Resources for the Future

Resources for the Future
Name	Resources for the Future
Formation	1952
Type	Think tank
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Leader title	President

Resources for the Future is a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit research institution specializing in environmental, energy, and natural resource policy. Founded in the early Cold War era, it has produced policy-relevant analysis influencing regulatory decisions, legislative debates, and international negotiations. Staff and affiliates have included economists, scientists, and policy scholars who have advised administrations, worked with multilateral institutions, and taught at universities.

History

Founded in 1952, the organization emerged amid debates involving the Marshall Plan, United Nations, World Bank, and postwar reconstruction strategies. Early leaders maintained connections to figures such as John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, Adlai Stevenson II, and advisors who participated in the Bretton Woods Conference and the Council on Foreign Relations. Over decades its scholars engaged with landmark events and laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Affiliates have testified before committees linked to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and foreign ministries during negotiations like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Notable contemporaries and interlocutors include economists associated with Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Princeton University, and Stanford University.

Mission and Research Focus

The institute’s mission centers on rigorous analysis relevant to policy debates involving environmental regulation, energy markets, and natural resource management. Research topics intersect with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement, institutions like the International Monetary Fund, and frameworks advanced by organizations including the World Health Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and United Nations Environment Programme. Scholars address intersections with technological change seen in sectors shaped by firms and institutions such as ExxonMobil, Tesla, Inc., BP, Shell plc, General Electric, and agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Work frequently draws on methodologies referenced in prizes like the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and discourses shaped by authors associated with journals such as The American Economic Review, Science (journal), and Nature (journal).

Organization and Funding

The institute operates as a nonprofit governed by a board with members drawn from foundations, corporations, universities, and public-sector institutions. Funding sources have included private foundations such as the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation; corporate donors including Chevron Corporation and Microsoft; and grants from agencies like the National Science Foundation and United States Environmental Protection Agency. Governance and advisory ties connect it to academic partners at Columbia University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, and to policy networks including the Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, and The World Bank Group. Leadership transitions have involved figures with prior roles at institutions like the Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Office of Management and Budget.

Major Publications and Projects

The organization publishes working papers, peer-reviewed articles, and policy briefs that have engaged with measurement and valuation methods used in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and the United Nations Development Programme. Signature projects have addressed carbon pricing mechanisms referenced in discussions with the European Union Emissions Trading System, regional initiatives like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and national programs pursued in countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, China, India, and Australia. Collaborations on modeling and data have intersected with tools and initiatives from Google, Microsoft Research, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Major authors and contributors have included scholars who have taught or written with peers at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Policy Impact and Outreach

Research has informed regulatory analyses and cost–benefit assessments used in rulemakings by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The institute’s work has been cited in congressional hearings alongside testimony from offices like the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office. Outreach channels include conferences convened with institutions such as the World Economic Forum, briefings for delegations at United Nations Climate Change Conferences, and media engagement with outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, and NPR. Alumni have taken positions at policy shops including the Treasury Department, the State Department, and international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The institute collaborates with universities, foundations, corporations, and multilateral organizations. Partners have included Resources for the Future-adjacent networks at Harvard University and Stanford University, philanthropic partners like the Kresge Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and research consortia with entities such as the National Science Foundation, European Commission, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank. Joint projects have connected staff with research centers including the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, and the Stockholm Environment Institute. International collaborative work has linked to ministries and agencies from countries such as Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico.

Category:Think tanks based in the United States