How does RAND select projects?
It really depends on which research unit is doing the work. Some units that conduct research in social and economic policy—e.g., RAND Health, RAND Education, RAND Labor and Population—compete with other organizations and universities for funds from government agencies and private foundations. Our federally funded research and development centers—i.e., RAND Project AIR FORCE, the RAND National Defense Research Institute, and the RAND Arroyo Center—are long-standing research centers funded annually through the Department of Defense budget to carry out short- and long-term research on national security questions. In addition, RAND uses philanthropic support and the organization’s own endowment for projects that are either too new (e.g., HIV research in the 1980s) or too urgent (e.g., providing assistance to the U.S. Gulf States region immediately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita) to have client support.
