Annotated List of Project Ideas & Volunteering Resources
This list was created as part of the Local Career Advice Networkās efforts to map the EA volunteering & project opportunities space. For other annotated lists and bibliograhies, see here.
Please make suggestions in the google doc, and link to the article, authorās name or username, and a one line summary. You can also add comments to existing resoruces.
General & Guides
A List of Things for People To Do by Chris Leong. This provides a range of suggestions, from individual actions (i.e. specific versions of Earning to Give) to starting projects.
A list of Small Exploration Projects by Richard Batty linked (comment it came from here). Contains links to guides and examples for a number of direct work projects.
A guide on research projects (2020) by Edo Arad from EA Israel. This has some fairly specific suggestions with time estimates.
Notes on getting involved with small EA projects by Aaron Gertler. He also lists a few possible projects
Project Ideas
Meta Projects
List of possible EA meta-charities and projects by Saulius, with specific sections for Careers and Policy project recommendations.
Call for an EA Wiki (2019), comment on academic wiki-related research, open discussion on EA Wiki
What will 80,000 Hours provide (and not provide) within the effective altruism community? and related: What career advice gaps are you trying to fill? - EA Forum (both 2020)
Gaps in 80K and possible projects (2018) comment by Jamie Harris
EA Career Ideas (2014) by Ben Kuhn. A list of non-80K career ideas with skills that could be useful. Fairly off-the-cuff.
Task Y: Representing EA in your Field (2019) by Toon Alfrink
Suggestion: EAs should post more summaries and collections (2020) by Michael Aird
Research Projects
Central directory of open research questions & research-related projects (2020) by Michael Aird
Tech/āSoftware Projects
What are some software development needs in EA causes? (2020) question by evelynciara
EA Tech Initiativesā project list and resources (ongoing)
Misc. Project lists
EA Summit brainstormed list (2018)
Projects Iād like to see (2017) by Will MacAskill This post was created when EA grants was first launched to encourage people to apply for funding.
Concrete project lists (2017) by Richard Batty.
Volunteering
Guide to Effective Volunteering (2018) by Khorton
Finding volunteering opportunities
List of Remote Volunteering Opportunities in Effective Altruism (2018) by Evan Gaensbauer
LCAN Annotated Lists
- What arĀeas are the most promisĀing to start new EA meta charĀiĀtiesāA surĀvey of 40 EAs by 23 Dec 2020 12:24 UTC; 150 points) (
- Notes on EA-reĀlated reĀsearch, writĀing, testĀing fit, learnĀing, and the Forum by 27 Mar 2021 9:52 UTC; 98 points) (
- ImĀpactĀful ProĀjects and OrĀgaĀniĀzaĀtions to StartāList of Lists by 16 Apr 2023 17:11 UTC; 78 points) (
- AnĀnoĀtated List of ProĀject Ideas & VolĀunĀteerĀing ReĀsources by 6 Jul 2020 3:29 UTC; 57 points) (
- A Step-by-Step Guide to RunĀning InĀdeĀpenĀdent Projects by 15 Jul 2020 11:49 UTC; 49 points) (
- AnĀnoĀtated List of EA CaĀreer AdĀvice Resources by 13 Jul 2020 6:12 UTC; 43 points) (
- Help us find pain points in AI safety by 12 Apr 2022 18:43 UTC; 31 points) (
- Idea: CuĀrated database of quick-win tanĀgible, atĀtributable proĀjects (upĀdate 2024: links Airtable, but the EA side is not acĀtively monĀiĀtored) by 13 Jan 2023 22:21 UTC; 29 points) (
- 5 Jan 2021 11:39 UTC; 21 points) 's comment on Can I have imĀpact if Iām avĀerĀage? by (
- Notes on effecĀtive-alĀtruĀism-reĀlated reĀsearch, writĀing, testĀing fit, learnĀing, and the EA Forum by 28 Mar 2021 23:43 UTC; 14 points) (LessWrong;
- 5 Aug 2020 13:42 UTC; 2 points) 's comment on List of posĀsiĀble EA meta-charĀiĀties and projects by (
Thanks for compiling thisāthings like this seem plausibly really valuable, and Iām glad to see increasing numbers of this kind of thing! Iāve directed a few people to this post at various times :)
Just a heads up that I think the āAnnotated List of EA Careers Adviceā link is broken, and the link should instead be this.
Thanks Michaelāglad you found it useful! And thanks for point out the broken link, Iāve fixed it! :)
Couldnāt comment on the doc, so here are a few others I found:
The FTX Future Fund curated this list of projects they seem inclined to fund.
SHIPās Projects Categories Page offers ideas that students may be able to tackle. Last updated in 2019 before the group discontinued, but many ideas have yet to be undertaken.
Capacity Ventures (Iām not sure about their background and couldnāt find their website) put out this list with the added benefit of being prioritized by the expected benefit to the undertaker.
This CV Project Ideas list (unknown source) lists many of the above resources, some additional ones, and some new ones. Worth reading as a complementary post to this one.
I canāt comment on the Google Doc version of this post. Can you add Impact CoLabs?