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RAND research addresses the challenges of developing, managing, and protecting energy, transportation, water, communications, and other critical infrastructure throughout the world.

Commentary

Rebuilding America's Infrastructure in the Trump Era

Nov 14, 2016

Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.
Q&A;

Autonomous Vehicles: Imagining the Day-to-Day of the Future

Nov 14, 2016

At RAND's 2016 Politics Aside event, Nidhi Kalra and Timothy Bonds discuss what daily life might be like once autonomous vehicles populate the roads.

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Infographic

Don't Rely Solely on Test-Driving to Assess AV Safety

Americans drive three trillion miles a year and cause one death every 100 million miles. To prove they are safer than human drivers, autonomous vehicles would have to be test-driven astronomical distances. Regulators should pursue other ways of reducing uncertainty about their safety.

Jan 9, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Sample Size Implications of Multi-Day GPS-enabled Household Travel Surveys

This digest summarizes key findings of research conducted in NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 123, "Survey Sample Size and Weighting."

Dec 15, 2016
Report

Political Challenges to the U.S. Overseas Military Presence

The U.S. military depends on access to overseas bases to project power around the world. Political challenges to access have been common, but the threat has often been overstated.

Nov 21, 2016
Report

Report

Continuity and Contingency in USAF Posture Planning

This study develops a framework for long-term U.S. Air Force (USAF) posture planning that accounts for drivers of USAF posture and identifies steps the USAF can take to increase posture robustness and agility over the 30-year planning period.

Nov 18, 2016
Project

Supporting Brazilian Regulation to Encourage Private Investment

RAND Europe is supporting the Brazilian Logistics Investment Programme by delivering a roadmap to the Brazilian Ministries of Planning and Finance in logistics infrastructure investments. The purpose is to assess the current regulatory framework and encourage reform to enable greater participation of private investment.

Nov 9, 2016
Commentary

Driving to Safety: Autonomous Vehicle Questions, Answered

A recent RAND report found that test-driving autonomous vehicles is not a feasible way to determine when they will be safe enough for consumer use. This resulted in a lot of questions.

Oct 25, 2016
Project

Transport Research Improves Policy Through Modelling, Foresight

RAND Europe provides expertise in understanding travel behaviour, policy analysis, foresight and future analysis, and new technology assessment.

Oct 14, 2016
Journal Article

Cost of Cyber Incidents to American Companies Is Less Than Expected

Why don't American companies invest more in computer security? One possible explanation: Relative to the other risks they face, cyber risks often aren't as significant as expected. Most breaches cost companies less than 0.4 percent of their annual revenues.

Oct 10, 2016
Commentary

How to Be Safer in the Arctic

The Arctic is more accessible than it once was, but it's still a formidable place to travel. An emergency involving a cruise ship or a downed plane could stress the search-and-rescue system. But modest investments and planning measures can make a big difference.

Oct 3, 2016
Essay

Election 2016: The Domestic Issues

RAND offers a unique take on the big domestic issues facing America: research that is independent, reliable, and rigorously nonpartisan.

Oct 3, 2016
Commentary

The Brains Behind Autonomous Vehicles May Need a License to Drive

Autonomous vehicles require exquisite software. To make this software secure, industry and government should consider educational standards and licensure requirements for the engineers who create it.

Sep 27, 2016
Commentary

When Will We Know Self-Driving Cars Are Safe?

Will autonomous vehicles be safe before they are allowed on the road for consumer use? Maybe. And that might be the best that can be said.

Sep 25, 2016
News Release

News Release

Cost of Cyber Incidents Not Large Compared with Other Business Losses; May Influence Responses by Businesses

Data breaches have made headlines in recent years, exposing poor practices that put the personal information of millions of consumers at risk. But the cost of a typical cyber breach is much less than generally estimated, providing one possible explanation for why American companies do not invest more to improve computer security.

Sep 20, 2016
Commentary

Infrastructure Design Must Change with Climate

Until recently, infrastructure engineers could use data on past weather to predict future climate. But this is no longer an option. More and more, engineers must consider the effects of climate change. Failure to do so would threaten public safety.

Aug 12, 2016
Commentary

The Olympic Legacy — What Can Rio Learn?

Rio will spend $14.4 billion on the Olympics. Like other host cities, it hopes to achieve an “Olympic legacy” to ensure that this investment pays dividends after the games and provides long-term economic, social, sporting, and cultural benefits.

Aug 3, 2016
Commentary

Tesla Fatal Crash Reminds That Human Interface Remains Important

The first reported fatality in a self-driving vehicle is a chilling reminder that the evolving relationship with increasingly robotic motor vehicles needs to be a partnership, an undertaking with humans and machines managing the risks.

Jul 30, 2016
Commentary

Fatal Crash Shouldn't Kill Self-Driving Cars

The first known fatality in an autonomous vehicle occurred on May 7 and raises important questions. It does not, however, mean that self-driving cars are less safe than human drivers or that development of the technology should be stopped.

Jul 16, 2016
Report

Report

Characterizing National Exposures to Infrastructure from Natural Disasters: Data and Methods Documentation

This report serves as the technical documentation and reference document for the data, methods, and analytic approach used in the analysis of national exposures to infrastructure from natural disasters.

Jul 12, 2016
Report

Climate Change May Increase Future Exposure of U.S. Infrastructure to Natural Hazards

Exposure to natural hazards such as flooding, drought, and wildfires is projected to be larger and more uncertain in the future because of the effects of sea level rise and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns.

Jul 12, 2016

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