Problem 1: Global health (GH) policy organizations, especially those operating in Low-and-Middle-Income countries (LMICs), face significant hurdles in identifying and recruiting local talent.
Problem 2: There is no clear, structured pathway for motivated students and professionals, especially from priority target countries, to upskill and contribute effectively to high-impact global health policy work.
We aim to address these related problems through a two-phased approach:
Conduct a comprehensive ecosystem assessment to identify key priorities and gaps in the global health policy landscape.
Develop and pilot a training program for professionals from Low-Middle Income Countries, focusing on global health policy skills and pressing issues.
These phases will provide the foundation for future scalable initiatives, such as scalable fellowships.
This initiative (tentatively named Global Health Impact Hub) will be incubated and run by the Global Policy Research Group.
While global health receives significant attention and resources, and there is no general talent bottleneck in the field, our research suggests two key challenges in efficiently allocating and developing talent for high-impact work:
Context-Specific Talent Identification: Global health policy organizations, particularly those operating in LMICs, face difficulties in identifying and recruiting qualified local talent in specific contexts. Several organizations we’ve interviewed (including LEEP and Concentric Policies) report challenges in connecting with potential candidates in areas where they lack established networks and channels.
Limited Infrastructure for Impact-Oriented Upskilling: There is a lack of structured pathways for motivated individuals, especially from LMICs, to develop skills and contribute to high-impact global health work. This gap is significant because it hinders the efficient allocation of talent towards the most pressing and neglected issues in global health.
Notably absent are:
a) Impact-centric, scalable training programs (like Bluedot Impact fellowships, which introduce participants to high-impact career paths and ideas)
b) Part-time, low-cost engagement models providing hands-on experience (similar to the Oxford Biosecurity Group, offering part-time project work with leading organizations)
By addressing these challenges, we can equip motivated individuals with the skills and knowledge to work on the most pressing issues in global health, and in parallel, improve the global health policy ecosystem’s ability to effectively and scalably use labor and talent.
We will conduct a thorough assessment of the global health policy landscape to identify key priorities and gaps:
Survey high-impact organizations (such as LEEP, PureEarth, ARMoR), working in LMICs to understand their talent needs and constraints
Interview LMIC professionals to gain insights into their experiences and barriers to entry
Analyze existing training programs and job market demands
Use findings to inform our future programs
Building on our survey with organizations , we will:
Develop and pilot a training program for 12 early-career professionals and advanced students from countries where organizations face difficulty during recruitment
6-Week Training: Lectures and workshops on the basics of global health policy advocacy and skill-building workshops specifically tailored to meet the preferences and needs of partner organizations.
8-Week Paid Project Component: Placement at partner organizations or hands-on project work, including regular check-ins and support.
Develop a network of alumni and qualified individuals from priority target countries to serve as local points of contact, helping high-impact global health policy organizations navigate local contexts.
Our work in Phases 1 and 2 will provide essential insights and resources to develop more scalable programs in the future. Specifically:
The ecosystem assessment will identify key skills and knowledge gaps in global health policy.
Our pilot training program will test and refine curriculum elements and project structures.
Creating a curriculum for a discussion-based global health fellowship that can be run by interested groups (EA Groups, global health societies etc.)
Assess the value of a global health project database where organizations can list specific, well-scoped tasks for independent completion.
This approach allows us to build on insights validated by experience and established relationships before scaling.
This funding covers the essentials to conduct a minimal ecosystem assessment, pilot our training program. Our primary funding request is for a runway until we secure additional sources.
Funding Request: $25,324
Breakdown:
Project lead living expenses (Berke) (3 months): $4,500
Stipend for trainees for the project components (12 fellows, 12 hours/week, 8 weeks): $11,520)
Senior Global Health Advisors (to be recruited): $3,000
Website & miscellaneous costs: $2,000
Contractor budget for various tasks: $2,000
Compensation for part time staff (Emile & Ren) : $2,304
Berke has been focusing on this project full-time on a volunteer basis since May. Without funding by October, we may need to pivot away from this initiative despite a lot of positive feedback from experts and organizations.
If you'd like to ask more questions about
Berke Çelik (Project Lead) is the Director of the Development Program at the Global Policy Research Group (GPRG) and a project assistant at Lead Exposure Elimination Project. He co-founded EA Boğaziçi and AI Safety Türkiye, organizing projects with global health organizations including LEEP, Food Fortification Initiative, and ARMoR in Türkiye. He interned with ARMoR as part of the Global Impact Placements program. Berke has been focusing on this project full-time on a volunteer basis since May. At GPRG, Berke will continue to lead this project, focusing on partnership development, long and short term strategy among other things.
