Managing risk in the EA policy space

Abstract

There are risks to pushing out policy ideas: bad policy that harms society, reputational risks, and information hazards. I suggest that: campaigners for policy change or those who have access to power should consider carefully how to handle the various risks.Researchers and academics should make policy suggestions and not be afraid of talking to policy experts and government departments, although they should be aware that their ideas may well be terrible; funders and EA donors should look to fund policy interventions and draw the necessary expertise from across the EA community. This piece is a brief introduction to thinking about risks and policy influencing for anyone in the EA community space.