Last month, we[1] ran the 2024 edition of the Meta Coordination Forum (MCF) near Santa Cruz, California. As outlined in our previous post, the event brought together 39 people leading EA community-building organizations and projects to foster a shared understanding of some of the biggest challenges facing our community and align on strategies for addressing these problems. Here’s a high-level summary of how it went and how we might improve future iterations.
Event highlights
Overall, we think the Meta Coordination Forum 2024 was successful in facilitating connections and collaborations while improving attendees’[2] understanding of both the EA brand/communications and the current funding landscape:
Attendees rated their likelihood to recommend at 8.94/10 on average.
88.5% of attendees found it more valuable than how they would typically spend their time, with 57.1% rating it at least 3 times more valuable.
Over 90% of attendees reported an improved understanding of both the EA communications landscape and the funding ecosystem (our two focus areas).
Attendees particularly valued dedicated time for 1:1s, practical skills training (e.g., media engagement), and focused discussions on EA’s key challenges.
Key outcomes
Improved understanding of focus areas: Over 90% of survey respondents reported an improved understanding of both the EA communications landscape and the funding ecosystem. This was one of our main goals.
Improved relationships: The event provided valuable opportunities for networking and trust-building among people leading EA community-building organizations and projects. Many attendees reported that the event was useful for building new connections and strengthening existing ones.
Improved motivation and morale: Multiple attendees reported feeling reinvigorated and more committed to their work as a result of attending the event.
Initial concrete results:
New funding leads for organizations
Improved coordination between organizations and plans for collaborative projects
People being more willing to engage in public communications
We’ll follow up with attendees in 6 months to assess longer-term outcomes.
Future considerations
Based on attendee feedback and our observations, we’re considering the following for future events:
Extending the event duration to allow for more 1:1 meetings or adding a one-day event around an EAG.
Incorporating more practical skills training sessions and inviting more experts from relevant areas.
Exploring ways to balance improving understanding with generating actionable next steps, acknowledging the challenges of creating concrete action plans for complex issues in a short timeframe.
Conclusion
We’re grateful to all of this year’s attendees for their valuable contributions and feedback, and look forward to applying these insights to future events.
Please see our previous announcement post for more details about the event’s goals and attendees.
Meta Coordination Forum 2024: Post-Event Summary
Last month, we[1] ran the 2024 edition of the Meta Coordination Forum (MCF) near Santa Cruz, California. As outlined in our previous post, the event brought together 39 people leading EA community-building organizations and projects to foster a shared understanding of some of the biggest challenges facing our community and align on strategies for addressing these problems. Here’s a high-level summary of how it went and how we might improve future iterations.
Event highlights
Overall, we think the Meta Coordination Forum 2024 was successful in facilitating connections and collaborations while improving attendees’[2] understanding of both the EA brand/communications and the current funding landscape:
Attendees rated their likelihood to recommend at 8.94/10 on average.
88.5% of attendees found it more valuable than how they would typically spend their time, with 57.1% rating it at least 3 times more valuable.
Over 90% of attendees reported an improved understanding of both the EA communications landscape and the funding ecosystem (our two focus areas).
Attendees particularly valued dedicated time for 1:1s, practical skills training (e.g., media engagement), and focused discussions on EA’s key challenges.
Key outcomes
Improved understanding of focus areas: Over 90% of survey respondents reported an improved understanding of both the EA communications landscape and the funding ecosystem. This was one of our main goals.
Improved relationships: The event provided valuable opportunities for networking and trust-building among people leading EA community-building organizations and projects. Many attendees reported that the event was useful for building new connections and strengthening existing ones.
Improved motivation and morale: Multiple attendees reported feeling reinvigorated and more committed to their work as a result of attending the event.
Initial concrete results:
New funding leads for organizations
Improved coordination between organizations and plans for collaborative projects
People being more willing to engage in public communications
We’ll follow up with attendees in 6 months to assess longer-term outcomes.
Future considerations
Based on attendee feedback and our observations, we’re considering the following for future events:
Extending the event duration to allow for more 1:1 meetings or adding a one-day event around an EAG.
Incorporating more practical skills training sessions and inviting more experts from relevant areas.
Exploring ways to balance improving understanding with generating actionable next steps, acknowledging the challenges of creating concrete action plans for complex issues in a short timeframe.
Conclusion
We’re grateful to all of this year’s attendees for their valuable contributions and feedback, and look forward to applying these insights to future events.
Please see our previous announcement post for more details about the event’s goals and attendees.
The organizing team was Amy Labenz, Ollie Base, Sophie Thomson, Niko Bjork, and David Solar.
The following metrics are based on 35 feedback survey responses out of 39 attendees.