Philanthropically Supported Research

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.

Philanthropic contributions support our ability to take the long view, tackle tough and often-controversial topics, and share our findings in innovative and compelling ways. RAND's research findings and recommendations are based on data and evidence, and therefore do not necessarily reflect the policy preferences or interests of its clients, donors, or supporters.

Featured Research

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  Small Unmanned Aerial System Certification and Traffic Management Systems 2017

  Kenneth Kuhn

  In this Perspective, we consider potential regulations for small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) design, including aircraft certification requirements and more-novel, flexible risk-based standards. We also consider the unique challenges of air traffic control for sUAS traffic and describe roles that could be played by the Federal Aviation Administration, operators, and manufacturers, particularly with regard to safety and efficiency.

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  The Effects of Iowa's Proposed Stopgap Measure on Health Insurance Costs and Coverage 2017

  Sarah A. Nowak, Preethi Rao, Jodi L. Liu, Christine Eibner

  This report uses RAND's COMPARE microsimulation model to estimate the effects of a 1332 waiver application from the state of Iowa. The waiver is designed to stabilize Iowa's Affordable Care Act individual market through a series of modifications. We estimate that the application would increase the federal deficit, but would decrease federal spending per enrollee on the ACA-compliant market.

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  The Energy Implications of Drones for Package Delivery: A Geographic Information System Comparison 2017

  Timothy R. Gulden

  Delivery drones may become widespread over the next five to ten years, particularly for small, light items. In the future, drones could augment, or even replace, truck fleets and could have important implications for energy consumption, air traffic management, road congestion, urban planning, and consumption patterns in urban areas. In this report, we use a geographic information system analysis to compare truck versus delivery drone energy use.

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  Design Perspectives on Delivery Drones 2017

  Jia Xu

  To better understand the short-term technical viability and future prospects of delivery drones, we developed and exercised a delivery drone performance model. The model is sensitive to key vehicle design parameters of delivery drones, such as aerodynamic, structural, and propulsive efficiencies; battery density; and mission and operating assumptions.

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  The Promise of Community Citizen Science 2017

  Ramya Chari, Luke J. Matthews, Marjory S. Blumenthal, Amanda F. Edelman, Therese Jones

  Community citizen science involves individuals actively leading and carrying out research, exerting a high degree of control and ownership over scientific activities and tends to involve action-oriented research to support interventional activities or policy change. This Perspective examines the transformative potential of community citizen science for communities, science, and decisionmaking.

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  Autonomous Vehicles and Federal Safety Standards: An Exemption to the Rule? 2017

  Laura Fraade-Blanar, Nidhi Kalra

  We examine changes being considered to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) exemption process that are aimed at facilitating deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs). We find that the proposed solution -- an adaption of the existing exemption process -- is not well suited to AVs because traditional methods of evaluating vehicle safety as a precondition to granting exemptions are largely inapplicable.

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  When the Islamic State Comes to Town: The Economic Impact of Islamic State Governance in Iraq and Syria 2017

  Eric Robinson, Daniel Egel, Patrick B. Johnston, Sean Mann, Alexander D. Rothenberg, David Stebbins

  This report leverages remote sensing data and satellite imagery to assess the impact that Islamic State control and governance have on local economies in Iraq and Syria. It paints a bleak picture of life under the Islamic State. Although the group was able to maintain stable conditions in parts of Mosul and Raqqah, conditions in other cities deteriorated under poor governance and an inability to hold territory in the face of military opposition.

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  What's the Buzz? The City-Scale Impacts of Drone Delivery 2017

  Andrew J. Lohn

  This report examines the developing technology for using drones to deliver packages and attempts to identify the societal impacts. In particular, the author estimates the potential effects on energy consumption, infrastructure requirements, aerial congestion, privacy, and noise for a range of cities and operating conditions.

