Directory of Directly Responsible Individuals for EA Projects

Summary: A decentralized directory of directly responsible individuals (DRIs) for Effective Altruism projects could reduce coordination inefficiencies by making it easier to find contact points and collaborators, starting with a simple editable spreadsheet and evolving into an integrated wiki. This would minimize duplicated efforts and improve community collaboration.

In decentralized communities like Effective Altruism (EA), coordinating projects often involves navigating unclear points of contact. This leads to duplicated efforts, missed collaborations, and inefficiencies. A centralized, up-to-date directory of directly responsible individuals (DRIs) could streamline coordination by making it easier to find the right person for a project.

How It Could Work

One approach would be to start with a simple, publicly editable spreadsheet listing DRIs for EA projects. Each entry could include:

Project names and brief descriptions
Contact details of DRIs (with consent)
Links to relevant resources like project docs or Slack channels
Timestamps to track when entries were last updated

Over time, this could evolve into a wiki integrated with existing EA platforms, allowing bidirectional updates and broader community contributions. For example, the EA Opportunities Board could link to the directory, creating a more cohesive ecosystem.

Potential Benefits and Challenges

Such a directory could help community members find collaborators faster, reduce misdirected inquiries for project leads, and help organizers identify gaps in the project landscape. However, keeping the directory accurate as projects and DRIs change would require automated reminders or moderation. To prevent misuse of contact information, permissions could be set to restrict editing or display details only on request.

Execution Strategy

A minimal version could be tested within weeks by creating a spreadsheet with DRIs for 20-30 high-priority projects and sharing it in EA forums. Based on feedback, the next steps might include expanding to more projects, adding metadata like project status, and eventually migrating to a wiki format. Partnering with EA organizations could help drive adoption and ensure the directory becomes a standard tool.

While this idea wouldn’t generate direct revenue, it could be funded as a public good through EA grants. Its value lies in reducing coordination overhead, allowing more time and resources to focus on high-impact work.

Source of Idea:

This idea was taken from https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/uXeY92ZoEE8gnftQE/a-brainstorm-of-meta-ea-projects-mcf-2023 and further developed using an algorithm.

Skills Needed to Execute This Idea:

Community ManagementData OrganizationSpreadsheet ManagementWiki DevelopmentUser PrivacyCoordination ToolsPublic CommunicationProject DocumentationCommunity EngagementModeration

Categories:Effective AltruismCommunity CoordinationProject ManagementDecentralized SystemsCollaboration ToolsPublic Goods

Hours To Execute (basic)

20 hours to execute minimal version ()

Hours to Execute (full)

40 hours to execute full idea ()

Estd No of Collaborators

1-10 Collaborators ()

Financial Potential

$0–1M Potential ()

Impact Breadth

Affects 1K-100K people ()

Impact Depth

Moderate Impact ()

Impact Positivity

Probably Helpful ()

Impact Duration

Impacts Lasts 1-3 Years ()

Uniqueness

Somewhat Unique ()

Implementability

Implementable with Effort ()

Plausibility

Logically Sound ()

Replicability

Easy to Replicate ()

Market Timing

Good Timing ()

Project Type

Digital Product

Project idea submitted by u/idea-curator-bot.