This post summarises findings from a short community survey that EAGx India 2025 organising team conducted to get an indication of the needs, interests and current engagement levels of EA community members in India. The survey was shared on multiple platforms, including the EA Forum, Slack, WhatsApp, through email and newsletter. We received a total of 60 responses, which is a small sample size, but we’re sharing our findings from it here in case they’re useful for others thinking about community building in India.
A big thanks to @Dion🔸 for nudging us to write, reviewing our drafts and providing valuable inputs. More posts on the way.
Note: Not everyone answered every question. Therefore, the total number of respondents differs in every question. We removed 1-2 clear duplicate entries; however, given the survey was anonymous, it’s possible some individuals submitted multiple responses that we could not identify or exclude.
How we gathered the data
- People in the Indian EA community were asked to fill out a Google form before the EAGx India 2025 conference to collect data on their interests and to understand where they need the most support to design the conference accordingly.
- Respondents could choose to stay anonymous to give feedback freely.
- The form was a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures.
Three Key Findings
- Despite 41% of respondents being heavily involved in EA, there seems to be a lack of cohesion in the community. More than 50% respondents rated their connection to the EA India community between 2 and 3 out of 5. (Refer to Q7)
- Out of the 60 survey responses, >40% (25/59) said they had not attended an EAGx India before 2025, which might explain the lack of connection they feel.
- Qualitative feedback suggests that while local hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad are moderately active, there is currently no sense of nationwide belonging.
There are major barriers to entering high-impact careers
- Though there is active interest in high-impact careers amongst survey respondents, their interest is not translating into observable career transitions. There are two main reasons for this that have come up multiple times in the survey: 1) lack of India-relevant jobs/fellowships; 2) lack of local funding.
- There is a demand for India-focused funding circles and incubators (55.9%), in addition to regional retreats and fellowships. Other suggestions that have come up include beginner-friendly roadmaps, and need for mentorship to navigate high-impact careers.
- Communication is currently a bottleneck rather than a bridge. ~49% of respondents stated being unsure where to find reliable information about EA India.
- Because the community is fragmented and updates are scattered across different channels, the community is calling for a centralised communication space.
Updates since EAGx India 2025
Bagging on the momentum from EAGx, more community members have started taking initiative, which has led to some exciting developments:
- EA India has a live website now, and community relevant updates are being shared in a monthly newsletter since January 2026
- EA India WhatsApp community now has ~360 members. Interested community members can connect with the relevant organiser to join the group
- A new Careers in EA: Speaker Series was started (2 talks have been hosted so far - The first was in February on AI Safety, the one in March focused on Animal Welfare). The next one is planned for April, which will cover Health and Development
- Different community members are also experimenting with cause-specific virtual events. These events bring together individuals and organisations within a specific cause area. The whole session runs for 2-3 hours, and includes networking, lightning talks from prominent contributors in the space. The one hosted in February focused on AI Safety. It received good engagement (130 registrations, 70 attendees).
- Two new programs are currently underway:
- Mentorship program: First round started in January 2026 immediately after EAGx (15 people applied, 5 were matched to mentors). Next round is scheduled for April - Applications are open
- Volunteer training program for individuals interested in transitioning their careers into EA causes to test their fit and build aptitude and skills for bigger roles - Applications are open
- Next in line (April-June):
- Virtual co-working on Gather and in-person meetups in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai
- Fundraising support for novel projects: Selected candidates will learn about and receive feedback on building their theory of change, writing grant applications, identifying potential funders, communicating and building trust with potential funders, compliance with Indian laws etc. If you're interested to be part of this, learn more or want to contribute, please message @Agru or reach out at [email protected]
Aggregated Survey Responses
On the Conference Content
Q1. What topics would you most like to see covered at EAGxIndia 2025?
Finding: AI safety and governance (58.3%) was the top pick for respondents followed closely by Global Health and Development and Career planning.
Q2. What kinds of sessions would you want to attend?
Finding: 1:1s and networking spaces emerged as the highest priority. Based on Swapcard stats, more than a thousand 1:1s happened at the EAGx India 2025 conference.
Q3. What type of post-conference initiatives would you like to see?
Context: We wanted to carry momentum post-EAGx, identify gaps and ways to continue supporting people in the EA India community.
