One thing to note, re diversification (which I do think is an important point in general) is that it’s easy to think of Open Phil as a single agent, rather than a collection of agents; and because Open Phil is a collective entity, there are gains from diversification even with the funds.
For example, there might be a grant that a program officer wants to make, but there’s internal disagreement about it, and the program officer doesn’t have time (given opportunity cost) to convince others at Open Phil why it’s a good idea. (This has been historically true for, say, the EA Giving Fund). Having a separate pool of money would allow them to fund things like that.
I think this is an important point. But it’s worth acknowledging there’s a potential downside to this too—perhaps the bar of getting others on board is a useful check against errors of individual judgement.
One thing to note, re diversification (which I do think is an important point in general) is that it’s easy to think of Open Phil as a single agent, rather than a collection of agents; and because Open Phil is a collective entity, there are gains from diversification even with the funds.
For example, there might be a grant that a program officer wants to make, but there’s internal disagreement about it, and the program officer doesn’t have time (given opportunity cost) to convince others at Open Phil why it’s a good idea. (This has been historically true for, say, the EA Giving Fund). Having a separate pool of money would allow them to fund things like that.
I think this is an important point. But it’s worth acknowledging there’s a potential downside to this too—perhaps the bar of getting others on board is a useful check against errors of individual judgement.