FAQs About RAND

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About RAND | RAND 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
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 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About RAND

 

 
 We help leaders tackle the toughest policy challenges by arming them with RAND research and analysis. RAND's work is high-quality, objective, and innovative. We're nonprofit and nonpartisan.

 
 
 
 RAND serves as a trusted advisor that helps leaders tackle tough problems across nearly all policy domains. We provide decisionmakers with clear, unbiased, and actionable insights. We arm leaders with the information they need to make important decisions. We do not advocate for specific policies or political outcomes. This ensures that leaders can trust our work .

 
 
 
 RAND research topics and questions are largely driven by client and grantmaker requests; we work to understand what our sponsors are eager to learn about and proceed accordingly, moving quickly to get clients what they need to make informed decisions.



 Clients and grantmakers from public and philanthropic sectors in the United States and elsewhere turn to RAND for high-quality research that helps them tackle tough policy challenges. Funding comes from federal, state, and local governments, philanthropic contributions, and foundation partnerships. We also operate four federally funded research and development centers. 



 Our FFRDCs analyze national security and homeland security matters. Other RAND research divisions work in social and economic policy, with projects addressing issues related to health, education, employment, and infrastructure.



 We also use funds from philanthropic support and our modest endowment for research projects that are either too new or too urgent to attract traditional client support.



 However projects are funded, RAND is committed to quality and objectivity. Our research is guided solely by evidence and data.

 
 See a list of our funders 

 
 
 Federally funded research and development centers are independent entities that conduct research for the U.S. government and advise government leaders. These centers are continually assessed and competed to ensure they remain effective.



 RAND's FFRDCs focus exclusively on producing studies and analysis that help federal clients in a variety of ways. For example, our insights can help streamline the acquisition process for greater efficiency, identify ways to maintain operational readiness, highlight how to save the government money, assess future risks, and shape cost-effective security solutions.

 
 Learn more about RAND's FFRDCs 

 
 
 The RAND name originated as a contraction of r esearch and d evelopment. We were founded as the RAND Corporation in 1948. However, in the 75+ years since, the term corporation has become increasingly synonymous with private enterprise and for-profit companies, not nonprofits like us. That's why w

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