Research & Innovation

The Pardee RAND Graduate School is unique in offering a doctoral program in policy analysis within an applied policy research setting and focus on innovative analytic methods. RAND provides an environment ideally suited to educating graduate students in policy analysis, offering a range of research opportunities in policy analysis that is unmatched by any other institution. Through our required research fellowships, the Pardee RAND curriculum enables students to participate in current RAND research projects in a range of policy and analytic areas.

Analytic Methods Centers

Drawing on the expertise of more than 1,000 world-class researchers, faculty, and students, the Methods Centers at Pardee RAND organize our diverse base of expertise around a set of interlocking and leading-edge analytic domains to create the next generation of research methods and tools.

RAND Center for Applied Network Analysis and System Science

RAND Center for Causal Inference

RAND Center for Decision Making under Uncertainty

RAND Center for Gaming

RAND Center for Qualitative and Mixed Methods

RAND Center for Scalable Computing and Analysis

Policy Research Areas

As part of RAND Corporation, students have the opportunity — and in fact are required — to conduct policy research as part of RAND research teams. Our policy research areas include health, education, and wellbeing; defense and security; global issues; and much more.

Featured Initiatives

Pardee Initiative Offers Bold Ideas for Global Human Progress
Launched in December 2013 with a generous grant from Frederick S. Pardee, the Pardee Initiative for Global Human Progress is a new approach to chronic problems faced by the developing world, most notably food insecurity and challenges of urbanization.
Cazier Initiative for Energy and Environmental Sustainability
The Cazier Environmental and Energy Sustainability Initiative is turbocharging research in environmental and energy sustainability at Pardee RAND to generate new concepts, tools, and methods to improve public policy and the commercial sector.
Student-Led Initiatives
Pardee RAND encourages students to extend their policy analysis training outside of the classroom, through the International Development Speaker Series, the L.A. Policy Symposium, and other student-led initiatives.
James Q. Wilson Collection: A Research Archive
The James Q. Wilson Collection includes nearly 1,400 books from his personal collection and an archival collection of approximately 20 linear feet of papers that RAND Knowledge Services has cataloged for the benefit of the research community. A finding aid is available to help researchers explore the collection.

Recent Student-Faculty Research Collaborations

People shaking hands over an image of a city with a globe superimposed over the top, photo by chombosan/Getty Images

Student-Prof Commentary: City Diplomacy Has Been on the Rise. Policies Are Finally Catching Up

Cities are not signing international treaties, nor do they have embassies around the world, write Sohaela Amiri (cohort '16) and Professor Rafiq Dossani. But cities can engage in all kinds of negotiations, reach agreements, and influence world politics. The State Department could tap into this power to further enhance U.S. diplomacy, global image, and influence.

Close-up of a person reading/texting on their smartphone, photo by sam thomas/Getty Images

Three Takeaways from RAND's Analysis of News in the Digital Age

How has the rise of digital technology shaped the way that news is presented? Student Mahlet Tebeka (cohort '17), alum Steve Davenport ('15), and professors Jennifer Kavanagh and Bill Marcellino conducted an empirical study to find out. Here's what you need to know from their findings.

A medical bill showing balance due, photo by DNY59/Getty Images

Addressing Surprise Medical Bills Without Raising the Cost of Health Care

Patients who try to stay within their insurers' networks can be hit with surprise bills when they unknowingly receive care from out-of-network physicians. Erin Duffy (cohort '15) and Profs. Chapin White and Mark Friedberg ask how much a physician should be paid for providing a service that is critical but rendered without the patient's ready ability to choose an in-network provider.

Five glasses of water, with dirty water in the center, photo by hdere/Getty Images

How to Ensure Quality Drinking Water Service for All? One Option Is Fewer Utilities.

California's Human Right to Water Bill declares that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water.” Student David Catt and professors Miriam Marlier and Michelle Miro say one clear barrier to reaching this target is the sheer number of small water utilities that pose service sustainability and public health risks to their customers.

Department of Water and Power employees assess the damage from a broken 30-inch water main on Sunset Boulevard, next to the UCLA campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, July 30, 2014, photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Lessening Leakages: How Water Systems Can Learn From Smart Electric Grids

As drought and population growth place increasing pressure on water supply, the need to save and efficiently manage Southern California's water resources becomes increasingly critical. Student Jalal Awan (cohort 17) and professors Miriam Marlier and Michelle Miro suggest that a single information and communication technology platform could go a long way toward moving water utilities from reactive to proactive maintenance practices.