To be honest, the overall (including non-EA) grantmaking ecosystem is not so centralized that people can’t get funding for possibly net-negative ideas elsewhere. Especially given they have already put work in, have a handful of connections, or will be working in a sort of “sexy” cause area like AI that even some rando UHNWI would take interest in.
Given that, I don’t think that keeping grantmaking very centralized yields enough of a reduction in risk that it is worth protecting centralized grantmaking on that metric. And frankly, sweeping such risky applications under the rug hoping they disappear because they aren’t funded (by you, that one time) seems a terrible strategy. I’m not sure that is what is effectively happening, but if it is:
I propose a 2 part protocol within the grantmaking ecosystem to reduce downside risk: 1. Overt feedback from grantmakers in the case that they think a project is potentially net-negative. 2. To take it a step further, EA could employ someone whose role it is to try to actively sway a person from an idea, or help mitigate the risks of their project if the applicants affirm they are going to keep trying.
Imagine, as an applicant, receiving an email saying:
”Hello [Your Name],
Thank you for your grant application. We are sorry to bear the bad news that we will not be funding your project. We commend you on the effort you have already put in, but we have concerns that there may be great risks to following through and we want to strongly encourage you to consider other options.
We have CC’ed [name of unilateralist’s curse expert with domain expertise], who is a specialist in cases like these who contracts with various foundations. They would be willing to have a call with you about why your idea may be too risky to move forward with. If this email has not already convinced you, we hope you consider scheduling a call on their [calendly] for more details and ideas, including potential risk mitigation.
We also recommend you apply for 80k coaching [here]. They may be able to point you toward roles that are just as good or a better fit for you, but with no big downside risk and with community support. You can list us a recommendation on your coaching application.
We hope that you do not take this too personally as this is not an uncommon reason to withhold funding (hopefully evidenced by the resources in place for such cases), and we hope to see you continuing to put your skills toward altruistic efforts.
Best, [Name of Grantmaker]”
Should I write a quick EA forum post on this 2 part idea? (Basically I’ll copy-paste this comment and add a couple paragraphs). Is there a better idea?
I realize that email will look dramatic as a response to some, but it wouldn’t have to be sent in every “cursed case”. I’m sure many applications are rather random ideas. I imagine that a grantmaker could tell by the applicants’ resumes and their social positioning how likely the founding team are to keep trying to start or perpetuate a project.
I think giving this type of feedback when warranted also reflects well on EA. It makes EA seem less of an ivory tower/billionaire hobby and more of a conversational and collaborative movement.
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The above is a departure from the point of the post. FWIW, I do think the EA grantmaking ecosystem is so centralized that people who have potentially good ideas which stem from a bit of a different framework than those of typical EA grantmakers will struggle to get funding elsewhere. I agree decentralizing grantmaking to some extent is important and I have my reasoning here
I’m very strongly in favor of this level of transparency. My co-founder Max has been doing some work along those lines in coordination with CEA’s community health team. But if I understand correctly, they’re not that up front about why they’re reaching out. Being more “on the nose” about it, paired with a clear signal of support would be great because these people are usually well-meaning and can struggle parsing ambiguous signals. Of course, that’s a question of qualified manpower—arguably our most limited resource—but we shouldn’t let our limited capacity for immediate implementation stand in the way of inching ever closer to our ideal norms.
To be honest, the overall (including non-EA) grantmaking ecosystem is not so centralized that people can’t get funding for possibly net-negative ideas elsewhere. Especially given they have already put work in, have a handful of connections, or will be working in a sort of “sexy” cause area like AI that even some rando UHNWI would take interest in.
Given that, I don’t think that keeping grantmaking very centralized yields enough of a reduction in risk that it is worth protecting centralized grantmaking on that metric. And frankly, sweeping such risky applications under the rug hoping they disappear because they aren’t funded (by you, that one time) seems a terrible strategy. I’m not sure that is what is effectively happening, but if it is:
I propose a 2 part protocol within the grantmaking ecosystem to reduce downside risk:
1. Overt feedback from grantmakers in the case that they think a project is potentially net-negative.
2. To take it a step further, EA could employ someone whose role it is to try to actively sway a person from an idea, or help mitigate the risks of their project if the applicants affirm they are going to keep trying.
Imagine, as an applicant, receiving an email saying:
”Hello [Your Name],
Thank you for your grant application. We are sorry to bear the bad news that we will not be funding your project. We commend you on the effort you have already put in, but we have concerns that there may be great risks to following through and we want to strongly encourage you to consider other options.
We have CC’ed [name of unilateralist’s curse expert with domain expertise], who is a specialist in cases like these who contracts with various foundations. They would be willing to have a call with you about why your idea may be too risky to move forward with. If this email has not already convinced you, we hope you consider scheduling a call on their [calendly] for more details and ideas, including potential risk mitigation.
We also recommend you apply for 80k coaching [here]. They may be able to point you toward roles that are just as good or a better fit for you, but with no big downside risk and with community support. You can list us a recommendation on your coaching application.
We hope that you do not take this too personally as this is not an uncommon reason to withhold funding (hopefully evidenced by the resources in place for such cases), and we hope to see you continuing to put your skills toward altruistic efforts.
Best,
[Name of Grantmaker]”
Should I write a quick EA forum post on this 2 part idea? (Basically I’ll copy-paste this comment and add a couple paragraphs). Is there a better idea?
I realize that email will look dramatic as a response to some, but it wouldn’t have to be sent in every “cursed case”. I’m sure many applications are rather random ideas. I imagine that a grantmaker could tell by the applicants’ resumes and their social positioning how likely the founding team are to keep trying to start or perpetuate a project.
I think giving this type of feedback when warranted also reflects well on EA. It makes EA seem less of an ivory tower/billionaire hobby and more of a conversational and collaborative movement.
*************************************
The above is a departure from the point of the post. FWIW, I do think the EA grantmaking ecosystem is so centralized that people who have potentially good ideas which stem from a bit of a different framework than those of typical EA grantmakers will struggle to get funding elsewhere. I agree decentralizing grantmaking to some extent is important and I have my reasoning here
tl;dr please write that post
I’m very strongly in favor of this level of transparency. My co-founder Max has been doing some work along those lines in coordination with CEA’s community health team. But if I understand correctly, they’re not that up front about why they’re reaching out. Being more “on the nose” about it, paired with a clear signal of support would be great because these people are usually well-meaning and can struggle parsing ambiguous signals. Of course, that’s a question of qualified manpower—arguably our most limited resource—but we shouldn’t let our limited capacity for immediate implementation stand in the way of inching ever closer to our ideal norms.