Skip to page content

Decisionmaking

Journal Article
Can Scenarios Help Policymakers Be Both Bold and Careful?
Low-probability and high-impact events have the potential to escalate into systemic crises. Developing the tools to anticipate and manage these scenarios is the focus of this volume.
Nov 27, 2023
Commentary
Budget Models Are Underselling the Benefits of Solving Climate Problems
When Congress considers a new law or spending package, analysts calculate its likely impact on the federal budget. When it comes to climate change legislation, those numbers don't capture the whole picture. Potential savings and other benefits get significantly underestimated.
Nov 15, 2023
Commentary
Generating Evidence Using the Delphi Method
The Delphi method, developed at RAND in the 1950s, is a group-based process for eliciting and aggregating opinion on a topic with a goal of exploring the existence of consensus among a diverse group of experts. It's become best practice for quantifying the results of group elicitation processes.
Oct 17, 2023
Report
Will We Hold Algorithms Accountable for Bad Decisions?
As artificial intelligence algorithms become incorporated into more decision processes that affect individuals' welfare and well-being, public perceptions of the technology will have many implications, including for jury judgments about algorithmic liability and support for AI regulation.
Oct 12, 2023
Report
Disruptive Money: Exploring the Future of Corporate Cryptocurrency
Researchers considered a future in which corporate cryptocurrency (crypto) is in widespread use and asked experts to identify strategic approaches to evolving technological and economic trends underpinning this potential future.
Sep 21, 2023
Report
Evaluating Department of Homeland Security Component Colocation for Field Efficiency and Performance: Framework and Methods
In this report, authors outline a framework and methods created for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to conduct colocation analyses using an analytical, repeatable model and set of frameworks.
Sep 12, 2023
Report
Creating Selective Overmatch: An Approach to Developing Cyberspace Options to Sustain U.S. Primacy Against Revisionist Powers
The authors apply the concept of selective overmatch to reevaluate current U.S. cyber operations in light of competition and possible conflict with China and show how this framework can provide a roadmap for U.S. Cyber Command’s future operations.
Sep 7, 2023
Journal Article
Rhodium-SWMM: An Open-Source Tool for Green Infrastructure Placement Under Deep Uncertainty
To help mainstream MORDM applications in GI planning, we developed an open-source Python library: Rhodium-SWMM. Rhodium-SWMM connects the USEPA's Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to Rhodium, a Python library for MORDM.
Aug 16, 2023
Journal Article
Strategies to Improve the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Health Equity: Scoping Review
This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the health equity issues related to the use of AI applications and identify strategies proposed to address them.
Aug 14, 2023
Report
Planning Ethical Influence Operations
Influence efforts should seek legitimate military outcomes, be necessary, employ means that are not harmful, have high likelihood of success, and should not generate effects beyond what is intended. Those that do not satisfy all criteria might still be justified if the expected benefit outweighs the harm.
Aug 11, 2023
Journal Article
Transportation Planning for Uncertain Times
Transportation agencies must pursue ambitious goals in the face of intense, large-scale, and increasingly fast-paced change. Through the decision making under conditions of deep uncertainty (DMDU) approach, researchers offer a guide for Metropolitan Planning Organizations to account for and manage future uncertainties as part of their regular transportation planning process.
Jul 11, 2023
Journal Article
Developing Key Indicators for Adaptive Water Planning
The MWD of SoCal addresses the challenges of hard-to-predict changes in future demand, climate, supply options, budgetary constraints, etc. Plans should be flexible and robust, designed to meet agency goals over a wide range of future conditions.
Jul 11, 2023
Commentary
Rising to the Challenge: A Methodological Approach to Prioritizing Defense Investments
Meeting the Pentagon's goals to invest efficiently in military capabilities calls for a methodological process hinging on five key elements: aligning strategies with tasks, understanding what drives military innovation, embracing specificity in problem-solving, preparing for an unknown future, and assessing technology investments for prioritization.
May 30, 2023
Dissertation
Beliefs, Needs, and Participation: Aligning Risk Governance and Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty Methods
Explores three ways that incorporating social heterogeneity derived from risk governance principles can enhance the application of decision making under deep uncertainty-based analyses of disasters.
May 11, 2023
Report
Elicitation of Climate Information to Support Water Agency Planning: Report of a Workshop with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Expert elicitation can supplement information from climate models to support adaptation planning. This report describes how the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission used elicitation to identify climate impacts on the city's water supply.
May 8, 2023
Dissertation
Coherence to Choices: Informing Decisions on Public-Private Partnerships in the Space Sector
Presents a comprehensive set of research on the topic of space public-private partnerships to move forward from the rudimentary discourse to critical discussions and analytical investigations.
May 3, 2023
Report
Decision Aid Framework Development to Inform the Application of Federal Assistance: Improving Sharing of Criminal History Record Information for Personnel Vetting
Researchers identified factors inhibiting the provision of information to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency from law enforcement agencies and developed a framework to help assess which areas might benefit from federal assistance.
May 3, 2023
Journal Article
Consistency of UK Climate Risk Approaches with New ISO Guidelines
This study aimed to understand differences between climate risk approaches and identify possible improvements, to help climate risk practitioners determine appropriate approaches, and to support society in assessing its management of climate risk.
May 2, 2023
Journal Article
From Least Cost to Least Risk: Producing Climate Change Mitigation Plans That Are Resilient to Multiple Risks
Using electricity system decarbonization as a focus area to highlight the different types of technological solutions, different risks that may be associated with them, and the approaches situated in a decision-making under deep uncertainty paradigm.
Apr 18, 2023
Journal Article
Planning Tool Methods and Results: Attachment G1
As part of the 2023 Coastal Master Plan, the Planning Tool was updated to use more detailed modeling data, including a structure-based asset inventory, and to respond to new CPRA planning priorities.
Apr 4, 2023

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

RAND Topic:
Decisionmaking

Topic Synonyms:
DA;
Decision Analysis;
Decision Making

Researcher Spotlight

Osonde A. Osoba

Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Osonde Osoba (oh-shOwn-day aw-shAw-bah) is an adjunct senior information scientist at RAND and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Osoba's research work weaves together two strands: applications of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to diverse facets of policy research…
Jody Chin Sing Wong

Associate Policy Researcher

Jody Wong is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She studies the cognitive and affective processes that impact people's decision-making in uncertain environments, and probes how strategic communication can encourage them to make informed decisions and stay committed to them.…

Explore Our People »