Reforming and Rebuilding Ukraine” was selected as the project to be funded with AIF donations raised in 2022. The project team is using the funding to help officials prepare and plan for long-term, consistent, and coordinated policy toward post-war Ukraine.
In 2022, researchers received funding to support a project to help inform the design and execution of programs to counter, disrupt, or contain extremism activity online.
The AIF project funded in 2021 focused on mitigating the national security risks of Truth Decay and helping to prevent foreign adversaries from manipulating U.S. public discourse.
In 2020, researchers partnered with the people of Puerto Rico in disaster recovery efforts with AIF support.
The AIF project funded in 2019 helped to expand education and employment opportunities for inmates and ex-offenders.
AIF support helped researchers shape the policy narrative on accountability in cyberspace in 2018.
Two projects received AIF funding in 2017: one project taking aim at stemming the opioid epidemic; and a project to help community organizations counter violent extremism.
With AIF support, in 2016 researchers worked to extend the impact of two projects: a tool to match veterans with high-quality civilian jobs; and a project to tackle antimicrobial resistance.
The two projects funded in 2015 focused on the effects of potential changes to the Affordable Care Act and the use of long-range armed drones.
