The RAND Corporation is an American nonprofit global policy think tank,[1] research institute, and public sector consulting firm.

Since the 1950s, RAND research has helped inform United States policy decisions on a wide variety of issues, including the space race, the Vietnam War, the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms confrontation, the creation of the Great Society social welfare programs, and national health care.

[8][9] The United States Army Air Forces established Project RAND with the objective of investigating long-range planning of future weapons.

Its American locations include: Santa Monica, California (headquarters); Arlington, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Boston, Massachusetts.

The program aims to provide practical experience for students, who work with RAND analysts on addressing real-world problems.

[19] The immediate impetus for the creation of RAND was a conversation in September 1945 between General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold and Douglas executive Franklin R.

[23] Both men were deeply worried that ongoing demobilization meant the federal government was about to lose direct control of the vast amount of American scientific brainpower assembled to fight World War II.

By late 1947, Douglas Aircraft executives had expressed their concerns that their close relationship with RAND might create conflict of interest problems on future hardware contracts.

In February 1948, the chief of staff of the newly created United States Air Force approved the evolution of Project RAND into a nonprofit corporation, independent of Douglas.

Since the 1950s, RAND research has helped inform United States policy decisions on a wide variety of issues, including the space race, the Vietnam War, the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms confrontation, the creation of the Great Society social welfare programs, the digital revolution, and national health care.

[28] RAND contributed to the doctrine of nuclear deterrence by mutually assured destruction (MAD), developed under the guidance of then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and based upon their work with game theory.

[29] Chief strategist Herman Kahn also posited the idea of a "winnable" nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War.

[1] In the early 1990s, RAND established a European branch to serve clients across the public, private, and third sectors, including governments, charities, and corporations.

[39][14][11] During the Cold War, RAND researchers contributed to the development of nuclear strategy concepts such as deterrence theory and mutually assured destruction.

"[57][58] On September 13, 2024, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation sent a letter to the RAND Corporation to better understand its "involvement in the AI Executive Order and the administration’s other actions related to online speech.