Issue 122: Expanding the Agenda

From the President: Expanding the Agenda

"So, what are you going to change?" I've found this to be the question most frequently asked the new president of any organization, and one appropriate for me to address it in this, my first message to readers of Resources as president of RFF.

My somewhat glib but not inaccurate answer to the question is, "Not too darned much." In virtually every respect, RFF is a healthy and happy place, and for that I owe a great debt of thanks to my predecessor, Bob Fri. Nevertheless, change at the top will inevitably mean new emphasis for certain lines of inquiry and new thoughts about communicating results. That will be the case at RFF.

RFF's agenda of research and policy analysis is sound. I believe, however, the time is right for RFF to expand its portfolio of work related to global climate change. The second major report of the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to be issued soon, will stimulate renewed interest in questions about the goals of climate policy as well as the most cost-effective way to meet those goals. RFF is one of the places to which people will look for answers, and we have a responsibility to provide them.

I would also like to see RFF do more work on variations in environmental and natural resource policies between countries, and the effects of these differences on such issues as trade and competitiveness, the location of manufacturing and resource extraction, and environmental quality. Such questions cannot help but become more important in an increasingly open world economy. Finally, I think it important that RFF expand its study of the natural resource "industries"—forestry, agriculture, energy, minerals and mining, fisheries, and the like—in the United States and abroad.

I also intend to give added emphasis to improving the way RFF communicates the results of its work. We are now distributing one-page summaries of the findings of RFF projects with immediate relevance to important policy problems. These "research briefs" are being enthusiastically received. Also, we now have a Journalist in Residence at RFF—John Anderson, who until his recent retirement wrote editorials for the Washington Post on energy, environmental, and economic topics. His contributions will help RFF to better communicate to non-technical audiences. Pay close attention to Resources, for it, too, will be changing in ways to improve its effectiveness as a communications vehicle.

Expanding RFF's efforts in the areas I have touched on requires financial support, and securing funding is, of course, a major responsibility of any president, new or old. For those readers of Resources who currently provide such support to RFF, please know how important your contributions are and how hard we work to stretch their effectiveness. If you enjoy Resources and appreciate the work of RFF but do not yet contribute, we'd very much like you to consider doing so. Your tax-deductible donations would help secure RFF's future and, not unimportantly, make the work of this new president much easier! Thank you very much.

— Paul R. Portney