You might not have to identify them in advance, rather than 10+ years into their post-doctoral career. Googling “mid-career grant history” leads to a few links like these — where charitable or governmental foundations provide support to experienced scholars.
The American Historical Association promoted the same grant here. One could imagine a similar grant (perhaps hosted at FHI, Princeton, or another EA-experienced university [or at Rethink Priorities]) where “architectural history,” “preservation-related,” and other italicized words below are replaced with EA-aligned project parameters that FHI and its donors would hope to support.
FITCH MID-CAREER FELLOWSHIP: Research grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to one or more mid-career professionals with academic backgrounds, professional experience, and an established identity in one or more of the following fields… [truncated] architectural historyand the decorative arts. The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation will consider proposals for the research and/or the execution of the preservation-related projects in any of these fields.
One could also structure fewer grants at a higher price point than $15K (say, $50K) to fund more ambitious projects that may absorb 6-9 months of a scholar’s time — rather than 2-3 months. As star scholars are identified, their funding could be renewed for multiple years. (Open Phil has certainly followed that model for rising stars and their high-potential projects. See their extension of Jade’s grant funding here.)
Systematic undervaluing of some fields is not something I considered and slightly undermines my argument.
I still think the main problem would be identifying rising-star historians in advance instead of in retrospect.
You might not have to identify them in advance, rather than 10+ years into their post-doctoral career. Googling “mid-career grant history” leads to a few links like these — where charitable or governmental foundations provide support to experienced scholars.
The American Historical Association promoted the same grant here. One could imagine a similar grant (perhaps hosted at FHI, Princeton, or another EA-experienced university [or at Rethink Priorities]) where “architectural history,” “preservation-related,” and other italicized words below are replaced with EA-aligned project parameters that FHI and its donors would hope to support.
One could also structure fewer grants at a higher price point than $15K (say, $50K) to fund more ambitious projects that may absorb 6-9 months of a scholar’s time — rather than 2-3 months. As star scholars are identified, their funding could be renewed for multiple years. (Open Phil has certainly followed that model for rising stars and their high-potential projects. See their extension of Jade’s grant funding here.)