Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 20:18     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


FWIW - RAND continued to have open positions and hire even while doing a RIF. While the company is actively shedding it’s insitituional knowledge and deep expertise, it is still hiring for 2 year positions focused only on AI. Seems to be indicative of where the CEO has shifted the priorities.


You would probably be happier at a place that values your "institutional knowledge and deep expertise," so why don't you leave?


Impressive. For just one sentence, that is a myriad of inaccurate assumptions being asserted. Setting your incorrect assumptions aside, earlier someone pointed out that in these organizations, many find deep fulfilment in the work and with the teams, and deep disappointment with managment and current leadership decisions. Those are not mutually exclusive. And other comments have pointed to the hope that the current leadership issues at RAND will be remedied. Thus, it appears that not only is your remark full of wrong assumptions, the question has already had several explanations provided.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 19:24     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


FWIW - RAND continued to have open positions and hire even while doing a RIF. While the company is actively shedding its insitituional knowledge and deep expertise, it is still hiring for 2 year positions focused only on AI. Seems to be indicative of where the CEO has shifted the priorities.


All the while losing $150M+ of business in a year. RAND’s inexperienced CEO will try to pin this on Trump, but I don’t. Think IDA or CNA lost a third of their business in a year.

Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 18:28     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


FWIW - RAND continued to have open positions and hire even while doing a RIF. While the company is actively shedding it’s insitituional knowledge and deep expertise, it is still hiring for 2 year positions focused only on AI. Seems to be indicative of where the CEO has shifted the priorities.


You would probably be happier at a place that values your "institutional knowledge and deep expertise," so why don't you leave?
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 17:36     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


FWIW - RAND continued to have open positions and hire even while doing a RIF. While the company is actively shedding it’s insitituional knowledge and deep expertise, it is still hiring for 2 year positions focused only on AI. Seems to be indicative of where the CEO has shifted the priorities.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 07:00     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How is the Govt shutdown affecting work at FFRDC's?


All of RAND’s FFRDCs were WAY below ceiling in FY25. We are starting FY26 without the usual backlog of work. The shutdown makes a bad situation even worse. Word is that massive RIF plans are being finalized now and will occur right before the holidays. VPs for research, talent, finance, Arroyo have all suddenly resigned in the past few months. CEO says absolutely nothing to us and there’s no strategy outside of his sandbox that is the new AI division funded by philanthropy. Nobody seems to like working here anymore. It’s horrible.



All of this sounds about right, but where is before the holidays coming from? What’re they waiting for?


Executive indecisiveness?


Pathetic if true.


Indeed. I do not understand how a place like RAND could suddenly be in a position to have problems with cash flow.

Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 23:12     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look
Anonymous wrote:[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s happening at CNA?


IPR's work slowed down but the FFRDC is going fine


I heard about 20+ RIFs coming soon.


Are the RIFs in IPR or the Center for Naval Analysis or both?



ipr


CNA Management meets every week to reassess the number of how many IPR staff needed...some of the reassessment is bleeding over into overhead staff (VP of business development was fired about a month ago), and now FFRDC.


Very sorry to hear the FFRDC is also starting to cut. It already is very small.


I haven’t heard about RIFs in the FFRDC side during CNA management meetings I have been at.



Seems unlikely that someone who attends “CNA management meetings” would have such poor judgement as to post about it on DCUM.


Different poster here. They probably are talking about division management meetings, not meetings with Katherine, Jonathan, and Christine. The FFRDC is still hiring.



That’s really not any better, especially at a small company.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 23:02     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How is the Govt shutdown affecting work at FFRDC's?


All of RAND’s FFRDCs were WAY below ceiling in FY25. We are starting FY26 without the usual backlog of work. The shutdown makes a bad situation even worse. Word is that massive RIF plans are being finalized now and will occur right before the holidays. VPs for research, talent, finance, Arroyo have all suddenly resigned in the past few months. CEO says absolutely nothing to us and there’s no strategy outside of his sandbox that is the new AI division funded by philanthropy. Nobody seems to like working here anymore. It’s horrible.



