(I’m not a Fund manager, but I’ve previously served as an advisor to the fund and now run EA Funds, which involves advising EA Funds.)
In addition to what Adam mentions, two further points come to mind:
1. I personally think some of the April 2019 grants weren’t good, and I thought that some (but not all) of the critiques the LTFF received from the community were correct. (I can’t get more specific here – I don’t want to make negative public statements about specific grants, as this might have negative consequences for grant recipients.) The LTFF has since implemented many improvements that I think will prevent such mistakes from occurring again.
2. I think we could have communicated better around conflicts of interest. I know of some 2019 grants donors perceived to be subject to a conflict of interest, but there actually wasn’t a conflict of interest, or it was dealt with appropriately. (I also can recall one case where I think a conflict of interest may not have been dealt with well, but our improved policies and practices will prevent a similar potential issue from occurring again.) I think we’re now dealing appropriately with COIs (not in the sense that we refrain from any grants with a potential COI, but that we have appropriate safeguards in place that prevent the COI from impairing the decision). I would like to publish an updated policy once I get to it.
(I’m not a Fund manager, but I’ve previously served as an advisor to the fund and now run EA Funds, which involves advising EA Funds.)
In addition to what Adam mentions, two further points come to mind:
1. I personally think some of the April 2019 grants weren’t good, and I thought that some (but not all) of the critiques the LTFF received from the community were correct. (I can’t get more specific here – I don’t want to make negative public statements about specific grants, as this might have negative consequences for grant recipients.) The LTFF has since implemented many improvements that I think will prevent such mistakes from occurring again.
2. I think we could have communicated better around conflicts of interest. I know of some 2019 grants donors perceived to be subject to a conflict of interest, but there actually wasn’t a conflict of interest, or it was dealt with appropriately. (I also can recall one case where I think a conflict of interest may not have been dealt with well, but our improved policies and practices will prevent a similar potential issue from occurring again.) I think we’re now dealing appropriately with COIs (not in the sense that we refrain from any grants with a potential COI, but that we have appropriate safeguards in place that prevent the COI from impairing the decision). I would like to publish an updated policy once I get to it.