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Past Projects by Summer Associates

A Summer Associates Policy Seminar during the week of July 15, 2024, photo by Diane Baldwin/RAND

The RAND environment provides a rich variety of ongoing studies and an experienced staff of professional researchers. Each graduate student summer associate is matched with a project and a mentor, based on educational background, skills, and experiences, and available project needs.

For example, Summer Associates contributed to the following research:

HIV Care Consumers' Perceptions of Providers' Behaviors, Medical Mistrust, and Experiences of Discrimination
Interviews with Black and Latine HIV care consumers investigate their views on medical mistrust and experiences of stigma. Drivers of mistrust included perceptions of providers not prioritizing patient interests, perceived dishonesty, and doubts about their competence.
Jul 30, 2025
How Allies Have Responded to Past U.S. Retrenchment
A review of past instances of U.S. retrenchment provides insights into how allies might respond to shifts in strategy today. Cases of limited U.S. retrenchment from West Germany, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s offer important lessons.
Jul 8, 2025
Lessons from the War in Ukraine for Space
Cyberattacks, GPS jamming, and other threats have significantly shaped the war in Ukraine. The growing sophistication of both Russia's and China's counterspace capabilities only increases the likelihood that the United States and its allies might face similar disruptions in a future conflict.
May 21, 2025
Could Artificial Intelligence Be Misused to Plan Biological Attacks?
Previous biological attacks that failed because of a lack of information might succeed in a world in which AI tools like large language models could bridge that gap. And given the rapid evolution of AI and biotechnology, governmental capacity to understand or regulate them is limited.
Oct 16, 2023
What If Russia Crossed the Nuclear Threshold in Ukraine?
The dynamic between Ukrainian momentum and Russia's desperation has raised concerns that the Kremlin might resort to nuclear escalation to turn the tide of the war. How could the United States expand its options to respond to potentially produce better outcomes?
Oct 5, 2023
The Strategic Value of Jointness in Major Power Competition and Conflict
For more than 30 years, the U.S. Department of Defense has placed substantial emphasis on jointness. Understanding what aspects of jointness are most valuable—and why—can help DoD compete more effectively against its adversaries and maximize the United States' competitive military advantages.
Sep 5, 2023
Are Income Share Agreements a Viable Alternative to Student Loans?
Under an income share agreement (ISA), the student promises a share of their future income to a funder for a set period in exchange for money for school. ISAs have benefits, but their contract terms vary, they exist in a legal gray zone, and there are equity implications.
Aug 22, 2023
Planning Green Infrastructure Under Deep Uncertainty
Green infrastructure measures are increasingly used for climate adaptation in urban areas, but it remains a challenge to evaluate their effectiveness and strategically allocate investment. A new open-source tool can help analyze green infrastructure placement under deep uncertainty.
Aug 16, 2023
Monitoring Behavioral Health in Public Health Emergencies: A Toolkit for Public Health Officials
With improved monitoring and surveillance, public health officials can follow long-term behavioral health trends and better anticipate the impacts of public health emergencies. This toolkit shows how existing data sources—unemployment insurance claims, 2-1-1 hotline calls, calls to poison control centers—can be used for surveillance.
Jun 27, 2023
Now Is the Time for Space Traffic Management
The growing number of objects in orbit has increased the potential for overcrowding, debris creation, and, ultimately, collisions. If space powers don't establish an international space traffic management organization soon, the world could lose key portions of its orbital resources.
Jun 5, 2023
Assessing the Readiness for Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations
What is the progress of the commercial space industry in adopting voluntary standards for participant safety, and towards meeting key metrics that would indicate readiness for regulation?
Apr 3, 2023
Managing the Escalation Risks of U.S. Military Activities in the Indo-Pacific
Grounded in 14 case studies of reactions by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to U.S. military activities and other events in the Indo-Pacific, this brief offers U.S. military planners a framework to identify the PRC perceptions that are likely to cause an aggressive or escalatory PRC response.
Jan 12, 2023
Promising Services for Justice-Involved Youth
A review of programs for youth involved in the juvenile justice system identifies promising and effective practices and can help the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council in Los Angeles County make evidence-informed decisions regarding programs that are selected for funding.
Jan 5, 2023
Ensuring Mission Assurance While Conducting Rapid Space Acquisition
As the U.S. Space Force pursues rapid acquisition of warfighting capabilities, a key question is whether the streamlining techniques being used to get new space systems to operators quickly create mission assurance vulnerabilities.
Dec 19, 2022
Assessing Competency of Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners
Most individuals tasked with the primary prevention of sexual assault are not adequately trained for the job. Researchers tailored an assessment tool to reflect the competencies needed and tested individuals with varying levels of expertise.
Oct 14, 2022
Laws for Expanding Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
This study reports on the results of a qualitative analysis that identified and categorized state medications for opioid use disorder related statutes and regulations in a stratified random sample of 16 states and Washington D.C.
Oct 7, 2022
Guidance on When to Estimate a Future Price Factor
A future price forecast can help FEMA and communities seeking its Public Assistance estimate construction costs. Researchers created a framework, relying on expected per capita damage and rates of in-migration to the area, for determining when such a forecast could be useful.
Jun 20, 2022
Evidence to Support New Army Combat Fitness Test Is Incomplete
The U.S. Army has a new fitness test for the first time in 40 years. A review finds that more evidence is needed to prove that all six test events adequately predict performance on combat tasks and that combat standards are a necessary metric for all Army jobs. Women, National Guard troops, and others are passing the test at lower rates.
Mar 23, 2022
Recruiting and Retaining Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals in Digital Trials
Digital trials have the potential to improve access to research and clinical treatments for the most vulnerable and minoritized, including pregnant and postpartum individuals. But digital trials are underutilized in maternal and child health studies. Researchers aimed to address this gap.
Mar 8, 2022
Weighing Entanglement Risks of U.S. Security Relationships
Some analysts argue that security relationships cause the United States to adopt its partners' interests, incentivize allies and partners to engage in reckless behavior, and risk getting dragged into conflicts. Others contend that the United States avoids entanglement by keeping its own interests in mind.
Nov 22, 2021
Developing an Air Force Retention Early Warning System
Which features and indicators inform retention outcomes within the U.S. Air Force? A forecasting model for retention can alert decisionmakers to emerging problems and allow for time to consider adjustments.
Oct 14, 2021
Benefits and Drawbacks of the Four-Day School Week
A four-day school week is becoming more common, especially in states with large rural areas. Champions of the shorter week contend that it saves money, improves student attendance, and helps recruit and retain teachers to rural districts. But what does the evidence say?
Oct 7, 2021
Exploring the Feasibility and Utility of Machine Learning-Assisted Command and Control
Is there potential for artificial intelligence (AI) systems to assist in Air Force command and control (C2) from a technical perspective? An analytical framework assesses the suitability of a given AI system for a given C2 problem.
Jul 15, 2021