This sounds like serious mismanagement by leadership. -Someone not associated with RAND


That’s is a truly horrible and cynical way to deal with this. I wonder if they are waiting for before the holidays so the CEO can find a new job more easily?
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:52     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


They’ve reached out to one RIF’ed person I know. Though presumably they used the RIF as an opportunity to drop some low performers they’d never rehire.

My acquaintance said that many of the people from the most-affected division were moved permanently (or at least said on the day to be permanent) to other divisions at the same time as the RIF. So even if that division is hiring again, it’s not clear that it’s going to approach its previous size, at least in the near term. Sounds like they still managed to hit ceiling, or pretty close, thanks to a scramble by the rest of the organization.


All of RAND's DoD FFRDC's lost ceiling in FY25. Did it move to IDA or CNA or Mitre?
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:49     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


They’ve reached out to one RIF’ed person I know. Though presumably they used the RIF as an opportunity to drop some low performers they’d never rehire.

My acquaintance said that many of the people from the most-affected division were moved permanently (or at least said on the day to be permanent) to other divisions at the same time as the RIF. So even if that division is hiring again, it’s not clear that it’s going to approach its previous size, at least in the near term. Sounds like they still managed to hit ceiling, or pretty close, thanks to a scramble by the rest of the organization.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:45     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look
Anonymous wrote:[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s happening at CNA?


IPR's work slowed down but the FFRDC is going fine


I heard about 20+ RIFs coming soon.


Are the RIFs in IPR or the Center for Naval Analysis or both?



ipr


CNA Management meets every week to reassess the number of how many IPR staff needed...some of the reassessment is bleeding over into overhead staff (VP of business development was fired about a month ago), and now FFRDC.


Very sorry to hear the FFRDC is also starting to cut. It already is very small.


I haven’t heard about RIFs in the FFRDC side during CNA management meetings I have been at.



Seems unlikely that someone who attends “CNA management meetings” would have such poor judgement as to post about it on DCUM.


Different poster here. They probably are talking about division management meetings, not meetings with Katherine, Jonathan, and Christine. The FFRDC is still hiring.

Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:40     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:Look
Anonymous wrote:[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s happening at CNA?


IPR's work slowed down but the FFRDC is going fine


I heard about 20+ RIFs coming soon.


Are the RIFs in IPR or the Center for Naval Analysis or both?



ipr


CNA Management meets every week to reassess the number of how many IPR staff needed...some of the reassessment is bleeding over into overhead staff (VP of business development was fired about a month ago), and now FFRDC.


Very sorry to hear the FFRDC is also starting to cut. It already is very small.


I haven’t heard about RIFs in the FFRDC side during CNA management meetings I have been at.



Seems unlikely that someone who attends “CNA management meetings” would have such poor judgement as to post about it on DCUM.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:29     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?


looks like it: https://phh.tbe.taleo.net/phh01/ats/careers/v2/searchResults?org=INSTITUTEDA&cws=39
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 22:26     Subject: FFRDCs
Is IDA stabilized? Are they rehiring?
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 21:14     Subject: FFRDCs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How is the Govt shutdown affecting work at FFRDC's?


All of RAND’s FFRDCs were WAY below ceiling in FY25. We are starting FY26 without the usual backlog of work. The shutdown makes a bad situation even worse. Word is that massive RIF plans are being finalized now and will occur right before the holidays. VPs for research, talent, finance, Arroyo have all suddenly resigned in the past few months. CEO says absolutely nothing to us and there’s no strategy outside of his sandbox that is the new AI division funded by philanthropy. Nobody seems to like working here anymore. It’s horrible.



This sounds like serious mismanagement by leadership. -Someone not associated with RAND
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:40     Subject: FFRDCs
Look
Anonymous wrote:[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s happening at CNA?


IPR's work slowed down but the FFRDC is going fine


I heard about 20+ RIFs coming soon.


Are the RIFs in IPR or the Center for Naval Analysis or both?


ipr


CNA Management meets every week to reassess the number of how many IPR staff needed...some of the reassessment is bleeding over into overhead staff (VP of business development was fired about a month ago), and now FFRDC.


Very sorry to hear the FFRDC is also starting to cut. It already is very small.


I haven’t heard about RIFs in the FFRDC side during CNA management meetings I have been at.