Bahadır Sirin is the President of the GPRG. He has provided counsel to think tanks, government agencies, companies, and CEOs across four continents, covering technology, economics, development, health, and geopolitical risks. He also founded the GPRG EU Academy, which aims to increase Swedish participation in EU careers. The Academy is currently running its 3rd edition and collaborates closely with various EU institutions. Bahadir also provided workshops and training for the LMIC diplomats and embassy staff in Sweden and Denmark. He studied Economics, Development Studies and Political science. Bahadir will utilize his connections to link the team with relevant government agencies, think tanks, universities and individuals, while offering advice on executive and strategic matters. He will also represent the initiative at various events and forums.
Emile von Schomberg founded Philoxenia, an international org that acquired over 160k€ to run educational programs leveraging non-formal and experiential learning methods. Herein, he has initiated strategic partnerships across 12 different countries, including with different universities, nonprofits and companies. He led workshops for groups of up to 80 people, and directed up to 10-day long intercultural exchanges. Emile's past experience extends to teaching at university level, organizing and speaking at high-level conferences with up to 4000 participants, consulting for Kearney and content writing for a Portuguese start-up. Based on his expertise, Emile will be responsible for developing curriculum, finding the right pedagogical lecture formats and doing impact evaluations.
Ren Devrim Karabulut worked as a Communications Assistant for UNDP Turkey, where she drafted press materials and localized content focused on the SDGs. She gained experience in digital media planning, campaign execution, and tracking while working at Vodafone. She also manages newsletter channels for Effective Altruism Turkey and AI Safety Turkey. At GPRG, she will be responsible for our communication strategy and support our goal of building in public
Balancing Priorities: We may fail to strike the right balance between equipping participants with skills for immediate needs of the organizations and fostering long-term career development.
Failing to recruit and vet talent: We may be unable to attract the suitable candidates for the organization's needs, particularly from priority target countries. Nevertheless, we have begun talks with national recruitment agencies in Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya. Even if we receive good applicants, we might fail to select the best candidates.
Insufficient funding: Lack of funding for infrastructure projects for global health is another reason for this project to fail in the mid-term.
What other funding are you or your project getting?
We are currently working on a voluntary basis, but we have sent a proposal to Open Philanthropy and we will be applying to the EA Infrastructure Fund.
Tony Gao
over 1 year ago
If the problem with training is a lack of understanding of the local context, then is focusing on creating a scalable program from the outside the correct approach? It seems likely you will run into the same problems as others, especially since your team also seems to be based primarily in Turkey and the EU, and not necessarily the countries you are planning to target (or are you starting with Turkey)?
Berke Çelik
over 1 year ago
@TonyGao
Great question! I believe we'll be better positioned to address these challenges (compared to organizations we plan to help) for four key reasons:
Existing networks of GPRG: While GPRG is based in Sweden and our team members are in Turkey and the EU, GPRG has extensive networks in priority (high-priority according to organizations we plan to partner with) countries. We've worked with organizations from and have points of contact in Indonesia, Kenya, Philippines, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Jordan, Peru, Colombia, Malawi, and Uzbekistan. Additionally, we've run workshops with various embassies from Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, though we can't name them due to confidentiality agreements. These connections provide us a strong foundation for our outreach strategy.
Comparative advantage: Many global health organizations, especially smaller ones, have limited resources for recruitment and talent development. Our specialization allows us to invest more efficiently in this area, complementing their core work. Our focused approach enables us to build a deeper understanding of local contexts across multiple countries, addressing the concern you raised. Additionally, this type of talent identification and development program has positive externalities that benefit the entire ecosystem rather than just individual organizations, so the ROI of our initiative investing resources into talent identification and development is higher compared to potential programs that could be run by these organizations.
Field-building experience: Our team has experience in localized outreach and building impact-oriented networks globally. I believe our experience in doing outreach and building networks in LMIC contexts does provide us a non-weak foundation for our work, but I should also note that our success and experience in our home regions doesn't guarantee success elsewhere.
Local expertise budget: If we secure funding, we'll allocate funds specifically for local contractors to assist with country-specific recruitment and outreach. With long-term funding, we plan to hire (senior and junior) personnel from countries where organizations face the most challenges in connecting with and engaging local expertise. This approach will ensure that we have on-the-ground insights and can effectively bridge the gap between global health organizations and the wealth of talent in these priority countries.
(Note: There is some chance that we may partner with two organizations that work in Türkiye in our pilot, but majority of our potential partners don't have active programs in Türkiye)