TRAINING FOR GOOD

STARTED: Incubation Program 2021

Steve Thompson
Co-founder & Head of Training

SEED GRANT: $175,000

Jan-Willem van Putten
Co-founder & Director

Cillian Crosson
Co-founder & Director

MONEY FUNDRAISED TO DATE (Jan 2023): $1,540,000

TEAM SIZE: 3, 23 fellows

Training for Good is an impact-focused training organization. They run fellowships that place talented professionals in impactful careers.

CURRENT OR PREDICTED IMPACT:

In 2023, they expect to transition:
- 4-8 individuals into full-time roles working on AI governance in Europe We expect these policy makers will help shape European AI policy, thus influencing regulation in the US and UK through a Brussels Effect.
- 2-4 impact-focused journalists into full-time roles in major news outlets
  We expect these journalists will positively shape the public discourse on AI & encourage the adoption of effective regulation.

COST-EFFECTIVENESS:

TFG measures their effectiveness using “impact and counterfactual adjusted career changes”. This metric typically has a lag time of 12+ months. Given that TFG have only been running their current programmes for ~1 year or less, they have little reliable data on this yet. However, they tentatively believe their projects have been successful so far based on a number of promising career transitions.
An external review will be conducted in October 2023 to estimate the counterfactual impact their EU Tech Policy Fellowship has had on the careers of fellows. A March 2024 follow-up will be conducted on the Tarbell Fellowship specifically. We will default to sharing this review in full with donors & will publish as much information publicly as possible.

SIGNIFICANT UPDATES ON PROGRESS:

They recently opened applications for their 2024 programmes:
- EU Tech Policy Fellowship. A 7-month fellowship for entering European policy careers focused on regulating risks from AI. Track 1 involves a 6-month fully-funded placement at a relevant think tank (e.g. The Future Society, Centre for European Policy Studies). Track 2 fellows receive support to pursue a career in the Commission, party politics or related areas.
- Tarbell Fellowship. A 12-month programme for early career journalists interested in covering AI. Fellows receive a placement on a tech desk at a major news outlet, participate in a study group covering AI governance & safety fundamentals, and attend a 2 week journalism summit in Oxford.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Past EU Tech Policy Fellows now occupy a variety of roles relevant to European AI governance:
- Several work at key think tanks (e.g. The Future Society, the International Center for Future Generations, and the Centre for European Policy Studies)
- One has co-founded an AI think tank working directly with the UN and co-authored a piece for The Economist with Gary Marcus
- Others are advising MEPs and key institutions on the EU AI Act
Placed 3 Tarbell Fellows at TIME and supported another to freelance with the New Yorker.
Placed 13 EU Tech Policy Fellows at competitive policy think tanks in Europe (eg. The Future Society, the Centre for European Policy Studies).
In year 1, designed & ran 6 programs in 9 months (Negotiating for Good, Impact Grantmaking, Coaching for EA Leaders, Impactful Policy Careers, Red Team Challenge, and Capacity Ventures). They have now discontinued these programs as they believe they are less promising than their current programs. You can read more about them here.

IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS:

ROOM FOR MORE FUNDING IN 2023:

$167,000
Interested donors can reach out to talk to TFG directly at cillian@trainingforgood.com