RAND
Category:Thinktanks\n:
Alternate meanings: See RAND (disambiguation)
The
RAND Corporation is a
US "
think tank"
organization first formed to offer research and analysis to the US
military, but which has since expanded to working with other
government and
commercial organizations. RAND has around 1100 employees based at four sites:
Santa Monica (
California),
Arlington (
Virginia),
Pittsburgh (
Pennsylvania), and
Leiden (The
Netherlands). The
corporation's name is a contraction of the phrase "
Research ANd Development". (Gen.
Curtis LeMay quipped that RAND meant "
Research
And
No
Development".)
Project RAND
RAND was set up, in 1945, by the USAAF as Project RAND, under contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company (now McDonnell Douglas), and in 1945 they released the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship. In May 1948, Project RAND was separated from Douglas and became an independent organization.
Mission Statement
RAND was incorporated as a nonprofit organization to "further promote scientific, educational, and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare and security of the United States of America."
Achievements and Expertise
The achievements of RAND stem from its development of systems analysis. Important contributions are claimed in space systems and America's space program, in digital computing and in artificial intelligence.
Current areas of expertise, including that of RAND's education-related division—the Institute on Education and Training, are: child policy, civil and criminal justice, education, environment and energy, health, international policy, labor markets, national security, population and regional studies, science and technology, social welfare, terrorism, and transportation.
According to the 1994 annual report "two-thirds of Rand's research involves national security issues."
See also: \n*James Q. Wilson (board of directors)
Notable RAND participants
External links
\n*RAND website\n*An article about RAND at Disinfopedia
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