“‘Technical Support Units’ - A Dubious GiveWell Grant?” by NickLaing

TLDR: This 6 million dollar TSU grant doesn’t seem to fit GiveWell's ethos and mission, and I don’t see the grant as high EV compared to other GiveWell grants.

Disclaimer: Despite my concerns I still think this grant likely has a higher EV than 80% of Global Health funding out there. GiveWell are my udonor, and given how much thought, research, and passion goes into every grant they give, I’m quite likely to be wrong here!

What makes GiveWell Special?

I love to tell people what makes GiveWell special. I giddily share how they rigorously select the most cost-effective charities with the best evidence-base. GiveWell charities almost certainly save lives at low cost – you can bank on it. There's almost no other org in the world where you can be pretty sure every few thousand dollars donated be savin’ dem lives.

So GiveWell Gives [...]

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Outline:

(00:38) What makes GiveWell Special?

(02:01) What is the grant?

(02:42) 1.The TSU Evidence base is minimal

(04:30) 2. Dubious Theory of Change

(06:35) 3. High Project Budget

(07:19) 4. Missed RCT Opportunity

(08:10) 5. No CEA and grant writeup

(08:43) 6. Why is this considered urgent post USAID cuts?

The original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
June 5th, 2025

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/t8QRuMfetCbeAkyFu/technical-support-units-a-dubious-givewell-grant

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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