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RAND IN THE
MIDDLE EAST
C O R P O R AT I O N
The RAND CORPORATION works
throughout the Middle East to analyze complex
policy problems and help policymakers create
enduring solutions.
• Objective, analysis-based support for decisionmaking
• Expert teams tailored to clients’ needs
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• Long-term relationships with clients and their people
• Permanent presence in the Middle East
• A commitment to helping improve the quality of life
throughout the region
WHO WE ARE
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps
improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.
We focus on the issues that matter most—such as health, education,
law, business, energy, and the environment. Our work in the Middle
East helps decisionmakers design policies and implement sound
policies to make people safer, healthier, and more prosperous.
RAND’s operations in the Middle East are conducted via
Regional office in Doha. Established to respond to growing demand
for RAND-style analysis in the Middle East, this office houses
permanent staff and local policy resources, representing RAND’s
commitment to a permanent presence in the region.
The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP). A hub for
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from across RAND’s diverse research divisions to take on cuttingedge projects on some of the Middle East’s most challenging issues.
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3
WHAT WE DO
Our clients face tough questions as they evaluate policies and
put them into action: What options do we have? What are the
risks involved? How do benefits compare with costs? How can
we make this solution work?
RAND partners with Middle Eastern decisionmakers in
government, non-profits, and the private sector to supply the
answers they need. We help our clients
• Examine complex issues, conducting objective, thorough
analysis that explains challenges and options.
• Develop a sound plan of action, offering informed
recommendations for sustainable solutions.
• Build capacity, providing training and work experiences
that develop in-house capabilities to analyze and
implement policies.
• Effect lasting change, working collaboratively to carry
out implementation strategies designed to anticipate—and
surmount—the inevitable stumbling blocks.
4
OUR COMMITMENT TO QUALITY
RAND has built a reputation for excellence on more than 60 years of dedication to quality and objectivity. We are
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This commitment to quality at every level is a pledge that
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by experts with real-world experience
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to clients’ needs
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5
RAND’S GLOBAL PRESENCE
6
OUR PEOPLE
Our people are the key to the value we add. Our roster of experts is composed
of the nearly 1,000 analysts on the professional staff, who work in RAND offices
in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Sixty percent of these analysts
have a Ph.D. or M.D., with nearly a third more holding other advanced degrees.
With backgrounds in government, academia, and industry, our
people represent an exceptionally broad range of disciplines. They
combine theory with real-world experience. Their regional expertise
spans every continent. Many are multilingual, collectively speaking
or reading nearly 50 languages. They are dedicated to their work
and to helping clients see ambitions realized.
Degrees held by
RAND researchers
Social sciences
10%
Arts and letters
6%
Political sciences
7%
Levels of education of
RAND researchers
Behavioral
sciences
8%
Masters
30%
Doctorate
59%
Business and law
7%
Policy analysis
9%
Computer
sciences
6%
Physical sciences
5%
Math, operations
research,
or statistics
8%
Life sciences
4%
International
relations
7%
Economics
13%
None or not
available
1%
Engineering
9%
Other
2%
Bachelors
9%
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OUR CLIENT-CENTERED APPROACH
RAND offers a seamless way of delivering the results that our clients use to effect change.
For each RAND project, we put together a team that carefully
matches expertise and experience to the client’s challenges
and needs. We may bring together specialists in multiple
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the wisdom of senior analysts, or combine familiarity with a
region with in-depth knowledge of a policy domain. The mix
will be the best for the project at hand.
We recognize that what works elsewhere might not work for
clients in the Middle East. RAND’s aim is to understand how
things function on the ground—our clients’ circumstances,
constraints, and goals. We keep the local context always in
mind, delivering a pragmatic set of recommendations that
our clients can implement successfully. In some cases, RAND
works side-by-side with clients to put the recommendations
into action and secure lasting results.
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RAND CAPABILITIES
RAND offers a strong repertoire of capabilities. We use rigorous methodologies
and recognized best practices that cut across many policy areas.
Analysis of Alternatives
Business Process Improvement
and Re-Engineering
Cost-Benefit and
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Cost Estimation and Budgeting
Demand Analysis and Choice Modeling
Long-Range Planning and Forecasting
Organizational Improvement
Program Evaluation
Regulatory Analysis
Risk Assessment and Analysis
Strategic Planning
Technology Assessment
Policy Analysis Training
Building human capacity within
governments to conduct research and
analyze problems can significantly
improve decisionmaking. Better decisions
result in more effective and sustainable
policies.