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  Russian Strategy in the Middle East 2017

  James Sladden, Becca Wasser, Ben Connable, Sarah Grand-Clement

  The authors seek to identify the important elements of Russian interests in the Middle East beyond Syria, to define the nature of Russian engagement in the region, and to describe the contours of a Russian strategy in the Middle East. Russia's regional strategy is an approach of ways and means, where broad principles take the place of prescribed ends; it is constantly seeking to improve its short-term economic, military, and political advantages.

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  Hazing Prevention and Response: Training for Military Leaders 2017

  Kirsten M. Keller, Miriam Matthews, Kimberly Curry Hall, Melissa Bauman

  This instructor guide provides content for leading Hazing Prevention and Response: Training for Military Leaders, an adaptable, interactive class to help with hazing prevention and response efforts. The class defines hazing, gives examples of hazing in a military context, and summarizes several hazing misconceptions. It also describes hazing-related policies and discusses strategies for leaders to help prevent and respond effectively to hazing.

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  Making Victory Count After Defeating ISIS: Stabilization Challenges in Mosul and Beyond 2017

  Shelly Culbertson, Linda Robinson

  This report investigates humanitarian and stabilization needs in Iraq, through a case study of Mosul, and offers recommendations for actions for stabilization after liberation from ISIS. The research team examined humanitarian needs, security implications, infrastructure and services, and governance and reconciliation. All of these activities will affect the immediate stabilization of Iraq and Mosul more specifically, including whether civilians can return home.

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  Informing Pittsburgh's Options to Address Lead in Water 2017

  Linnea Warren May, Jordan R. Fischbach, Michele Abbott

  This Perspective reviews the use of lead in Pittsburgh's water system and the policy options for remediation currently being weighed by local decisionmakers. We review the costs, regulatory barriers, and feasibility of the various options under consideration, including the city's new Safe Water Program and multiple pipe replacement options. We conclude with recommendations to reduce the public and private costs of full line replacement.

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  Discount Justice: State Court Belt-Tightening in an Era of Fiscal Austerity 2017

  Michael D. Greenberg, Samantha Cherney

  On January 12, 2015, the UCLA–RAND Center for Law and Public Policy held a conference in Santa Monica, California, to examine the depth of the resourcing problem for state courts in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, discuss impact and collateral implications, and identify policy options and practical steps to mitigate the challenges. This report summarizes the panel discussions and participants' responses to audience questions.

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  Inching Toward Reform: Trump's Deregulation and Its Implementation 2017

  Benjamin M. Miller, Frank Camm, Marjory S. Blumenthal, Jesse Lastunen, Kenneth W. Miller

  This Perspective considers how well Executive Order 13771 addresses the concerns of those who have long supported regulatory reform and how agencies and the Office of Management and Budget might best face the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing regulatory reform.

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  Iranian Domestic Challenges to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 2017

  Alireza Nader, Ali G. Scotten, James Hoobler

  This Perspective examines how Iranian factional divisions may impact the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany) and the viability of the JCPOA if major events were to occur, such as the death of the supreme leader or heightened U.S.-Iran tensions.

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  Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for Early Care and Education Programs: Making the Second Generation Better 2017

  Jill S. Cannon, Gail L. Zellman, Lynn A. Karoly, Heather L. Schwartz

  This perspective explores ways in which states can be more strategic about the allocation of funds for and within quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) to expand access to and improve the quality of ECE programs. We assess what the early childhood field has learned about QRISs as they have been widely adopted, and how the field can strategically move this first generation of QRISs into a second generation.

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  Empowering ISIS Opponents on Twitter 2017

  Todd C. Helmus, Elizabeth Bodine-Baron

  This Perspective presents options for operationalizing recent RAND Corporation findings about ISIS opponents and supporters on Twitter. This paper formulates a countermessaging approach for two main communication pathways: working with influential Twitter users in the Arab world and ways that U.S. and partner governments and NGOs can use our analysis to more effectively implement top-down messaging to directly counter ISIS support on Twitter.

