All of Stuart Buck's Comments + Replies

As of 2017, the Suzanne Wright Foundation, which has only two employees and makes only around $400k in grants a year, started publishing a series of articles on the idea of a DARPA for health (with amateurish graphics). It created a separate website (also with amateurish design and graphics), and a series of short videos (e.g., this, this, and this, each of which had fewer than 2,300 views by 2022).

All of that might seem like an inauspicious beginning, but the foundation also got the support of Geoff Ling (who had founde... (read more)

"Progress" alternative to GiveWell?

Stuart Buck1y5

On metascience policy and writings: it's really hard to judge impact! We do a lot of writing at the Good Science Project, and our newsletter is read throughout the White House, congressional staff, NIH leaders, etc. Sometimes people behind the scenes ask for ideas and input. But policy action is long, tortuous and unpredictable (e.g., ARPA-H took some 5 years to enact since the time that my board member Mike Stebbins and others started writing and talking about that idea).

2ryan_b1yIn the context of federal government action, 5 years feels like a huge win! Out of curiosity, was there any kind of generic background on the kind of policy being worked on? For example, with ARPA-H, did the background include the founding of other ARPA-pattern agencies, the references about the relevant authority, or budgetary shenanigans? It's unrelated to the OP, but what I am driving at here is how much pre-work on behalf of the government is a valid optimization target. I want to make a comparison with the legislative case, where a successful strategy in lobbying is providing draft language for a bill; is there an equivalent in the executive case?

How can we be objective?

Stuart Buck2y1

Those are all fair points, and I might have phrased things a little too strongly in the original post.

I do think the education example is interesting, though, because both "sides" (if you will) are convinced that they are the only ones who truly care about improving children's education. The problem is that they're confusing means and ends.

To me, whether it's progress studies or education or whatever, there needs to be a significant number of academically-minded folks who agree with the end of improving progress or improving education, but who ... (read more)