RAND Corporation
On the 1st of October 1945, Project RAND began operations under a special contract with the Douglas Aircraft Company. The immediate impetus for this project was a conversation in September 1945 between General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold and Douglas executive Franklin R. Collbohm. Both men were deeply worried that ongoing demobilization meant the federal government would lose control of American scientific brainpower assembled to fight World War II. Arnold told Collbohm that their idea was the most important thing they could do. They convened two days later at Hamilton Army Airfield to sketch out a general outline for the proposed project. Douglas engineer Arthur Emmons Raymond came up with the name Project RAND from the phrase research and development. In May 1946, the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship was released. By late 1947, Douglas executives expressed concerns about conflict of interest problems on future hardware contracts. On the 14th of May 1948, RAND was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under California law. Initial capital for the spin-off was provided by the Ford Foundation.
RAND contributed to the doctrine of nuclear deterrence by mutually assured destruction developed under Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Chief strategist Herman Kahn posited the idea of a winnable nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War. This led to Kahn becoming one of the models for the titular character of the film Dr Strangelove where RAND is spoofed as the BLAND Corporation. Even in the late 1940s and early 1950s long before Sputnik, the RAND project secretly recommended a major effort to design a human-made satellite that would take photographs from space. Albert Wohlstetter served as a mathematician and Cold War strategist who shaped these early theories. The organization helped develop game theory concepts used to analyze U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms confrontation. In 1963, Horace Rowan Gaither chaired the board and produced the Gaither Report which assessed national security vulnerabilities. Daniel Ellsberg later leaked the Pentagon Papers while working as an economist at the think tank. The RAND Health Insurance Experiment ran between 1974 and 1982 establishing an insurance corporation to compare demand for health services with their cost to patients.
RAND researchers developed many principles used to build the Internet through packet switching technology. Paul Baran was one of the developers of packet switching which was used in ARPANET and later networks like the Internet. Cliff Shaw invented the linked list and co-authored the first artificial intelligence program. Richard Bellman created dynamic programming methods still used today. George Dantzig developed the simplex algorithm for linear programming. Herbert Simon won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on decision-making processes. Allen Newell contributed to artificial intelligence research alongside John von Neumann who pioneered modern digital computers. Anthony C. Hearn developed the REDUCE computer algebra system which remains the oldest such system still in active use. Norman Shapiro co-designed the MH Email and RAND-Abel systems. Willis Ware served as a JOHNNIAC co-designer and early computer privacy pioneer. In December 2023, the House Science Committee sent a bipartisan letter raising concerns over RAND's research that failed to go through robust review processes.
In the early 1990s, RAND established a European branch to serve clients across public private and third sectors. RAND Europe is incorporated in Cambridge The Hague and Brussels with offices in all three cities. The organization maintains American locations including Santa Monica California headquarters Arlington Virginia Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Boston Massachusetts. The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute has an office in New Orleans Louisiana. RAND Australia operates from Canberra Australia. The think tank employs approximately 1,850 people worldwide. Its funding sources include U.S. government private endowments corporations universities charitable foundations state and local governments international organizations and foreign governments. In the 2024 fiscal year revenues and other support totaled $514 million of which $328 million came from the U.S. federal government. RAND publishes the RAND Journal of Economics as a peer-reviewed journal of economic sciences.
Current areas of expertise include child policy law civil and criminal justice education health international policy labor markets national security defense policy infrastructure energy environment business governance economic development intelligence policy long-range planning crisis management population studies regional studies comparative studies science technology social policy welfare terrorism counterterrorism cultural policy arts policy and transportation. In 2018 RAND began its Gun Policy in America initiative resulting in comprehensive reviews of gun policy effects. The second expanded review in 2020 analyzed almost 13,000 relevant studies on guns since 1995 and selected 123 for inclusion. These studies evaluated scientific support for eighteen classes of gun policy finding that child-access prevention laws reduce firearm self-injuries homicides and assault injuries among youth. Conversely stand-your-ground laws increase firearm homicides and shall-issue concealed carry laws increase total and firearm homicides. The organization also researched the opioid epidemic and alcoholism. The RAND analysis of the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching found interventions had no significant effect on student achievement despite being a $575 million Gates Foundation initiative.
Thirty-two recipients of the Nobel Prize have been associated with RAND at some point in their career primarily in economics and physics. Kenneth Arrow won the Nobel Prize in Economics developing the impossibility theorem in social choice theory. Robert Aumann won the Nobel Prize in Economics as a mathematician and game theorist. John Forbes Nash Jr. won the Nobel Prize in Economics known for his work in differential topology. Harry Markowitz greatly advanced financial portfolio theory by devising mean variance analysis winning the Nobel Prize in Economics. Edmund Phelps won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics while Thomas Schelling won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics. Oliver Williamson won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. Herbert Simon won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economics. Condoleezza Rice served as an intern trustee from 1991 to 1997 before becoming Secretary of State. Henry Kissinger was United States Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977 and National Security Advisor from 1969 to 1975 winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. Donald Rumsfeld chaired the board from 1981 to 1986 and served as secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 and 2001 to 2006.
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Common questions
When was the RAND Corporation founded and what was its original name?
The RAND Corporation was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation on the 14th of May 1948. It originated as Project RAND which began operations under a special contract with the Douglas Aircraft Company on the 1st of October 1945.
Who were the key figures involved in creating the RAND Corporation project?
General Henry H. Arnold and Douglas executive Franklin R. Collbohm initiated the project after a conversation in September 1945. Douglas engineer Arthur Emmons Raymond coined the name Project RAND from research and development while Albert Wohlstetter later shaped early Cold War theories.
What major technological contributions did RAND researchers make to computing and the Internet?
RAND researchers developed packet switching technology used to build the Internet through ARPANET networks. Paul Baran developed packet switching while Cliff Shaw invented the linked list and co-authored the first artificial intelligence program alongside John von Neumann.
Where are the current headquarters and international offices for the RAND Corporation located?
The organization maintains American locations including Santa Monica California headquarters Arlington Virginia Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Boston Massachusetts. RAND Europe is incorporated in Cambridge The Hague and Brussels with additional offices in New Orleans Louisiana and Canberra Australia.
How many Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the RAND Corporation throughout its history?
Thirty-two recipients of the Nobel Prize have been associated with RAND at some point in their career primarily in economics and physics. Notable laureates include Kenneth Arrow Robert Aumann John Forbes Nash Jr Harry Markowitz Edmund Phelps Thomas Schelling Oliver Williamson and Herbert Simon.