I’m 100% behind this idea, maybe not surprisingly so since I founded the Altruistic Agency, that you even mention in the post :) I think the agency model works exceptionally well for work that is only needed every now and then (makes no sense to hire someone full-time) but is so specific/domain-specific – or might even require a license, like in this case – that no current in-house person can do it. The most common option is to hire contractors/freelancers. An agency can be as simple as acting as a layer in between, a contact point with an already built-up roster of great and vetted contractors.
In my view, and I obviously think about this every day, especially regarding the long-term plans for my own organisation, agencies in the EA community should be much more ambitious than that. Having a permanent agency, ideally with full-time employees, allows you to think on a higher level and in a longer term about how you can improve the entire EA community. A lot of work will be one-off projects, day to day types of tasks, but this kind of work helps build up a profile of what EA organisations in general need. Once you’ve worked with dozens of organisations, you have quality data that allows you to also start thinking about things like original projects, reusable work, publishing learnings, making recommendations etc.
In short, starting an “X Agency” for EA organisations will allow you to confidently answer the question “What X needs do EA organisations have?” in a rather short time, backed by very good data. During the same time, you’re doing actual work that helps the organisations.
Please let me know if you’re interested in chatting about all of this. I’ve learned a lot just since January when I launched the Altruistic Agency. I’d also be happy to share my application to the EA Infrastructure Fund that got me funding for the first six months.
I’m 100% behind this idea, maybe not surprisingly so since I founded the Altruistic Agency, that you even mention in the post :) I think the agency model works exceptionally well for work that is only needed every now and then (makes no sense to hire someone full-time) but is so specific/domain-specific – or might even require a license, like in this case – that no current in-house person can do it. The most common option is to hire contractors/freelancers. An agency can be as simple as acting as a layer in between, a contact point with an already built-up roster of great and vetted contractors.
In my view, and I obviously think about this every day, especially regarding the long-term plans for my own organisation, agencies in the EA community should be much more ambitious than that. Having a permanent agency, ideally with full-time employees, allows you to think on a higher level and in a longer term about how you can improve the entire EA community. A lot of work will be one-off projects, day to day types of tasks, but this kind of work helps build up a profile of what EA organisations in general need. Once you’ve worked with dozens of organisations, you have quality data that allows you to also start thinking about things like original projects, reusable work, publishing learnings, making recommendations etc.
In short, starting an “X Agency” for EA organisations will allow you to confidently answer the question “What X needs do EA organisations have?” in a rather short time, backed by very good data. During the same time, you’re doing actual work that helps the organisations.
Please let me know if you’re interested in chatting about all of this. I’ve learned a lot just since January when I launched the Altruistic Agency. I’d also be happy to share my application to the EA Infrastructure Fund that got me funding for the first six months.
Kia ora Markus, thanks very much. I’d be grateful for a chat—will get in touch.