The Institute for Defense Analyses, founded in 1947 to provide technical analyses of weapons, is a federally funded organization that works for the US government's defense agencies, as well as for other government entities. The institute's focus areas include war and defense systems evaluations, materials and information technology assessments, resource cost and readiness analyses, and force and strategy assessments. The Institute for Defense Analyses' Science and Technology Policy Institute analyzes global science and tech trends to help the US government formula policy.