RAND Corporation

Background

During the various military campaigns of World War II, the U.S. War Department, the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and industry identified the need for a private organization to link military planning with research and development. To establish such an organization, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the fall of 1945 issued a special contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California, to create Project RAND, which would eventually become the RAND Corporation.

A number of people participated in the creation of Project RAND, including H. H. “Hap” Arnold, U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the USAAF; Edward Bowles, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a consultant to the Secretary of War; General Lauris Norstad, Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Plans, USAAF; Major General Curtis LeMay of the USAAF, who was in charge of the strategic bombing of Japan; Donald Douglas, President of Douglas Aircraft Company; Arthur Raymond, Chief Engineer at Douglas; and Franklin Collbohm, Raymond's assistant.

The first report of Project RAND, which was published in 1946, was years ahead of its time. It addressed the design and possible use of an experimental, world-circling spaceship.

In 1948, with the approval of the U.S. Air Force (which was established in 1947), RAND became an independent, nonprofit corporation. And Project RAND was transferred to the new corporation. During much of the Cold War era, the RAND Corporation worked closely with the defense industry, the military, and the federal government, helping to develop policies and strategies and to improve decision making. In the 1960s, RAND expanded its scope to also include national, social, economic, political, and healthcare delivery and financing issues.

Organizational Structure

The RAND Corporation's mission is to help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. Its core values are quality and objectivity. To accomplish its mission, RAND is governed by a 23-member Board of Trustees, which is composed of leaders from the business, academic, and nonprofit sectors. The corporation is also guided by 16 advisory boards, composed of experts in various areas. It has nine research divisions, including the following: RAND Army Resource Division; RAND Education; RAND Europe; RAND Health; RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment; RAND Institute for Civil Justice; RAND Labor and Population; RAND National Security Research Division; and the RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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