Infrastructure

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  • Smoke billowing from a burning building with firefighters on a ladder. Photo by Vastram / Adobe Stock

    Report

    Insuring Public Buildings, Contents, Vehicles, and Equipment Against Disasters

    Oct 9, 2020

    What insurance and financial risk management practices do state and local governments employ for buildings, contents, vehicles, and equipment, and what role does Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance play in these decisions?

  • Man wearing a hard hat facing away looking at electricity pylons and wires, photo by xijian/Getty Images

    Commentary

    The Downside of a Lean Electric Grid

    Oct 13, 2020

    The electric grid is central to U.S. national security. Recent disasters provide an example of the downsides of leanness. It's more costly to be less lean, but given our dependence on the electric grid and the increasing prevalence of disasters, safety and resilience may be greater priorities.

Explore Infrastructure

  • Report

    Report

    Adapting to Adversity amid a Global Pandemic: Stakeholder Insights About Progress and Next Steps for Taking Integrative Action to Build Resilient Systems

    In 2020, the global pandemic and ongoing chronic stressors caused multiple shocks in the United States. The authors describe recommendations to advance an integrative resilience research and practice agenda based on recent stakeholder experiences.

    Jun 11, 2021

  • A young woman having a counselling session with a psychologist using a video conferencing tool, photo by PeopleImages/Getty Images

    Commentary

    How COVID-19 Lessons Can Transform U.S. Mental Health Care

    It would be a powerful conclusion to the pandemic if Americans reimagined a health system that was resilient against future threats, including the resulting psychological trauma. Policymakers have the opportunity now to cut short the pandemic's long tail of mental illness by taking decisive action.

    Jun 2, 2021

  • Crane trucks in the construction of a bridge, photo by Juan Enrique del Barrio/Adobe Stock

    Commentary

    New Thinking to Translate Infrastructure Dollars into Resilience

    Infrastructure investments the United States makes today to recover from the pandemic can help boost resilience for the future. We will need to think beyond what we've done in the past to ensure that these investments can continue to protect the nation from shifting threats in the future.

    Jun 2, 2021

  • Blog

    Reopening the U.S. Economy, Geoengineering, 5G: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on the potential effects of reopening the economy before the White House's vaccination goal is met, students' learning experiences during the pandemic, competition in the 5G era, and more.

    May 28, 2021

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Common Themes in Early State Policy Responses to Substance Use Disorder Treatment During COVID-19

    States have made significant policy changes to SUD treatment policies during COVID-19, particularly regarding telehealth and facilitation of remote care. Understanding these changes could help policymakers prioritize guidance during the pandemic and for future health crises.

    May 27, 2021

  • Dissertation

    Dissertation

    How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blockchain: Implications and Applications of Blockchain

    Explores the implications and applications of blockchain, the technology underpinning contentious cryptocurrencies.

    May 25, 2021

  • 5G network over earth, image by LHG/Getty Images

    Report

    5G: Great Expectations and Significant Concerns

    The development of 5G markets and technologies is more of an enduring competition than it is a race. How are U.S.-based companies faring? And what are the implications of 5G devices, networks, and services for securing data and protecting individual privacy?

    May 24, 2021

  • Report

    Report

    Managing for Mission Assurance in the Face of Advanced Cyber Threats

    This report offers a foundation for better managing, at the enterprise level in the Air Force, efforts to ensure resiliency of missions to adversarial cyber operations, including suggestions for the allocation of roles and responsibilities of tasks.

    May 24, 2021

  • Blog

    Vaccine Hesitancy, Working from Home, Arctic Diplomacy: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on vaccine hesitancy as a symptom of ‘Truth Decay,’ how to make remote work beneficial for all, U.S. Arctic diplomacy, and more.

    May 21, 2021

  • Crews patch potholes in the Portland Metro area in Portland, Oregon, January 25, 2017, photo by Oregon Department of Transportation

    Commentary

    Progress on Infrastructure, but the Devil May Be in the Details

    Negotiations are underway between the White House and Congress about the scope of investment in infrastructure and how to pay for it. But reaching a compromise on spending may not be enough to ensure that the spending will produce results as intended.

