A second caveat is that we’ve estimated the average impact of marginal R&D funding. Of course, the actual impact of any particular grant could be much larger or much smaller than this, depending on the project being funded. If a funder can consistently identify particularly promising projects, their impact could be larger than my estimate. One way to do this might be to focus on R&D projects that are specifically designed to help the global poor. Just as $1 goes further when transferred to the global poor, so too R&D might be more effective when targeted in this way.
Some of those involved with Progress Studies think accelerating innovation should be the world’s top priority. I discuss ways in which my outlook differs from theirs in this appendix.
And in the appendix:
I expect, partly based on unpublished work by Open Philanthropy, that some such opportunities do meet the GHW bar. In other words, I think that some interventions to boost innovation are among the best in the world for improving wellbeing.
This is actually mentioned in the report: https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/social-returns-to-productivity-growth/#the_best_pro_growth
And in the appendix: