RAND Corporation

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. The RAND was started in 1946 inside the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was set up as an independent corporation in 1948.Dickson, Paul 1971. Think tanks. New York: Atheneum, p2328. The name was taken from R&D (research and development), though in fact it did no development. 

 Past 
Since the 1950s, RAND research has helped form United States policy decisions on many issues: the space race, the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms confrontation, the creation of the Great Society social welfare programs, the digital revolution, and national health care. It was best known for the doctrine of nuclear deterrence by mutually assured destruction (MAD), based upon their work with game theory. Chief strategist Herman Kahn discussed the idea of a "winnable" nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War. This led to Kahn being one of the models for "Dr Strangelove" in Dr. Strangelove. In the movie, RAND is spoofed as the "BLAND Corporation".

 Present 
The RAND is now financed by the U.S. government and private endowment,RAND's private endowment corporations,Corporate contributors on RAND's website the healthcare industry, universities,Major Clients and Grantors of RAND Research | RAND and private individuals.for RAND's individual contributions see Finance 

The organization now works with other governments, private foundations, international organizations, and commercial organizations on a host of non-defence issues. RAND techniques were based on operations research (O.R.) which started in World War II. O.R. is the interdisciplinary application of scientific thinking to problem-solving. It relies mostly on the hard sciences like physics and mathematics, and economics.Quade, Edward S. (ed) 1966. Analysis for military decisions. Chicago:Rand McNally. However, some famous biologists and social scientists have worked with RAND at times, and the importance of social ideas and thinking is more important than ever today.

RAND has about 1,700 employees and three principal North American locations: Santa Monica, California (headquarters); Arlington, Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute has offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.RAND Gulf States Policy Institute website RAND Europe is located in Cambridge, England, and Brussels, Belgium.RAND Europe website The RAND-Qatar Policy Institute is in Doha, Qatar.RAND-Qatar Policy Institute website RAND's newest office is in Boston, Massachusetts.

RAND is also home to the Pardee RAND School, which is the world's largest Ph.D.-granting program in policy analysis. Unlike many other universities, all PARDEE RAND Graduate School students receive fellowships in order to cover their education costs. RAND also offers a number of internship and fellowship programs allowing students and outsiders to assist in conducting research for RAND projects. Most of these projects are short-term and are worked on independently with the mentoring of a RAND staff members.

RAND publishes the RAND Journal of Economics, a peer-reviewed journal of economics.

To date, 32 winners of a Nobel Prize, mainly in economics and physics, have been  associated with the RAND at some point in their career.Brigette Sarabi, "Oregon: The Rand Report on Measure 11 is finally available" , Partnership for Safety and Justice (formerly Western Prison Project), January 1, 2005. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.

 References 

Category:Non-profit organizations of California
Category:Santa Monica, California
Category:Think tanks based in the United States
Category:1948 establishments in California