EA Organization Updates thread: February 2026
For the last couple of years, EA Organization Updates has been a monthly series hosted on the forum. It doesn’t normally get very much attention. Previous to that it was part of the EA Newsletter until the newsletter got far too long to host it.
Now we’re trying something new. Instead of asking organisations to write in to us, editing and posting their updates, we’re asking them to write directly here on the forum, where you can interact with them. If this goes well, we’ll continue the series as a monthly thread which stays up for a week.
Note that this thread will be less gate-kept, curated and endorsed than the previous series. This is a positive (content isn’t restricted to the organisations we have asked to write something) and negative (if the thread proves popular, we might have to spend moderation capacity removing irrelevant updates). We’ll keep an eye on this trade-off.
You can see previous updates on the “EA Organization Updates (monthly series) topic page. Notice that there’s also an “organization updates” tag, where you can find more news and updates that are not part of this consolidated series.
CEA grew the number of people engaging with our programs in 2025 by 20–25% year-over-year, beating our targets of 7.5–10% without increasing spending, and reversing the moderate decreases in engagement with our programs during 2023–24.
We were joined in January by two new Directors: Loic Watine, who will lead EA Funds, and Rory Fenton, who will lead our new Strategy and M&E function.
You can read our full 2025 progress report here.
Wild Animal Initiative attended a wild animal welfare research symposium organized by our grantees at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in the UK last month. The symposium included talks by WAI’s Science Team and grantees, interactive discussions, and networking opportunities. One of the researchers on our team also gave a lecture to 100 LJMU undergraduate students in animal behavior, wildlife management, and zoology.
This was the first time our grantees independently organized an event like this — a milestone that reflects the growth of the field. What began as funding for a single scientist’s research at LJMU is growing into a hub for researchers who are enthusiastic about wild animal welfare science and eager to adopt leading roles.
MATS is hiring for two roles on the program team. MATS will have more than a dozen employees at EAG San Francisco 2026, so feel free to come talk to use if you are interested in joining the team.
Program Systems Associate: Build and maintain MATS’ internal infrastructure, including databases, data collection forms, and integrations. Refactor legacy systems and collaborate across teams to improve infrastructure and establish best practices. Create ambitious, shared infrastructure for the AI safety talent ecosystem. Requires strong database design skills and a product mindset; software engineering or LLM-assisted coding proficiency preferred.
Program Talent Manager: Own MATS’ full applicant process across 3+ high-volume cycles per year (100+ fellows, 50+ mentors per cohort). Interface with mentors at Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and other organizations to understand talent needs. Design applications, coordinate evaluations, manage reviewers, and prepare applicant shortlists. Develop outreach strategy to attract top talent. Requires strong judgment in evaluating technical/policy candidates and excellent project/stakeholder management; recruiting or structured evaluation experience preferred.
Coefficient Giving is hiring for a Grants Associate (remote, $123k) — apply by Monday, February 23rd to be considered.
We published a new blog post, “Our Approach to Recruiting a Strong Team,” a Q&A with Recruiting Lead Phil Zealley that covers our hiring approach and why we invest an unusual amount of effort in finding and evaluating candidates.
We launched an RFP for Humane Fish Slaughter Research/Prototypes. $7M in funding is available for projects that materially improve the welfare of fish at capture and slaughter. Learn more here: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/i8om4DADPX5SfyNwP/request-for-proposals-humane-fish-slaughter-research-and
Faunalytics
Faunalytics released a deep dive exploring the research on humane education — programs that teach the consequences of animal agriculture and/or respect for animals — examining how these initiatives influence dietary choices, shape attitudes toward animals, and inspire lasting compassionate action.
The organization is now accepting applications for their Community & Research Coordinator role. This mid-level role sits at the intersection of research, communications, and community engagement, building strong relationships with advocates and translating research findings into practical, accessible resources that support real-world advocacy. Applications are due March 15, 2026.
Jobs
Anima International is hiring for a Campaigner in Denmark (hybrid, salary DKK 26,500–36,000). Find out more and apply by February 22nd.
Updates
For the past six years, we’ve campaigned alongside other organizations in Norway to end the use of fast-growing chicken breeds – one of the cruelest practices in modern animal farming. Last month, Norway’s meat industry announced complete elimination of fast-growing chickens by the end of 2027. These birds currently make up ~60% of over 70 million chickens farmed for meat in the country each year. The industry also announced introducing in-ovo sexing of egg-laying chicks to end the killing of male chicks in egg production. More in our blog post by Niklas Fjeldberg.
As we continue working to end cages for hens in Poland, the percentage of hens in cages dropped to 63.68% by the end of 2025. Following dialogue with us, several companies fulfilled their cage-free commitments in January, including retail chain Netto (~287,000 hens per year), Stokrotka, Qubus hotel, and bakery chain Sowa – the target of a campaign we wrote about in a previous update.
In Denmark, we helped raise 78,396 signatures (triggering a parliamentary debate) on a citizens initiative calling for amending the Animal Welfare Act to improve the lives of farmed pigs. The proposed changes include a ban on tail docking (illegal in the EU), ban on cages for pregnant and nursing sows, and better living space requirements, potentially affecting ~28 million animals each year.
Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, our petition calling for a ban on cages for calves was discussed in the Parliamentary Committee on Civil Participation, with broad support from the politicians. It will now be discussed by the Agricultural Committee.
Opportunity for action
The European Commission is expected to respond to the Fur Free Europe European Citizen Initiative by the end of March. Despite the recent ban in Poland (EU’s largest fur producer), the Commission is considering regulations that will not meaningfully address the suffering of animals farmed for fur. Send an email to the Commissioners in support of an EU-wide ban on fur farming and import of fur products.