Announcement in H-Diplo, September 3, 1998:

RAND OPENS ITS ARCHIVES FOR SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

Background

The RAND Corporation marks its 50th anniversary in 1998. A non-profit
institution dedicated to research and analysis in the public interest, RAND
takes this occasion not only to look to the future, but also to broaden its
effort to document its first half century. RAND's aim is to see this
documentation appear as a group of scholarly publications available to all
who have an interest in the institution, its work, and the broad variety of
subjects in which it has been engaged.

Opportunity

RAND invites academic historians and analysts in the fields of public
policy and science and technology studies to help achieve this objective.
While RAND researchers and staff members are invaluable to our history
project as sources of data and experience, RAND employees are not
participating in this work as authors. A "vanity history" is far from our
purpose.

Resources

Participating scholars are offered access to RAND's newly opened archives,
which are rich and diverse in content. RAND has conducted research across
a broad spectrum of scientific, methodological and policy issues --
concentrating on matters at the leading edge of public concern. We believe
historical materials and records of these efforts offer scholars unique
insights to past and present developments in many substantive fields.

Independence of Participants

Participating researchers are, of course, expected to maintain high
academic standards. The notes they take, interpretations they make,
manuscripts they write and subsequent publications are their own. RAND
reads draft materials intended for publication checking only for factual
accuracy. Consistent with our purpose of stimulating unbiased research, we
offer no stipends or other financial incentives. RAND's quid for the
participant's quo is unique access to information and people, within and
outside of RAND, and the freedom to exploit these sources to open new areas
of scholarly research. Faculty and graduate students participating in the
history project thus far have gained research support from private
foundations, from government agencies such as the National Science
Foundation, and from their home institutions; these scholars have been
productive and comfortable with these arrangements.

Contacts

Faculty and graduate students interested in learning more about the RAND
history project are encouraged to access the RAND website at www.rand.org
or to contact Gustave H. Shubert, the RAND Senior Fellow who is
coordinating this activity, at RAND (1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa
Monica, CA 90407-2138, 310-451-6947), or via the internet
(shubert@rand.org).

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I would be happy, of course, to answer any questions you may have -
Tel: 310 393 0411 Ext. 6947.

Thanks.