Research Triangle Institute

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is a non-profit research organization based in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) of North Carolina. RTI is the oldest tenant of this major research park, and the sister organization to the Research Triangle Foundation. RTI has over 2,600 employees engaged in many distinct research areas. RTI describes its offerings as "innovative research and development and ... services in health and pharmaceuticals, advanced technology, survey and statistics, education and training, economic and social development, and the environment."

RTI has regularly received many USA government contracts in reconstructing countries in governmental transition, generally helping to implement the privatising of public institutions, especially in Eastern Europe during the 1990s. In 2003 it was contracted by USAID to help in reconstructing Iraq, after the 2003 invasion. Specifically, USAID contracted RTI to privatise water systems and provide education system reform in Iraq. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has two contracts with RTI for, among other purposes, the manufacture and distribution of standardized cannabis cigarettes. [http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/organization/nacda/marijuanastatement.html]

USAID has partnered with RTI to conduct indoor residual spraying of DDT in African countries to control malaria. [http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news120520083.htm]

Other research projects conducted by RTI

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) [ [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-15300961_ITM RTI to study U.S. drug trends. | Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly (November, 2005) ] ] Since 1988, RTI has conducted the largest U.S. survey on illegal drug use, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.The National Survey on Drug Use and Health is the major source of information for the nation on the prevalence and consequences ofdrug use. Government agencies, private organizations, and individual researchers use the survey results to make policy and resource decisions that affect millions of Americans. For example, the U.S. Public Health Service and state substance abuse agencies use the survey results to estimate the need for drug treatment facilities. Other federal, state, and local agenciesuse the information to design their drug use prevention programs and to monitor drug control strategies.

Cleaner Energy from Coal [ [http://www.rti.org/page.cfm/Energy_Research Clean Energy Technologies, Energy Technology, Energy Research - RTI International ] ] For six years, RTI has been developing a process designed to offer existing powerplants a low-cost option for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In FY2007, the “dry carbonate” process underwent several months of field testing under actual coal-fired conditions at the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency’s combustion research facility. Results proved that RTI’s process is robust and reliable, capable of removing more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide in flue gas.

Mental Illness Among Teenagers [ [http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/164/1/36 Service Costs of Caring for Adolescents With Mental Illness in a Rural Community, 1993-2000 - Costello et al. 164 (1): 36 - Am J Psychiatry ] ] In the January 2007 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, RTI and Duke University Medical Center researchers revealed that mental health services for teens cost morethan $10 billion each year, a figure that has been vastly underestimated in thepast. What’s more, some 70 percent of teens studied did not receive the services they needed. Those who did often received services from schools or other organizations not designedto provide mental health services.

Drug Metabolism and Toxicology [ [http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sma/sma.htm Spinal Muscular Atrophy Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) ] ] A project with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to identify drugs that can be used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Infants with SMA typically live only two years. No treatment exists. RTI’s project is a fast-track effort to come up with the first effective therapies to extend the life of children with SMA. The goal of NINDS is to submit an Investigational New Drug Application (IND)within the next 12 months.

Concerns about RTI

Rewriting Iraqi textbooks

RTI's contract for education system reform in Iraq, via Creative Associates International in Washington, D.C., caused controversy because RTI planned to rewrite Iraqi school textbooks.Fact|date=March 2008

External References

* [http://www.rti.org RTI web site]
* [http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/22_08/30638-1.html When science is the answer: Not-for-profits meet the need for complex research and development projects]
* [http://localtechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/wire/story/3132518/ RTI wins award for wireless networking solution in Africa]
* [http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=49 Center for Public Integrity profile of RTI's wartime contracts]
* [http://www.southernstudies.org/reports/wolf.pdf A progressive look at RTI's 1997 privatization of South Africa's water supply.]

References