Task Y candidate: Fellowship facilitator for EA Virtual Programs
EA Virtual Programs runs intro fellowships, in-depth fellowships, and The Precipice reading groups (plus occasional other programs). The time commitment for facilitators is generally 2-5 hours per week (depending on the particular program).
EA intro fellowships (and similar programs) have been successful at minting engaged EAs. There are large diminishing returns even in selecting applicants with a not-so-strong application since the application process does not predict future engagement well (see this and this). Thus, if a fellowship/reading group has to reject people, that’s significant value lost. Rejected applicants generally re-apply at low rates (despite being encouraged to!).
Uncertainties:
Is EA Virtual Programs short on facilitators? I don’t know. The answer to this question would presumably change post-COVID (IMO the answer could shift in either direction), and so in the interest of future-proofing this answer, I will not bother to find the current demand for facilitators.
Will EA Virtual Programs exist post-COVID? An organizer at the EA Virtual Programs informally said that nothing concrete has been decided yet, but the project was probably leaning towards continuing in some capacity. It is not clear to me whether there will even be significantly fewer applicants post-COVID (since most(?) university groups are running their fellowships independantly right now).
I know of atleast a few non-student working professionals who are facilitators for EA Virtual Programs, which I will take as evidence that this can be a Task Y.
Task Y candidate: Fellowship facilitator for EA Virtual Programs
EA Virtual Programs runs intro fellowships, in-depth fellowships, and The Precipice reading groups (plus occasional other programs). The time commitment for facilitators is generally 2-5 hours per week (depending on the particular program).
EA intro fellowships (and similar programs) have been successful at minting engaged EAs. There are large diminishing returns even in selecting applicants with a not-so-strong application since the application process does not predict future engagement well (see this and this). Thus, if a fellowship/reading group has to reject people, that’s significant value lost. Rejected applicants generally re-apply at low rates (despite being encouraged to!).
Uncertainties:
Is EA Virtual Programs short on facilitators? I don’t know. The answer to this question would presumably change post-COVID (IMO the answer could shift in either direction), and so in the interest of future-proofing this answer, I will not bother to find the current demand for facilitators.
Will EA Virtual Programs exist post-COVID? An organizer at the EA Virtual Programs informally said that nothing concrete has been decided yet, but the project was probably leaning towards continuing in some capacity. It is not clear to me whether there will even be significantly fewer applicants post-COVID (since most(?) university groups are running their fellowships independantly right now).
I know of atleast a few non-student working professionals who are facilitators for EA Virtual Programs, which I will take as evidence that this can be a Task Y.
This is a great idea and I think the current form of EAVP can support this!
I think this sounds right! This makes me feel like we should also pay particular attention to making the facilitator experience is great too.
Organising local intro EA programs can also be a great Task Y candidate.