Complementary perspectives/framings that didn’t quite fit into this post
David Janku of Effective Thesis has written about interventions—other than Effective Thesis which also aim to influence which research is generated. I recommend reading that section, but here’s the list of interventions with the explanations and commentary removed:
influencing individuals by giving them information on what the potentially most impactful directions are and motivating them to pursue these directions
providing funding for research directions that seem promising
setting up research organisations producing research in a specific direction
organising research workshops
setting up prestigious prizes/awards
providing mentorship and space for exploration
David adds that an additional approach which doesn’t aim to influence which research is generated is “coordination—e.g. connecting students/researchers interested in the same topics”.
we need 1) more grantmaking capacity (especially for active grantmaking), 2) more ideas that would be impactful if implemented well, and 3) more people capable of implementing these ideas. EA Funds can primarily improve the first factor, and I think this is the main limiting factor right now (though this could change within a few months).
I think that similar points could also be made for longtermist grantmaking by other actors (e.g., Open Philanthropy) and for grantmaking in some other areas (e.g., I’m guessing, wild animal welfare). And I think many of the interventions mentioned in this post might help address those needs.
Complementary perspectives/framings that didn’t quite fit into this post
David Janku of Effective Thesis has written about interventions—other than Effective Thesis which also aim to influence which research is generated. I recommend reading that section, but here’s the list of interventions with the explanations and commentary removed:
influencing individuals by giving them information on what the potentially most impactful directions are and motivating them to pursue these directions
providing funding for research directions that seem promising
setting up research organisations producing research in a specific direction
organising research workshops
setting up prestigious prizes/awards
providing mentorship and space for exploration
David adds that an additional approach which doesn’t aim to influence which research is generated is “coordination—e.g. connecting students/researchers interested in the same topics”.
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Meanwhile, Jonas Vollmer of EA Funds has written that, to achieve one possible vision for the EA Long-Term Future Fund:
I think that similar points could also be made for longtermist grantmaking by other actors (e.g., Open Philanthropy) and for grantmaking in some other areas (e.g., I’m guessing, wild animal welfare). And I think many of the interventions mentioned in this post might help address those needs.