I expect Open Philanthropy will want to fund more fellowships like this in the future, but we have some uncertainty about (1) the supply of applicants who are a good fit for the program, and especially (2) the availability of staff and contractors who can run time-intensive programs like this. If we don’t run a similar program in the future, I think the most likely reason will be a lack of (2).
Is the staff availability problem more about certain skillsets being in short supply (e.g. ability to evaluate, connect and mentor candidates) or just raw operational power (and if so, is the problem here that it’s hard to recruit enough people because of the overhead in recruitment, or you don’t want to for another reason), or something else?
A large portion of the value from programs like this comes from boosting fellows into career paths where they spend at least some time working in the US government, and many of the most impactful government roles require US citizenship. We are therefore mainly focused on people who have (a plausible pathway to) citizenship and are interested in US government work. Legal and organizational constraints means it is unlikely that we will be able to sponsor visas even if we run future rounds.
This program is US-based because the US government is especially important to our programmatic priorities. That said, it’s possible we’ll run (or fund someone else to run) a similar program in one or more non-US countries in the future, perhaps most likely in the UK.
Is this something OP is likely to be facilitating in future years to come too?
I expect Open Philanthropy will want to fund more fellowships like this in the future, but we have some uncertainty about (1) the supply of applicants who are a good fit for the program, and especially (2) the availability of staff and contractors who can run time-intensive programs like this. If we don’t run a similar program in the future, I think the most likely reason will be a lack of (2).
Is the staff availability problem more about certain skillsets being in short supply (e.g. ability to evaluate, connect and mentor candidates) or just raw operational power (and if so, is the problem here that it’s hard to recruit enough people because of the overhead in recruitment, or you don’t want to for another reason), or something else?
It’s mostly about skillsets, context/experience with both the DC policy world, and familiarity with Open Philanthropy’s programmatic priorities.
Relatedly, what is the likelihood that future iterations of the fellowship might be less US-centric, or include Visa sponsorship?
A large portion of the value from programs like this comes from boosting fellows into career paths where they spend at least some time working in the US government, and many of the most impactful government roles require US citizenship. We are therefore mainly focused on people who have (a plausible pathway to) citizenship and are interested in US government work. Legal and organizational constraints means it is unlikely that we will be able to sponsor visas even if we run future rounds.
This program is US-based because the US government is especially important to our programmatic priorities. That said, it’s possible we’ll run (or fund someone else to run) a similar program in one or more non-US countries in the future, perhaps most likely in the UK.