Resources For Future Inc.

Resources For Future Inc. is a nonprofit research organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that specializes in applied research and policy analysis focused on environmental, energy, and natural resource economics. Founded in 1952, the organization has established itself as a longstanding recipient of federal research awards and possesses extensive experience managing federal research awards and subcontracts across multiple federal agencies. Resources For Future Inc. provides the federal government with research, economic analysis, and convening services that inform policy decisions related to natural resources, energy systems, environmental protection, and workforce development.

Through federal contract awards, Resources For Future Inc. has demonstrated expertise in research convening and economic analysis. Most recently, the organization received a $49,874 research grant from a civilian federal agency (Shared Services Center) in September 2025 to establish a next decadal research agenda at the intersection of space and resource economics, emphasizing both near-term and longer-term research questions relevant to decision-making. The work is being performed in Washington, DC, with completion targeted for August 31, 2026. Additionally, Resources For Future Inc. has served as a subcontractor on federal research projects under prime contractors including ICF Incorporated, L.L.C. and Triad National Security, LLC. These subcontract awards involved literature reviews and method development for statistically downscaling U.S. population, demographics, and economic growth projections, as well as engineering and research and technology-based services in the social sciences and humanities. No set-aside designations were applied to these contract awards.

Through federal grant awards, Resources For Future Inc. has provided substantial research services addressing critical national priorities in agriculture, natural disasters, coastal adaptation, energy systems, and workforce development. The organization received a $649,545 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Institute of Food Production and Sustainability) in April 2023 to assess the role of the Federal Crop Insurance Program and Conservation Reserve Program in facilitating agricultural adaptation to extreme weather, examining distributional impacts on historically underserved communities. Resources For Future Inc. also received a cooperative agreement award from the Office of Fossil Energy in April 2024 to develop two project concepts on skills matching for an equitable energy transition, including development of an interactive data tool to help workforce development organizations train fossil fuel workers for clean energy careers. Additionally, the organization completed a Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (April 2021 to March 2024) studying the impacts of wildfires on rural communities in the Western U.S., with particular focus on distributional impacts across income groups. As a subgrantee, Resources For Future Inc. has collaborated with George Mason University, The Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland, College Park on projects including benefit-cost analysis frameworks for nature-based coastal adaptation solutions, economic modeling for electricity market decarbonization and demand flexibility, and justice-focused strategies for addressing coastal septic failures under sea-level rise.