BEAR is an organization focused on research, analysis, and practical solutions for economic, social, and environmental challenges. Its work spans economic impact evaluation and forecasting, food security, rural development, poverty reduction, geographic information systems and data analysis, climate risk assessment and adaptation, and natural resource management and policy. BEAR works across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States, with projects featured in countries including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Its project portfolio includes economic forecasting for Mongolia’s National Statistical Office, livestock traceability initiatives in Lao PDR, and a social network pilot for Mongolian cashmere producers. BEAR also contributes to policy training and regional planning, including workshops on economic policy and assessments of food and hydroelectric needs. In the United States, its projects address infrastructure and housing needs in California colonias communities, cap-and-trade policy, and clean energy transitions for disadvantaged and tribal communities in the Sierra Nevada. Through these efforts, BEAR provides analysis and expertise to inform development, policy, and resource decisions.