What is Hear This Idea?

Abstract

Sanjay Joshi, co-founder of SoGive, a non-profit evaluating UK charities’ impact and cost-effectiveness, discusses why cost-effectiveness is vital in selecting charities, dispelling common misconceptions like focusing on overheads or CEO pay. He proposes the “two-question method” to assess charities: how much does the intervention cost, and what benefit do beneficiaries receive? Comparing “outcomes for inputs” with benchmarks like saving a life for £1,500 helps identify cost-effective charities despite challenges such as contrasting outcomes, measuring intangible impacts, accounting for risk and uncertainty, and unintended consequences. Joshi encourages involvement in charity evaluation through SoGive, GiveWell, and Animal Charity Evaluators. – AI-generated abstract.