American Institutes for Research relocates operations to Arlington

The American Institutes for Research (AIR), a behavioral- and social-science research and evaluation organization, will invest $12.5 million to relocate operations from Washington, D.C. to Arlington County. The project will create 320 jobs.

AIR is a not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and offers technical assistance in the U.S. and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity.

“Arlington is an ideal fit for AIR due to its proximity to our federal government clients as well as the access, amenities and convenience it provides our staff,” David Myers, AIR’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Arlington County to secure the project. Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the county with the project.

Noted psychologist John C. Flanagan founded AIR in 1946. As director of the Division of Aviation Psychology during World War II, he developed aptitude tests to identify the best candidates to serve as combat pilots.

At AIR Flanagan further developed the “critical incident technique,” applying it to other fields. The technique involves collection of brief reports of actions in response to explicit situations or problems in defined fields.

AIR has 1,800 employees at locations in 14 states and seven foreign countries.