I agree with Benito and others that this post would benefit from a deeper engagement with already-stated OPP policy (see, for instance, this recent interview with Holden Karnofsky: https://soundcloud.com/80000-hours/21-holden-karnofsky-open-philanthropy), but I do think it is good to have this conversation.
There are definitely arguments for OPP’s positions on the problems with academia, and I think taking a different approach may be worthwhile. At the same time, I am a bit confused about the lack of written explanations or the opposition to panels. There are ways to try to create more individualized incentives within panels. Re: written explanations, while it does make sense to avoid being overly pressured by public opinion, having to make some defense of a decision is probably helpful to a decision’s efficacy. An organization can just choose to ignore public responses to its written grant justification and to listen only to experts’ responses to a grant. I would think that some critical engagement would be beneficial.
I agree with Benito and others that this post would benefit from a deeper engagement with already-stated OPP policy (see, for instance, this recent interview with Holden Karnofsky: https://soundcloud.com/80000-hours/21-holden-karnofsky-open-philanthropy), but I do think it is good to have this conversation.
There are definitely arguments for OPP’s positions on the problems with academia, and I think taking a different approach may be worthwhile. At the same time, I am a bit confused about the lack of written explanations or the opposition to panels. There are ways to try to create more individualized incentives within panels. Re: written explanations, while it does make sense to avoid being overly pressured by public opinion, having to make some defense of a decision is probably helpful to a decision’s efficacy. An organization can just choose to ignore public responses to its written grant justification and to listen only to experts’ responses to a grant. I would think that some critical engagement would be beneficial.
re: justification, i agree especially when the grant is controversial (a lot of money, unusual choice of a group, etc.), and thanks for the link!