Finding: 61% (36/59) of respondents mentioned regional retreats or fellowships. 55.9% (33/59) mentioned India-focused funding circles or project incubators. In general, there seems to be a demand for opportunities to meet other EAs regularly.
Relationship to Effective Altruism India
Q4. Have you attended an EAGxIndia conference before?
Finding: 43.1% (25/58) had not attended any EAGx in India.
Q5. What is your current engagement with effective altruism?
Context: We wanted to understand differing needs of community members based on their level of engagement with EA. For example, a ‘heavily involved’ participant’s need might be an India-focused funding circle, which differs from that of a newcomer who is unsure where to find EA India information and how to connect with others in the community.
Finding:
- 41.4% (24/58) respondents indicated being heavily involved with EA, suggesting they had worked in EA jobs or volunteer opportunities, had been a part of the local or university groups, read and posted on the EA forum, etc.
- The remaining ~60% of respondents seemed to be passively engaging through articles, books, blogs or podcasts.
Q6. In the past 3 months, how often have you engaged with EA India spaces (e.g. events, 1:1s, online discussions, projects)?
Finding: Only ~30% respondents said they'd engaged more than once or twice with EA India spaces in the past 3 months. This indicates a clear engagement gap.
Finding:
- It revealed a community that is high in interest but moderate to low in network cohesion. The majority of respondents rated their connection in the 2 to 3 range.
- Even some ‘heavily involved’ members also reported a connection score of 2 or 3, suggesting that while they are active in the global or local EA space, they do not feel a sense of national belonging.
Q8. Do you feel that EA India supports your goals or growth in doing impactful work?
Finding: Despite lower rating on feeling connected with others in the community (Q7), the unexpected higher rating in this question, may indicate that community members are getting their most value from a few key community members/activities.
Finding:
- A major barrier for those wishing to transition into high-impact work is the lack of India-relevant jobs/ fellowships/ opportunities (54.5%) and funding circles (47.3%).
- 49.1% (27/55) of respondents, ranging from newcomers to the heavily involved, selected ‘Unsure where to find EA and EA India information’. This suggests that updates and opportunities are spread across too many channels, and there is need for a single source of truth/location where they can find all the relevant resources and opportunities.
Context: This helped us gain insights into unmet needs and barriers.
Finding: 19/60 responded to this question. Key pointers mentioned include:
Local and Cause-Area Groups
- Approx. 50% of respondents in the community survey identified the absence of regional or cause-area-specific groups as their primary bottleneck to engagement.
- This gap is followed by the high demand for regional retreats and fellowships, which had 61% (36/59).
- The data suggests that without consistent, local meeting points, engagement remains largely limited to big annual events.
India-Relevant Career, Job Boards, and Funding
- There is a major disconnect between community interest in career transitioning, and actionable career opportunities.
- 54.5% (30/55) of respondents cited a lack of India-relevant jobs, fellowships, and internships as a major barrier in engaging with the EA community in India or globally.
- A requirement exists for financial support tailored to India and the Global South. 55.9% (33/59) of respondents expressed an interest in India-focused funding circles or project incubators.
- Apart from job listings and funding, there is a requirement for beginner-friendly roadmaps and structured project opportunities that allow members to apply EA principles within the context of India.
- There is significant fragmentation in the information and communication within the community. 49.1% (27/55) of respondents reported being unsure where to find EA India information.
Qualitative feedback indicates that this is because updates are spread across many channels, suggesting the need for a single hub, shared calendar, or high-signal communication space to resolve this issue.
Closing Thoughts
The survey findings above are likely not unique to India, they reflect foundational needs common to most communities. But given the Indian EA community is still young and nascent, with ~25 active organisations spanning across cause areas, these findings nonetheless point to opportunities for community builders to step in and contribute.
On another note, while focusing on the needs of a community will likely improve the community experience, it is less clear as to what extent this represents a good use of donor resources given that the ultimate goal is impact. Evaluating community-building efforts, including what to measure and prioritise, remains both important and unresolved. What to focus on, so that it addresses these gaps and translates into impact, likely varies based on the people doing it and their positioning.
We’ll explore this tension in the next post, drawing on insights from 300+ 1:1s, a year of community building, and organising two EAGx conferences in India.
If you want to learn more about the Indian EA community or are interested in running programs, please write to us at [email protected] or to any of the different organisers mentioned on the EA India website.
Nice post and beaut new website!