I’ve asked several academics with domain expertise to review draft posts, or sections of posts, or advise on specific issues. Some have been very useful, but they understandably do not have time to engage fully (if at all). As a consequence, I often worry that I’m making dumb mistakes, or just reinventing the wheel, and there are often substantial delays while waiting for expert input. I think the lack of access to academic networks and infrastructure is perhaps the biggest weakness of RP as a research organisation, and it is related to the youth and inexperience of EA as a whole.
I’m not sure it can be fully solved – some fields only have half a dozen people in the world working on them, so it may be impossible to find someone with enough free time to help out. But I suspect a lot of progress could be made, e.g. I bet there are a lot of statisticians and economists who would be willing and able to help if only they knew we needed it. At the mid- and late career professionals’ meetup at EAG San Fransisco last June, it was suggested that retired academics, professional groups, and LinkedIn might be good sources of mentors/advisors. Someone mentioned https://taprootfoundation.org/ as well – perhaps not for academic advice, but for support in other areas where EA orgs tend to be lacking, such as management. I’d be interested to see an effort to systematically connect experts with EA projects, perhaps through the EA Hub or 80,000 Hours.
I’ve asked several academics with domain expertise to review draft posts, or sections of posts, or advise on specific issues. Some have been very useful, but they understandably do not have time to engage fully (if at all). As a consequence, I often worry that I’m making dumb mistakes, or just reinventing the wheel, and there are often substantial delays while waiting for expert input. I think the lack of access to academic networks and infrastructure is perhaps the biggest weakness of RP as a research organisation, and it is related to the youth and inexperience of EA as a whole.
I’m not sure it can be fully solved – some fields only have half a dozen people in the world working on them, so it may be impossible to find someone with enough free time to help out. But I suspect a lot of progress could be made, e.g. I bet there are a lot of statisticians and economists who would be willing and able to help if only they knew we needed it. At the mid- and late career professionals’ meetup at EAG San Fransisco last June, it was suggested that retired academics, professional groups, and LinkedIn might be good sources of mentors/advisors. Someone mentioned https://taprootfoundation.org/ as well – perhaps not for academic advice, but for support in other areas where EA orgs tend to be lacking, such as management. I’d be interested to see an effort to systematically connect experts with EA projects, perhaps through the EA Hub or 80,000 Hours.