Special Projects
Overview • Services • Testimonials • By the numbers • Submit an Expression of Interest • Featured projects
Overview
In 2022, Rethink Priorities (RP) established the Special Projects (SP) Program to help launch or accelerate promising initiatives, primarily focused on addressing global catastrophic risks.
The SP Team provides each initiative that it supports with operational assistance to ensure day-to-day functioning. This support enables the initiative’s staff to focus on their core mission and activities and get the project off the ground faster than they likely would have otherwise. Since launching the SP Program, RP has worked with 11 different initiatives, some of which have successfully spun off into independent organizations.
We are now accepting Expressions of Interest for new projects. Please click the below link to learn more and apply.
Through the program, RP either fiscally sponsors, incubates, or directly launches projects. Our exact services depend on the project, and may include:
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Receiving tax-exempt grant funds on your behalf
Handling tax and legal compliance issues
Accounting
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Hiring employees via our US or UK legal entities or internationally via our Employer of Record in compliance with local laws, which allows us to hire people in many countries
Managing employee benefits and payroll
Invoicing and contracting, as well as handling purchasing and reimbursements
Helping to manage project budgets
Trying to help staff acquire work visas in the US or UK if relevant
Researching relevant legal and operational issues
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Developing hiring and interview materials
Running your hiring rounds
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Coordinating and reviewing grant applications that the leader of each initiative writes themselves
Managing donations made by individuals via the respective project’s website
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Planning the logistics for online or in-person events
Assisting projects in developing agendas and other materials for events
Sourcing a venue, accommodations, catering, AV, and other suppliers
Developing event policies (e.g. COVID policy)
Guest RSVPs and registration
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Training and upskilling managers and supporting goal-setting, performance management, and performance review processes
Writing newsletters, website copy, and other communications materials
Creating business plans for projects
Helping to run competitions or requests for proposals
Providing ad hoc operational support
Jaime Sevilla (Director, Epoch)
“The support from the Special Projects team has been instrumental for the development of Epoch. We could not have managed our recent hiring rounds without it, and you have freed hundreds of hours of work that otherwise we would have had to put into operations.”
Nandini Shiralkar (Founder, ERA*)
“RP's fiscal sponsorship was hugely impactful for The Existential Risk Alliance (ERA). Instead of juggling operational hassles, we have been laser-focused on our mission. We managed to run 34 fellowship events, provide regular weekly 1-1 support to all our fellows, and share our insights through in-depth retrospective posts all because we had the freedom to channel our energies solely towards making the ERA Cambridge Fellowship impactful. RP's support isn't just logistical: they truly understand the nuances of having impact, ensuring every effort is directly aligned with our overall mission and theory of change.”
*ERA is a successful alumnus of RP’s Special Projects Program, ERA is now an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to mitigating existential risks by building a community of researchers through fellowships and other opportunities.
Special Projects by the numbers*
66 fiscal sponsorship expressions of interest received
11 projects supported
$5.1m total direct costs expended
5 staff on the SP Team
4 sponsee hiring rounds complete (and three ongoing)
71 sponsee staff onboarded in total (42 of whom were recruited directly by SP)
20 successful visa sponsorship applications (UK and US)
8 in-person events (with a total of 219 attendees)
23 days of on-site event support
*Since the project’s founding in 2022 through the end of 2023
Submit an expression of interest
As of early 2024, RP is in the process of reviewing applications to onboard new projects. If you are interested in learning more or have a project that you think might be a good fit for our program, please feel free to submit an Expression of Interest form (which should take 5-10 minutes). An SP staff member will confirm your submission and let you know when you can expect to hear back from us.
If you have any questions, contact us at specialprojects@rethinkpriorities.org.
Thank you for your interest in Rethink Priorities' Special Projects Program!
Featured projects
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The Institute for AI Policy & Strategy (IAPS) is a think tank that aims to reduce risks related to the development and deployment of frontier AI systems. Conducting targeted research enables the staff to develop concrete recommendations that address decision makers’ needs.
While IAPS is fiscally sponsored by RP, it receives support from the Operations Department rather than the SP Team. For more about the initiative, please visit their website.
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Epoch is a research group forecasting the development of transformative artificial intelligence. The research team analyzes how progress in AI occurs and forecasts potential economic impacts that may stem from advanced AI systems. Epoch aims to understand the resources and capabilities that lead to new developments in AI, studying which levers can be used to influence progress and using past trends to inform future decisions.
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The Quantified Uncertainty Research Institute, or QURI, develops software and research to help improve forecasting of events in the near- to-mid term future (5-30 years). QURI’s work is designed to make governmental and philanthropic decisions significantly more effective, bolstering societal resilience and adaptation in the face of future challenges.
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The Effective Altruism Consulting Network, or EACN, is a professional network of over 1,000 current, former, and prospective business consultants who are interested in using evidence and reason to increase the social impact of their careers. The EACN offers targeted career transition guidance, provides referrals for high-impact organizations looking to hire consultant talent, hosts networking events, and curates resources encouraging their members to take actionable steps toward making the world a better place.
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Apollo Research is an organization that works to ensure AI is aligned with humans’ intentions and ethical principles. Their agenda includes technical research on interpretability and behavioral model evaluations, AI auditing, and contributions to AI governance. They are currently focused on detecting deception in advanced AI models but will branch out to other evaluations in the future.
