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Report

Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence

May 11, 2022

Artificial intelligence is anticipated to be a key capability for enabling the U.S. military to maintain its dominance. How do software engineers and other technical staff in the industry view the defense community? Are they willing to contribute to AI-related projects for military use?
Report

Improving Defense Acquisition

Jun 16, 2022

Informed by 35 years of RAND research on defense acquisition, a new analysis describes overarching trends that affect DoD's acquisition system, outlines challenges in the acquisition process, and suggests improvements that might help address those challenges.

Explore United States Department of Defense

Report

Assessing the Potential for Racial Bias in the Security Clearance Process

In this exploratory report, the authors consider the security clearance process through the lens of racial justice. They identify areas where bias might contribute to the underrepresentation of Black Americans in the national security workforce.

Aug 15, 2022
Report

Managing Adverse and Reportable Information Regarding U.S. Military Officers: 2019 Update

The authors analyze the policies and processes for reporting unfavorable information about U.S. military officers being considered for appointments, promotions, or retirements and make recommendations for improvement.

Jul 1, 2022
Blog

Teachers' Stress, Drug Dealing in San Francisco, Preventing Mass Shootings: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on stress among America's educators, what state governments can do to prevent targeted violence, stopping open-air drug dealing in San Francisco, and more.

Jun 17, 2022
Report

Comparing the Organizational Cultures of the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley

The U.S. Department of Defense seeks to work more effectively with Silicon Valley in order to better leverage artificial intelligence technology. What cultural differences might complicate DoD-Silicon Valley collaboration? And in what areas is there common ground?

Jun 9, 2022
Commentary

Beware the Allure of Training Technology

In addition to focusing on acquiring technology that helps retain a competitive advantage, the U.S. Department of Defense could also focus on codifying processes that align technology with user needs and that adapt as technology, military operations, and needs change. Considering context when planning the development and use of training technology could be crucial.

May 18, 2022
Report

Contractor Risk and Performance Indicators: Prototype Functional Specification and Developer Document

This report presents the technical design and architecture of a RAND-developed software prototype that assesses relative contractor risks in Department of the Air Force acquisition contracts and programs as described in two companion reports.

May 16, 2022
Report

Early Predictive Indicators of Contractor Performance: A Data-Analytic Approach

This report presents initial insights and approaches in exploring and prototyping methods to identify potential contractor performance risks for the Department of the Air Force earlier than would be typically reported via traditional methods.

May 12, 2022
Report

Do National Security Communication Campaigns Work? Taking a Lesson from the Public Health Sector

Through a systematic review of research on public health communication campaigns, the authors identified insights relevant to national security communication campaigns, such as those conducted by the U.S. Army's psychological operations forces.

May 10, 2022
Commentary

Effective Use of Nonlethal Weapons Could Require Combating Disinformation

The temporary and reversible effects of nonlethal weapons reduce the potential for collateral damage while mitigating the risk of inadvertent escalation in peacetime and gray-zone situations. But public perceptions can have powerful effects on how these systems are employed and the impact of their use.

Apr 22, 2022
Journal Article

Innovating Innovation in the U.S. Department of Defense Looking to Large Corporations for Inspiration

In recent years DoD leaders have become interested in identifying ways to create a culture, policies, and processes that yield more innovation than today's environment produces. This paper argues that this approach could hamper U.S. technological performance.

Apr 20, 2022
Report

Personnel Needs for Department of the Air Force Digital Talent: A Case Study of Software Factories

The authors conducted a case study to identify digital talent needs for the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) in the area of software development by exploring DAF software factories that use modern and agile software development practices.

Mar 30, 2022
Commentary

The Will to Fight in the Age of Social Media

Social media messaging has played a decisive role in strengthening Ukraine's will to fight—arguably the single most important factor in war—against Russia.

Mar 22, 2022
Multimedia

Press Briefing on U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Casualty Policies and Procedures

Researchers from the RAND Corporation brief the press on an independent RAND assessment of U.S. Department of Defense standards, processes, procedures, and policies relating to civilian casualties resulting from U.S. military operations.

Mar 8, 2022
Report

Assessing the Effectiveness of Future Concepts in the U.S. Air Force: Application to Future Logistics Concepts

RAND researchers present a Future Logistics Concept Assessment Framework, which is a disciplined, systematic way to assess proposed future logistics concepts to meet the requirements of the National Defense Strategy.

Mar 7, 2022
Q&A

Building Better Government Acquisition Programs: Q&A with William Shelton

In the U.S. Air Force, William Shelton managed hundreds of millions of dollars in acquisition programs. He retired as a colonel then joined RAND as an engineer. One of his recent projects provided the U.S. Space Force with a new approach to acquisition, designed around its unique mission.

Mar 4, 2022
Commentary

Military Yet to Fully Leverage Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing may very well become a critical component of the Defense Department supply chain, but challenges ranging from decentralized approaches among the various services, a lack of standards, limited awareness and know-how among military workforce and leadership, and intellectual property issues could prevent the Pentagon from realizing its potential.

Mar 2, 2022
Report

Securing the Microelectronics Supply Chain: Four Policy Issues for the U.S. Department of Defense to Consider

The authors analyze how the U.S. Department of Defense could mitigate microelectronics supply chain risk. They consider the appropriate mix of policy levers to promote a microelectronics technology ecosystem that is aligned with U.S. strategic goals.

Feb 28, 2022
Research Brief

Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation

RAND researchers evaluated four hypothetical alternative U.S. Department of Defense disability compensation approaches that would support a simpler disability evaluation process by reducing reliance on disability ratings.

Feb 9, 2022

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RAND Topic:
United States Department of Defense

Topic Synonyms:
Department of Defense

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