Institute for Defense Analyses

IDA (Institute for Defense Analyses) – a not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia just outside Washington, DC – operates three Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) in the public interest: the Systems and Analyses Center, the Science and Technology Policy Institute, and the Center for Communications and Computing.

Sponsors rely on IDA for dispassionate, fact-based, and scientifically rigorous research and advice to inform their decisions. Since 1956, IDA’s basic mission has remained unchanged – bring the best scientific, technical, and analytic talent to bear on issues critical to U.S.

National security, in a research environment free of commercial or shareholder interests where objectivity and the public interest are foremost. The work produced by IDA’s FFRDCs is characterized by unquestioned objectivity and high quality.

Because of our unique relationship with our Government sponsors, IDA enjoys unusual access to highly classified and sensitive government and corporate proprietary information. We adhere to a strict regime for avoiding conflicts of interest.