    May 21, 2021

  • Woman walking by a convenience store with signs indicating acceptance of WIC and food stamps in Chelsea, Massachusetts, April 16, 2020, photo by Keiko Hiromi/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Biden Administration's Chance to Improve SNAP and Nutrition Support

    If policymakers were to make permanent the relaxed rules forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it could be a start to increased racial equity in SNAP. Given broad public support for SNAP, making benefits easier to access, particularly for those already eligible, could be a bipartisan priority.

    May 19, 2021

  • A driver walks to his car near an empty gas pump in Falls Church, Virginia, May 12, 2021, photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

    Commentary

    Is DarkSide Really Sorry? Is It Even DarkSide?

    The U.S. military relies heavily on commercial energy assets, making the implications of events like the Colonial Pipeline outage more serious than just higher prices at the gas pump. The origins and severity of an attack dictate what the United States might do in response.

    May 19, 2021

  • A man puts his biometric passport on a scanner at an automatic border control point at Zurich-Kloten airport near Zurich, Switzerland, December 1, 2010, photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

    Commentary

    How the EU Can Overcome Barriers to Using AI in Border Security and Beyond

    Artificial intelligence is increasingly a crucial tool for improvement and innovation in public policy and services. While there are opportunities to harness AI as a tool for improving the effectiveness of border-security functions, there are also barriers to its adoption.

    May 17, 2021

  • Clock with navigation marker and satellite orbiting Earth, images by petrovv and janiecbros/Getty Images

    Report

    Weighing the Costs of GPS Disruption and Developing Backup Capabilities

    The Global Positioning System (GPS) has a key role in national positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), but it is far from the only source of capability for PNT. Would national investment in GPS backup capabilities be warranted, given the potential threats to its functioning?

    May 17, 2021

  • Blog

    Pandemic Education, Working Mothers, Predicting Cyber Threats: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on the urban-rural divide in pandemic education, supporting working moms, what makes a good COVID-19 reopening plan, and more.

    May 14, 2021

  • An employee works on final assembly of ventilators at Ventec Life Systems, in Bothell, Washington, March 18, 2020, photo by Lindsey Wasson/Reuters

    Commentary

    Supply Chains and National Security

    The many pandemic-related shortages that occurred in the United States and elsewhere provide a clear warning. Serious supply-chain vulnerabilities exist. We need to learn much more about this potential threat to national security.

    May 11, 2021

  • Connected dotted lines representing a network, image by liuzishan/Getty Images

    Report

    New Model Helps Predict Cyber Threats and Improve Resilience

    Today's evolving cyber threats require a tailored and targeted approach to cybersecurity. Current defenses focus on managing threats after a network has been breached. RAND's Scalable Warning and Resilience Model (SWARM) can help defenders proactively protect their systems through early warning of cyber incidents before they occur.

    May 11, 2021

  • Massive coils of heavy high tension wire to rebuild the island's electrical distribution system arrive at the lay-down yard in this undated photo in Ponce, Puerto Rico, photo by Jerry Rogers/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

    Commentary

    U.S. Military Power Comes from More Than Just the Defense Budget

    With U.S. domestic challenges ranging from the ongoing pandemic to long-delayed infrastructure investments, now is a good time to consider spending that provides both domestic and national security benefits. Infrastructure spending offers one such example.

    May 10, 2021

  • A hearing to examine U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2022 and the Future Years Defense Program, on Capitol Hill, March 25, 2021, photo by Andrew Harnik/Pool/Sipa USA

    Report

    How Does Defense Spending Affect Economic Growth?

    Prioritizing defense spending over infrastructure investment might undermine economic growth. Given that the size and health of the U.S. economy are ultimately the basis for the nation's military power, policymakers should consider that the economic effects of defense spending have consequences for long-term security.

    May 7, 2021

  • Periodical

    Periodical

    RAND Review: May-June 2021

    The cover story highlights the value of invention, analyzing the economic and social impacts of winners of the Lemelson-MIT Prize. A second feature focuses on human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs in China and what we know from satellite images.

    May 6, 2021

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