Project Grants Program

BERI's Individual Grants program designed to fund projects that reduce existential risk.

Geographic Scope: Not specified; appears to be international based on grantee locations.

Focus Areas:

• AI alignment and safety
• AI policy and governance
• Global catastrophic risks from technology
• AI timelines and technical progress
• Circling and community building for x-risk researchers
• Prediction platforms for x-risk questions
• Rationality and effective altruism community building
• Uncertainty modeling in AI

Eligibility:

• Individuals and organizations working on existential risk reduction
• Demonstrated commitment to long-term futurist causes
• Track record of relevant achievement

What They Fund:

• Individual research projects
• Conference attendance and conference support
• Community building and coordination activities
• Technical research and compute resources
• Policy research
• Training and professional development
• Project implementation and development

Round One Results (2018):

• Budget: ~$750,000 (awarded $799,465 total)
• Applications Received: 55
• Awards Made: 18 grants (~33% acceptance rate)
• Award Range: $1,900 - $150,000

Additional Notes: Committee noted potential future changes to evaluation criteria. Application process noted several process improvements needed for future rounds.

Application Process

Round One Process (2018):

1. Application Submission
   • Submit application by deadline (June for Round One)
   • Include project description and proposal
2. Reference Requirements
   • References required as part of application
   • Reference recommendation forms sent to contacts
   • BERI notes that reference forms in Round One were unclear; improvements planned
3. Review Process
   • Applications reviewed by Project Grants Committee (3 anonymous members)
   • Approximately 77 person-hours spent on review per round
   • Committee contacts references and consults advisors
   • Additional information collected from applicants as needed
4. Decision and Notification
   • Committee recommendations sent to BERI's First Grant Fund Committee and Board of Directors for approval
   • Applicants notified of status
5. Post-Award
   • Grant agreements drafted and sent to winners
   • Funding disbursed
   • Tracking requirements communicated to grantees

Evaluation Criteria (Non-Exclusive):

• Applicant's general and specific competencies and past achievements
• Quality and similarity of past work to proposed project
• Competencies and recommendations from references
• Track record of commitment to long-term futurist causes
• Likely and potential impact of the project
• Cost-effectiveness of the project
• Potential downsides
• Fit with grant round parameters
• What would happen if BERI did not fund the project

Required Materials:

• Project proposal
• Work samples (when relevant)
• Reference contacts and recommendations
• Evidence of past achievements (educational, professional, etc.)

Future Rounds: BERI indicated plans to improve the application process based on Round One experience, but specific details for future rounds not provided in materials.