In conjunction with the Pardee RAND
Graduate School (PRGS) (RAND’s
doctoral program in public policy based
in Santa Monica, California), RAND
offers short introductory courses on
policy analysis to participants in the
Middle East.
These courses provide an understanding
of how policy analysis tools and
techniques can improve the quality of
public-policy decisions. Content includes
the general policy analysis framework,
methods, and professional standards
used by professional policy analysts, and
the ethics they abide by. All short courses
are taught by professional PRGS faculty.
Policy analysis training can be tailored
to meet the specific needs of local and
regional government agencies and other
interested institutions.
www.prgs.edu
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POLICY AREAS
EDUCATION
HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE
Building human capital through quality
education is one of the most important
challenges facing countries in the
Middle East. A strong and accountable
education system—K-12 and postsecondary—can boost domestic
prosperity and increase international
competitiveness.
One of the most pressing health-care
challenges across the Middle East
is making quality care accessible
and affordable to economically and
racially diverse populations. Nations
must also prepare for epidemics and
other potential health crises.
RAND evaluates and implements
educational reform (including
standards-based reform). We develop
new approaches to measuring student
achievement and help clients use data
to improve the quality of education.
RAND conducts innovative studies
in health-care reform, information
technology, health-care financing,
and public-health initiatives. Our
aim is to help clients enhance the
quality, comprehensiveness, and
cost-effectiveness of their
health-care policies.
PRIVATE SECTOR
LABOR AND POPULATION
Throughout the Middle East,
governments face the challenge
of encouraging private-sector
development and profitability,
while enforcing laws to ensure that
businesses operate legally, ethically,
and transparently.
Shifting demographics, migration
trends, and patterns of employment and
unemployment among Middle Eastern
populations are creating significant
challenges for governments. Successful
policymaking requires a deep
understanding of the populations being
served and the options available.
RAND helps develop effective public
policies and regulatory frameworks
that encourage entrepreneurship,
support innovation, protect property
rights, and cultivate business and
industry, while maintaining adequate
government oversight.
10
RAND provides decisionmakers
with analysis-based information
and recommendations on labormarket reforms, social-welfare policy,
demographic behavior, immigration
policies, and economic development.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ENERGY
ENVIRONMENT
The domain of science and technology
is increasingly international and
competitive. To gain an edge,
governments and industries in the
Middle East must effectively distribute
resources to support research and
development. They must also create
structures and incentives to promote
innovative work.
As the world’s demand for energy
continues to grow, Middle Eastern
governments need to develop
sustainable and economical energy
policies. At issue is how best to
use existing resources and what
innovative energy solutions to
promote for the future.
Rapid population growth and
industrial development present
Middle Eastern nations with pressing
environmental-policy challenges.
Management of natural resources,
food security, regulation of pollution,
and the effects of climate change are
all issues calling for attention.
RAND helps clients develop decision
frameworks and processes to measure
and evaluate the effects of existing or
planned energy policies.
RAND analyzes environmental
legislation and policies on resource
management to find cost-effective
and politically feasible solutions to
environmental problems.
DEFENSE AND SECURITY
TRANSPORTATION
THE ARTS
In an uncertain security environment,
with changing threats and shifting
political challenges, Middle Eastern
countries need to effectively allocate
resources to provide for the safety and
security of their citizens.
Sustainable growth and economic
development in the Middle East
depend heavily on the safety, security,
and efficiency of the transportation
infrastructure. Ports, roads, and rail
networks are all important parts of
the whole.
The arts form an essential part of
the vibrant culture of Middle Eastern
nations. Visual, performing, and
literary arts can enhance social wellbeing, build community, and promote
positive change—among youth in
particular. They can also be a vehicle
for countering violent extremism. Arts
education is vital, helping students
to understand, appreciate, and
participate in the arts.
RAND’s analysts have expertise in
technology assessment and forecasting;
building science and technology
capacity; and program design,
management, and evaluation.
RAND works in defense policy;
strategy and doctrine; force structure;
manpower; and logistics for land,
sea, and air services. We help clients
address terrorism and counterterrorism,
piracy, and money laundering. We
provide decision support as clients
develop personnel policies for police
and counter-drug programs.
RAND addresses transportationrelated concerns such as financing
and public-private partnerships. We
develop solutions to safety, security,
health, and environmental issues. We
assist in multimodal planning, corridor
planning, and cost-effective land use.
Global supply chains are also an area
of expertise.
RAND conducts studies on barriers
to free expression in creative works,
demand for the arts, and arts
education. We help decisionmakers
develop policies to build participation
in the arts and make the arts a part of
communities. We also have expertise in
arts funding and administration of arts
and culture programs.
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