Givewell’s and Open Phil’s worked wasn’t termed ‘Cause X,’ but I think a lot of the stuff you’re pointing to would’ve started before ‘Cause X’ was a common term in EA. They definitely qualify. One thing is Givewell and Open Phil are much bigger organizations than most in EA, so they are unusually able to pursue these things. So my contention that this kind of research is impractical for most organizations to do still holds up. It may be falsified in the near future though. Aside from Givewell and Open Phil, the organizations that can permanently focus on cause prioritization are:
institutes at public universities with large endowments, like the Future of Humanity Institute and the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University.
small, private non-profit organizations like Rethink Priorities.
Honestly, I am impressed and pleasantly surprised organizations like Rethink Priorities can go from a small team to a growing organization in EA. Cause prioritization is such a niche cause unique to EA, I didn’t know if there was hope for it to keep sustainably growing. So far, the growth of the field has proven sustainable. I hope it keeps up.
Givewell’s and Open Phil’s worked wasn’t termed ‘Cause X,’ but I think a lot of the stuff you’re pointing to would’ve started before ‘Cause X’ was a common term in EA. They definitely qualify. One thing is Givewell and Open Phil are much bigger organizations than most in EA, so they are unusually able to pursue these things. So my contention that this kind of research is impractical for most organizations to do still holds up. It may be falsified in the near future though. Aside from Givewell and Open Phil, the organizations that can permanently focus on cause prioritization are:
institutes at public universities with large endowments, like the Future of Humanity Institute and the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University.
small, private non-profit organizations like Rethink Priorities.
Honestly, I am impressed and pleasantly surprised organizations like Rethink Priorities can go from a small team to a growing organization in EA. Cause prioritization is such a niche cause unique to EA, I didn’t know if there was hope for it to keep sustainably growing. So far, the growth of the field has proven sustainable. I hope it keeps up.