Andrew Dowse to Lead Australian Arm of RAND Corporation

Andrew Dowse, retired air vice-marshal and former director of defence research at Edith Cowan University, has been appointed director of RAND Australia, the Canberra-based arm of the RAND Corporation. He becomes the first Australian to lead RAND Australia, established in 2014.

“Andrew brings to RAND extensive defence and research experience, as well as leadership and engagement qualities,” said Michael Rich, president and CEO of U.S.-based RAND, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institution. “He joins RAND at a critical time for research and policy analysis in Australia. As the country navigates economic recovery, a continuing pandemic, increasing national disasters, cyber threats and more, it is robust research and analysis that can help solve complex policy problems and develop strategies for national resilience.”

Dowse has commenced his tenure and is engaging with the Australian Government to support national and regional priorities. His most recent work for RAND Australia has been to provide research support to the Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise.

“I've long admired RAND's approach to high-quality research and analysis and am excited about joining the organisation,” Dowse said. “We as a nation face so many challenges right now, where such analysis in public policy can make a real difference to our future.”

Dowse holds a Ph.D. in information science from the University of New South Wales. He succeeds Carl Rhodes, under whose leadership RAND Australia grew its local footprint as it transitioned to more projects being led by the Australian team.

RAND Australia provides national security, defence, and social and economic policy expertise. Its local research talent is augmented with world-class experts from across RAND's global presence. RAND relies upon data-driven solutions and strong analytic methods to solve complex public policy problems with a commitment to its core values: quality and objectivity.