Thanks for posting the response! Some short clarifications:
We should in general expect better results when proposals are reviewed by people who are knowledgeable of the domains covered in the proposals. Insofar as Oliver is not knowledgeable about policy outreach or other aspects of GCRI’s work, then arguably someone else should have reviewed GCRI’s proposal, or at least these aspects of GCRI’s proposal.
My perspective only played a partial role in the discussion of the GCRI grant, since I am indeed not the person with the most policy expertise on the fund. It only so happens that I am also the person who had the most resources available for writing things up for public consumption, so I wouldn’t update too much on my specific feedback. Though my perspective might still be useful for understanding the experience of people closer to my level of expertise, of which there are many, and I do obviously think there is important truth to it (and obviously as a way to help me build better models of the policy space, which I do think is valuable).
It may be worth noting that the sciences struggle to review interdisciplinary funding proposals. Studies report a perceived bias against interdisciplinary proposals: “peers tend to favor research belonging to their own field” (link), so work that cuts across fields is funded less. Some evidence supports this perception (link). GCRI’s work is highly interdisciplinary, and it is plausible that this creates a bias against us among funders. Ditto for other interdisciplinary projects. This is a problem because a lot of the most important work is cross-cutting and interdisciplinary.
I strongly agree with this, and also think that a lot of the best work is cross-cutting and interdisciplinary. I think the degree to which things are interdisciplinary is part of the reason for why there is some shortage for EA grantmaking expertize. Part of my hope with facilitating public discussion like this is to help me and other people in grantmaking positions build better models of domains where we have less expertize.
I’ll briefly note that I am currently working on a more extended discussion of policy outreach suitable for posting online, possibly on this site, that is oriented toward improving the understanding of people in the EA-LTF-GCR community. It’s not certain I’ll have the chance to complete given my other responsibilities it but hopefully I will.
Also if it would help I can provide suggestions of people at other organizations who can give perspectives on various aspects of GCRI’s work. We could follow up privately about that.
Thanks for posting the response! Some short clarifications:
My perspective only played a partial role in the discussion of the GCRI grant, since I am indeed not the person with the most policy expertise on the fund. It only so happens that I am also the person who had the most resources available for writing things up for public consumption, so I wouldn’t update too much on my specific feedback. Though my perspective might still be useful for understanding the experience of people closer to my level of expertise, of which there are many, and I do obviously think there is important truth to it (and obviously as a way to help me build better models of the policy space, which I do think is valuable).
I strongly agree with this, and also think that a lot of the best work is cross-cutting and interdisciplinary. I think the degree to which things are interdisciplinary is part of the reason for why there is some shortage for EA grantmaking expertize. Part of my hope with facilitating public discussion like this is to help me and other people in grantmaking positions build better models of domains where we have less expertize.
All good to know, thanks.
I’ll briefly note that I am currently working on a more extended discussion of policy outreach suitable for posting online, possibly on this site, that is oriented toward improving the understanding of people in the EA-LTF-GCR community. It’s not certain I’ll have the chance to complete given my other responsibilities it but hopefully I will.
Also if it would help I can provide suggestions of people at other organizations who can give perspectives on various aspects of GCRI’s work. We could follow up privately about that.