What is global-priorities-relevant research?
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On this page we link to and discuss on answers to the questions, Which research is most impactful? Which research should be prioritized?
At The Unjournal, we are open to various approaches to the issues of "what is the most impactful research"? Perhaps looking at some of the research, we have already evaluated and research we are prioritizing (public link coming soon) will give you some insights. However, it seems fair that we should give at least one candidate description or definition.
"The direct global impact of a work of research is determined by the value of the information that it provides in helping individuals, governments, funders, and policymakers make better decisions. While research may not definitively answer key questions it should leave us more informed (in a Bayesian sense, 'more concentrated belief distributions') about these. We will measure the value of these 'better choices' in terms of the extent these "
The above comes close to how some people on The Unjournal team think about research impact and prioritization, but we don't plan to adopt an official guiding definition.
Note the above definition is meant to exclude more basic research, which may also be high value, but which mainly serves as a building block for other research. In fact, The Unjournal does consider the value of research as an input into other research, particularly when it directly influences direct policy-relevant research, e.g., see "Replicability & Generalisability: A Guide to CEA discounts" .
It also excludes the value of "learning the truth" as an intrinsic good; we have tended not to make this a priority.
For more guidance on how we apply this, see our .
Syllabi and course outlines that address global prioritization
Those listed below are at least somewhat tied to Effective Altruism.
"Existing resources (economics focused)" page in "Economics for EA and vice versa" Gitbook
Stafforini's list of EA syllabi here
(To be included here)
We next consider organizations that take a broad focus on helping humans, animals, and the future of civilization. Some of these have explicitly set priorities and research agendas, although the level of specificity varies. Most of the organizations below have some connections to Effective Altruism; over time, we aim to also look beyond this EA focus.
"Research agenda draft for GPI economics"
Social Science Research Topics for Global Health and Wellbeing; posted on the EA Forum as "Social science research we'd like to see on global health and wellbeing"
Social Science Research Topics for Animal Welfare posted on the EA Forum as Social science research we'd like to see on animal welfare
“Technical and Philosophical Questions That Might Affect Our Grantmaking” is a fairly brief discussion and overview linking mostly to OP-funded research.
To be expanded, cataloged, and considered in more detail
Happier Lives Institute research agenda ("Research Priorities," 2021): A particularly well organized discussion. Each section has a list of relevant academic literature, some of which is recent and some of which is applied or empirical.
Animal Charity Evaluators: Their "Methodology" and "Research briefs" are particularly helpful, and connect to a range of academic and policy research
Effective Thesis Project "research agendas": This page is particularly detailed and contains a range of useful links to other agendas!
How effective altruism can help psychologists maximize their impact (Gainsburg et al, 2021)
"What’s Worth Knowing? Economists’ Opinions about Economics" (Andre and Falk, 2022): The survey, as reported in the paper, does not suggest a particular agenda, but it does suggest a direction . . . economists would generally like to see more work in certain applied areas.
Ten Years and Beyond: Economists Answer NSF's Call for Long-Term Research Agendas (Compendium, 2011): . . . . NSF to "describe grand challenge questions . . . that transcend near-term funding cycles and are likely to drive next-generation research in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences.”
UNICEF strategic plan: Not easy to link to research; they have a large number of priorities, goals, and principles; see infographic:
