The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis.

RAND is committed to critical issues of particular relevance to the public policy debate. These research areas compile recent work from across their diverse organization. At RAND, they share their findings broadly as a public service.

Its research is commissioned by a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms. Additionally, generous philanthropic contributions, combined with earnings from RAND's endowment and operations, make possible RAND's Investment in People and Ideas program, which is used to support innovative research on issues crucial to the policy debate but that reach beyond the boundaries of traditional client funding. Research is carried out by five units that address social and economic policy issues; by three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) that focus on national security; by professors and graduate students at the Pardee RAND Graduate School; and by RAND Europe, an independently chartered European affiliate.

Approximately 1,700 people from more than 50 countries work at RAND, representing diversity in work experience; academic training; political and ideological outlook; and race, gender, and ethnicity. Their project teams are assembled from among RAND's 950 research professionals whose collective expertise spans nearly every academic field and profession—from economics and behavioral science to medicine and engineering. Hailing from academia, government, and industry, RAND researchers combine theory with real-world experience. 

The RAND Corporation is a global organization with offices throughout the world. RAND's North American locations include Santa Monica, California, the home of its headquarters campus and the Pardee RAND Graduate School; Arlington, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Boston, Massachusetts. The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute has offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi. RAND Europe is located in Cambridge, UK, and Brussels, Belgium. The RAND-Qatar Policy Institute is in Doha, Qatar. RAND's newest location is Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.