Los Mariachi Elegante perform  during RAND's 60 Year Anniversary celebration on Saturday, May 17, 2008. The RAND Corporation (Research and Development) is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces. The organization has since expanded to working with other governments, private foundations, international organizations, and commercial organizations. Reportedly, it is known for rigorous, often-quantitative, and non-partisan analysis and policy recommendations. RAND was set up in 1946 by the United States Army Air Forces as Project RAND, under contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company.