An org/project that basically provides easy access to a whole bunch of vetted remote talent for EA organizations.
Our ability to scale current direct workers seems important, and one possible way is by augmenting them with lots of remote help. The costs to set up contractor relationships are considerable, so it often doesn’t make sense to set up a relationship if an organization would just use it for themselves.
This organization would interview & organize work with many specialized skillsets, and help provide them on demand.
How similar is this to what BERI already does for X-risk organizations? I know they help organizations find contractors for research and web design, and I think they’ve contracted other types of work in the past.
There are typically many contractors to choose from, and it’s difficult to evaluate their quality. For instance, if you want a virtual assistant, it may take several interviews and trials until you find one you like.
I’m not sure what kinds of suppliers you are referring to. If it’s simple things like, “buy paper from this company on Amazon”, that’s typically simpler. The reviews are more indicative of performance and there are often fewer alternatives.
One difference is that orgs can share contractors, but not employees. For instance, my designer only spends around 1-3 hours per week, so has lots of time to help other groups, like EA groups. I’m thinking of low-time, skill-specific workers (the jobs in that list would all only work a few hours per month or similar)
An org/project that basically provides easy access to a whole bunch of vetted remote talent for EA organizations.
Our ability to scale current direct workers seems important, and one possible way is by augmenting them with lots of remote help. The costs to set up contractor relationships are considerable, so it often doesn’t make sense to set up a relationship if an organization would just use it for themselves.
This organization would interview & organize work with many specialized skillsets, and help provide them on demand.
Some ideas of ways to help:
Research assistance
Writing help
Presentation help
Minor web work
Bookkeeping
Lawyers
How similar is this to what BERI already does for X-risk organizations? I know they help organizations find contractors for research and web design, and I think they’ve contracted other types of work in the past.
I’m curious, how does that work in the US? Why is contract work different in this regard from receiving services from any other type of supplier?
There are typically many contractors to choose from, and it’s difficult to evaluate their quality. For instance, if you want a virtual assistant, it may take several interviews and trials until you find one you like.
I’m not sure what kinds of suppliers you are referring to. If it’s simple things like, “buy paper from this company on Amazon”, that’s typically simpler. The reviews are more indicative of performance and there are often fewer alternatives.
Oh, I thought you refer to some kind of legal costs. You mean costs of vetting. Right. As has been noted: EA is vetting constrained, EA is network constrained.
But this is the case with employees as well, isn’t it? It’s just about vetting people in general.
One thing I notice, looking at the 80k job board, is that not that many EA(-adjacent) orgs are interested in remote workers.
One difference is that orgs can share contractors, but not employees. For instance, my designer only spends around 1-3 hours per week, so has lots of time to help other groups, like EA groups. I’m thinking of low-time, skill-specific workers (the jobs in that list would all only work a few hours per month or similar)
Ah, got it.