Research Briefs

A Research Agenda to Support Mental Health and Wellness Programs for Federal First Responders and Law Enforcement

This brief summarizes a report on mental health and wellness programs specific to law enforcement and first responders to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security develop a research agenda for future wellness efforts.

Melissa M. Labriola, Jill Portnoy Donaghy, Tiffany Keyes, Sarah Junghee Kang

California's ACEs Aware Initiative Has Made Substantial Early Progress, but Sustained Investment Is Needed

California launched a historic effort to improve health by screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences. Almost 45,000 individuals have been trained, and several million Medi-Cal beneficiaries have been screened, but continued investment is needed.

Integrating Commercial Space Services into the DoD Architecture: Understanding Operational and Policy Implications

This summary describes highlights from a congressionally directed study exploring implications from the use of commercial space services by the U.S. Department of Defense on space operations and the overall policy environment.

Yool Kim, George Nacouzi, Dwight Phillips, Krista Romita Grocholski, Igor M. Brin, Brian Dolan, Jonathan Fujiwara, John Hoehn, Kotryna Jukneviciute, Gwen Mazzotta, Jordan Willcox, Jonathan P. Wong, Barbara Bicksler

Understanding Processing at Ports of Entry

This brief presents results of an analysis of the capacity of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations for the safe, humane, and orderly processing of likely asylum seekers and unaccompanied alien children at ports of entry.

Elina Treyger, Maya Buenaventura, Ian Mitch, Laura Bellows, John S. Hollywood

Industry Insights on Digital Engineering and Defense Acquisition

Responses to an aerospace industry survey indicate that digital engineering has the potential to provide significant long-term benefits to defense acquisition even if cost savings or schedule reductions are not immediately apparent.

Brittany Clayton, Obaid Younossi, Sarah W. Denton, Hilary Reininger, Angela Yun, David M. Adamson, Thao Liz Nguyen, Jonathan Roberts, Padmaja Vedula, Thomas Light, Augustine Bravo, Oluwatimilehin Sotubo, Mohammad Ahmadi

How Will Russia Reconstitute Its Military After the Ukraine Conflict?

The authors identify four pathways that Russia might take in reconstituting its armed forces after the end of the war in Ukraine and assess their implications for Russia’s national security and U.S. and Western interests in the European theater.

Michelle Grisé, Mark Cozad, Anna M. Dowd, John Kennedy, Marta Kepe, Clara de Lataillade, Krystyna Marcinek, David Woodworth

Ready for Strategic Readiness?

This brief presents the results of an analysis of whether the U.S. Department of Defense's implementation of strategic readiness was sound, risk-based, and data-informed.

Dwight Phillips, Mina Pollmann, Ann Marie Dailey, Peter Schirmer, Ryan Haberman, Brett Zakheim, Gwen Mazzotta

Federal Funding Recommendations to Scale Up Evidence-Based Practices in Health and Social Services

The brief summarizes seven policy recommendations to optimize federal spending on large-scale implementation of evidence-based practices in health and social services, identified through focus groups with officials, and real-world examples of each.

Alex R. Dopp, Blanche Wright, Jin Kim, Grace Hindmarch, Sarah B. Hunter

Hate and Dehumanization in Russia's Narrative on Ukraine

This brief examines Russia’s use of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism in narratives in the context of its war against Ukraine from 2022 to early 2024 by analyzing content on the social media platforms X and Telegram.

Elina Treyger, Heather J. Williams, Luke J. Matthews, Khrystyna Holynska, Joseph Matveyenko, Daniel Cunningham, Thomas Goode, Katya Migacheva

Competing Visions of Restraint for U.S. Foreign Policy

This brief summarizes ideas that have led to support for a U.S. grand strategy of restraint, which involves using diplomacy to settle differences, reducing forward presence, downgrading or ending commitments, and raising the bar for the use of force.

Miranda Priebe, John M. Schuessler, Bryan Rooney, Jasen J. Castillo