RAND and USC Announce Partnership to Foster Joint Research and Educational Programs

The RAND Corporation and the University of Southern California today announced a partnership designed to encourage collaboration between the institutions on research projects, educational programs and staff recruitment.

USC President Steven B. Sample and RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson signed an agreement today creating the partnership during a reception at USC's University Park Campus.

The partnership agreement provides a framework for researchers to hold joint appointments at RAND and USC, and for researchers based at each institution to lead projects headquartered at the other. In addition, the agreement creates the possibility of joint educational programs and the possible joint recruitment of faculty and research staff. One of the goals of the partnership is to foster joint research projects focused on the challenges facing the greater Los Angeles region.

“This partnership brings together two leading research institutions to benefit the entire region,” Thomson said. “We look forward to a successful and productive collaboration between RAND and USC.”

“We're also very pleased to join with RAND in a strategic alliance aimed at improving people's lives and well-being,” Sample said. “By combining the intellectual capital and unique resources of our two world-class institutions, we can work together to find solutions to urban challenges in areas such as transportation, security, infrastructure, public health and education.”

The partnership marks the first formal relationship between USC and RAND, although researchers from the institutions have collaborated on projects in the past. Recent collaborations include a national conference on the future of terrorism risk insurance, which was held at USC and attracted participants from across the nation.