It’s a great idea, glad you tried. Here’s a few thoughts from a 60 year old with many years overseas and 3 years in Washington, DC. Maybe they can help (given from a USA perspective).
The feeling many activists who really care get after spending any time adjacent to the DC development-industrial-complex is that so much of it is a big political scam...DC is not trying to help the world, they’re deploying taxpayers money to increase USA power and influence to the ends of benefiting USA (same for all wealthy countries). That’s the DC side, then living overseas for almost a decade of my life I saw the actual aid workers in the field and it’s like the newbies are actually there for good idealistic reasons, then as they age and go up the ladder you see them just realizing it’s all a scam but it’s my job so I just play along or they are just expat types who love living overseas and with a USA salary in a poor country you can live like a king.
All of that is going on, while your holding meetings with individual politicians who may care, but they don’t even see the whole big picture themselves because for example State Department priorities and strategies may be opaque to congress members.
The other issue that occurs to me. You are applying to aid what EA applied to charity so successfully...the idea of scientific method for evidence based impact...but the audience who responded so powerfully to EA’s charity changing idea was donors deciding what to do with money they control directly...individuals and foundations. But your audience was politicians who are seeking to get votes by doing what voters want, and by needing to follow their leadership. So even though they may be moved by “effective impact” as an idea, the audience they serve—their leaders and voters—are far removed from your efforts and don’t hear your ideas, ie. your energies spent at the wrong spot...the solution would be to not only influence politicians but influence the voting public by creative media campaigns in film, tv, youtube and substack and change the zeitgeist, and get the voters to demand a change in how our governments do aid, and start doing it this smarter evidence based way. Now your energies are hitting directly.
But of course, this is not a methodology EA really understands since they don’t invite creative media people to the table. They should and more of us are on the peripheries stating the importance of creative media to everything EA does and pointing out EA’s blindspot on this. Nobody in lobbying or advocacy would ever imagine effecting a change without creative media to influence the public as a significant part of it...you gotta hit ’em on both sides...inside lobbying, outside changing of minds/votes.
Perhaps another attempt with a combination of more experienced development lobbyists paired with a creative media team also would have a better chance...but of course it would require a much bigger budget.
EA needs to learn from Tech...Tech is a bunch of STEM people like EA...but Tech has a backroom of STEM talent making stuff, and a frontroom of arts & humanities creatives communicating that stuff to the world. EA on the other hand only has a backroom of STEM people and no frontroom at all, leaving massive value on a non-table that never gets communicated to the world it was for. Philanthropic funding artificially enables EA to perpetuate this misunderstanding of how the world works, Tech lives in the real world.
Perhaps another attempt with a combination of more experienced development lobbyists paired with a creative media team also would have a better chance...but of course it would require a much bigger budget.
FYI, there’s a US-focused organization with a similar mission to CEAP’s called Unlock Aid that seems to be doing really good work. Open Philanthropy is also doing a lot of engagement with governments directly through its Global Aid Policy program.
I feel like effective aid policy is at a similar stage to what animal well-being was at a few decades ago. People would agree that animal well-being is good, but they wouldn’t feel it’s important.
Maybe we need an org that does targeted public campaigns on how a certain aid organization is wasting money, combining that with pushing them to a commitment to more effectiveness. This approach has worked with some meat-intensive companies, and it might also work for non-profits if it can threaten their donor base.
A on the other hand only has a backroom of STEM people and no frontroom at all, leaving massive value on a non-table that never gets communicated to the world it was for.
I don’t understand this sentance. The value on the table is good ideas that don’t get realised because they’re poorly communicated?
Yes, that’s a creative literary sentence that would mean the same thing if you just removed the “non” and basically says you’re leaving massive value on the table that doesn’t get communicated (as you’ve said). By adding the little twist of saying leaving massive value on a non-table that never gets communicated you’re just pushing the idea into absurdity (what’s a non-table?) which artistically makes the point that to do so is absurd.
It’s a great idea, glad you tried. Here’s a few thoughts from a 60 year old with many years overseas and 3 years in Washington, DC. Maybe they can help (given from a USA perspective).
The feeling many activists who really care get after spending any time adjacent to the DC development-industrial-complex is that so much of it is a big political scam...DC is not trying to help the world, they’re deploying taxpayers money to increase USA power and influence to the ends of benefiting USA (same for all wealthy countries). That’s the DC side, then living overseas for almost a decade of my life I saw the actual aid workers in the field and it’s like the newbies are actually there for good idealistic reasons, then as they age and go up the ladder you see them just realizing it’s all a scam but it’s my job so I just play along or they are just expat types who love living overseas and with a USA salary in a poor country you can live like a king.
All of that is going on, while your holding meetings with individual politicians who may care, but they don’t even see the whole big picture themselves because for example State Department priorities and strategies may be opaque to congress members.
The other issue that occurs to me. You are applying to aid what EA applied to charity so successfully...the idea of scientific method for evidence based impact...but the audience who responded so powerfully to EA’s charity changing idea was donors deciding what to do with money they control directly...individuals and foundations. But your audience was politicians who are seeking to get votes by doing what voters want, and by needing to follow their leadership. So even though they may be moved by “effective impact” as an idea, the audience they serve—their leaders and voters—are far removed from your efforts and don’t hear your ideas, ie. your energies spent at the wrong spot...the solution would be to not only influence politicians but influence the voting public by creative media campaigns in film, tv, youtube and substack and change the zeitgeist, and get the voters to demand a change in how our governments do aid, and start doing it this smarter evidence based way. Now your energies are hitting directly.
But of course, this is not a methodology EA really understands since they don’t invite creative media people to the table. They should and more of us are on the peripheries stating the importance of creative media to everything EA does and pointing out EA’s blindspot on this. Nobody in lobbying or advocacy would ever imagine effecting a change without creative media to influence the public as a significant part of it...you gotta hit ’em on both sides...inside lobbying, outside changing of minds/votes.
Perhaps another attempt with a combination of more experienced development lobbyists paired with a creative media team also would have a better chance...but of course it would require a much bigger budget.
EA needs to learn from Tech...Tech is a bunch of STEM people like EA...but Tech has a backroom of STEM talent making stuff, and a frontroom of arts & humanities creatives communicating that stuff to the world. EA on the other hand only has a backroom of STEM people and no frontroom at all, leaving massive value on a non-table that never gets communicated to the world it was for. Philanthropic funding artificially enables EA to perpetuate this misunderstanding of how the world works, Tech lives in the real world.
FYI, there’s a US-focused organization with a similar mission to CEAP’s called Unlock Aid that seems to be doing really good work. Open Philanthropy is also doing a lot of engagement with governments directly through its Global Aid Policy program.
Yeah those are both really good initiatives...now they need more creative media to win the broader public to their vision.
I feel like effective aid policy is at a similar stage to what animal well-being was at a few decades ago. People would agree that animal well-being is good, but they wouldn’t feel it’s important.
Maybe we need an org that does targeted public campaigns on how a certain aid organization is wasting money, combining that with pushing them to a commitment to more effectiveness. This approach has worked with some meat-intensive companies, and it might also work for non-profits if it can threaten their donor base.
I don’t understand this sentance. The value on the table is good ideas that don’t get realised because they’re poorly communicated?
Hi Hamish,
Yes, that’s a creative literary sentence that would mean the same thing if you just removed the “non” and basically says you’re leaving massive value on the table that doesn’t get communicated (as you’ve said). By adding the little twist of saying leaving massive value on a non-table that never gets communicated you’re just pushing the idea into absurdity (what’s a non-table?) which artistically makes the point that to do so is absurd.