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  An Intelligence in Our Image: The Risks of Bias and Errors in Artificial Intelligence 2017

  Osonde A. Osoba, William Welser IV

  Machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence influence many aspects of life today and have gained an aura of objectivity and infallibility. The use of these tools introduces a new level of risk and complexity in policy. This report illustrates some of the shortcomings of algorithmic decisionmaking, identifies key themes around the problem of algorithmic errors and bias, and examines some approaches for combating these problems.

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  Zero Days, Thousands of Nights: The Life and Times of Zero-Day Vulnerabilities and Their Exploits 2017

  Lillian Ablon, Andy Bogart

  Zero-day vulnerabilities — software vulnerabilities for which no patch or fix has been publicly released — and their exploits are useful in cyber operations, as well as in defensive and academic settings. This report provides findings from real-world zero-day vulnerability and exploit data that can inform ongoing policy debates regarding stockpiling (i.e., keeping zero-day vulnerabilities private) versus disclosing them to the public.

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  Defence and security after Brexit: Understanding the possible implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU — Overview report 2017

  James Black, Alexandra Hall, Kate Cox, Marta Kepe, Erik Silfversten

  This RAND study examines the potential defence and security implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU. Specifically, it seeks to identify those policy areas, strategic concerns or military capabilities that might be most affected, as well as the spectrum of possible outcomes. The goal is to help policymakers to understand the key questions provoked by Brexit, and thus how they begin to plan for, mitigate and address these uncertainties.

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  Defence and security after Brexit: Understanding the possible implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU — Compendium report 2017

  James Black, Alexandra Hall, Kate Cox, Marta Kepe, Erik Silfversten

  This RAND study examines the potential defence and security implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU. Specifically, it seeks to identify those policy areas, strategic concerns or military capabilities that might be most affected, as well as the spectrum of possible outcomes. The goal is to help policymakers to understand the key questions provoked by Brexit, and thus how they begin to plan for, mitigate and address these uncertainties.

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  Defence and security after Brexit: A snapshot of international perspectives on the implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU 2017

  Jeremy Ghez, Magdalena Kirchner, Michael Shurkin, Anna Knack, Alexandra Hall, James Black

  This RAND Perspective explores international perspectives on the possible defence and security implications of the June 2016 referendum vote that the United Kingdom should cease its membership of the European Union. This is part of a wider RAND Europe study seeking to identify those policy areas, strategic concerns or military capabilities that might be most affected by Brexit and to explore the spectrum of possible outcomes in each area.

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  Maintaining Arctic Cooperation with Russia: Planning for Regional Change in the Far North 2017

  Stephanie Pezard, Abbie Tingstad, Kristin Van Abel, Scott Stephenson

  This report examines potential transformations that could alter Russia's current cooperative stance in the Arctic. It analyzes current security challenges related to climate and geography, economy, territorial claims, and military power, suggests some ways in which these could undermine Arctic cooperation, and offers recommendations for the U.S. government to manage the risks to cooperation.

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  A Peace Plan for Syria III: Agreed Zones of Control, Decentralization, and International Administration 2017

  James Dobbins, Philip Gordon, Jeffrey Martini

  In this third paper in a series addressing Syria's conflict, RAND researchers examine how recent developments in Syria and the region -- including the cessation of hostilities that was sponsored by Russia, Iran, and Turkey -- reinforce the prospects for a national ceasefire based upon agreed zones of control backed by external powers. The authors also propose a plan for international administration of Raqqa province.

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  A Strategy to Counter ISIL as a Transregional Threat 2017

  Lynn E. Davis, Jeffrey Martini, Kim Cragin

  This Perspective offers a strategy to counter Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, as a transregional threat, with a focus on steps to confront the violent jihadist threat over the long term. The strategy prioritizes the security of the U.S. homeland, then focuses on reducing support for ISIL and al Qaeda among Sunni Arabs and balancing support for Kurds in the counter-ISIL campaign with avoiding fueling ethnic conflict.

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