Hi David, I think that is actually quite a big factor! I noticed in particular that there are people in our group we think are particularly well-suited for EA but don’t have the time and/or energy to engage. These sorts of people agree with the ideas, are motivated to make an impact, and also have sufficient work ethic to do so, but can’t make it to the meetings precisely because they’re too busy making an impact. I personally think these people are the ones we want to expose to EA ideas, but it is difficult to engage them.
We have a couple different ideas for engaging these sorts of people more:
First, having a strong community and friend-group associated with our group creates a social obligation (for lack of a better word) to attend, and also makes it more fun to attend. The people in this community will also have lots of EA-adjacent people in their network and/or other friend-groups, who would also be exposed to EA ideas.
Second, having low-commitment events at non-busy times of the year (e.g., a social event early in the semester) means that those sorts of people are more likely to attend. This also introduces them to the ‘community’ I mentioned earlier, which allows them to be more engaged.
Third, as you mentioned, we also find a lot of value in having a more ‘wide’ network of EA-affiliated people on our campus, rather than just having a tight-knit community and encouraging people to join. Not everyone is looking for an EA-style community, but may still want to engage with the ideas, or want career advice (we’ve noticed a few people like that). This also allows people to move in and out of the wider ‘network’ and tight-knit group with ease, (hopefully) reducing attrition.
Hi David, I think that is actually quite a big factor! I noticed in particular that there are people in our group we think are particularly well-suited for EA but don’t have the time and/or energy to engage. These sorts of people agree with the ideas, are motivated to make an impact, and also have sufficient work ethic to do so, but can’t make it to the meetings precisely because they’re too busy making an impact. I personally think these people are the ones we want to expose to EA ideas, but it is difficult to engage them.
We have a couple different ideas for engaging these sorts of people more:
First, having a strong community and friend-group associated with our group creates a social obligation (for lack of a better word) to attend, and also makes it more fun to attend. The people in this community will also have lots of EA-adjacent people in their network and/or other friend-groups, who would also be exposed to EA ideas.
Second, having low-commitment events at non-busy times of the year (e.g., a social event early in the semester) means that those sorts of people are more likely to attend. This also introduces them to the ‘community’ I mentioned earlier, which allows them to be more engaged.
Third, as you mentioned, we also find a lot of value in having a more ‘wide’ network of EA-affiliated people on our campus, rather than just having a tight-knit community and encouraging people to join. Not everyone is looking for an EA-style community, but may still want to engage with the ideas, or want career advice (we’ve noticed a few people like that). This also allows people to move in and out of the wider ‘network’ and tight-knit group with ease, (hopefully) reducing attrition.