The intersection of natural resources and policy

Kelly Cobourn returned to Virginia Tech with valuable experience working in the field of policy-making after two years working with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France.

An associate professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Cobourn teaches classes in natural resource and water policy that are required of students earning a degree from that department. With those policy-centered courses, experiencing the sausage factory where policies are made will bring value to her teaching and benefit the students.

“Having direct policy-making experience was a unique opportunity that complemented my academic career because I hadn’t yet been in an international policy-making situation like that,” Cobourn said. “It was a good opportunity to learn what our policymakers look for, what are the issues they think are most important and how do you build consensus.”

The OECD is a multinational organization that encompasses 38 member countries that supports policy making to advance economic development. The goal of the OECD is to work with those governments to achieve consensus on important policy problems and to develop policy recommendations. The delegates to the OECD from each of the member countries take those recommendations back and their governments decide what to do.

“I work at the intersection of natural resource problems and policymaking,” she said.

“My research involves policy analysis. What would be optimal policies to pursue to deal with problems like invasive species spread, climate change or water management? Looking at the results of scientific research, distilling them into policy recommendations that governments could pursue in order to support sustainable agriculture.”

Cobourn went to France on sabbatical in 2021, spending a year at the Climate Economics Chair in Paris, which is affiliated with Paris-Dauphine University, while also conducting research at the Bureau for Economic Theory and Applications, which is based in Nancy, France. After the sabbatical ended, Cobourn took a two-year leave of absence for the appointment at OECD. When the appointment ended earlier this year, Cobourn chose to return to Virginia Tech.

“I missed research and teaching,” she said of the decision to conclude her time at OECD.