Key Takeaways

You may want to read this post if you’re interested in understanding the engagement of EA community members and how it might evolve over time. This post is especially relevant to community builders.
The most prominent model of community building, and implicitly, EA engagement, is CEA’s funnel model. This model is suitable in specific contexts, such as when looking to recruit members into an organisation. (Read More)
The funnel model’s approach is contribution-based (where engagement is defined largely by someone’s contribution to the movement itself, rather than the world), and linear (it implicitly suggests that there is only a linear, non-circuitous path for dedicated EAs to take). (Read More)
As a result, it does not consider certain groups of people in the EA movement, and thus using only this model to inform strategy may be harmful to movement health. (Read More)
I propose an individual-focused non-linear approach. (Read More)
In this approach stages are defined not by an individual’s contribution to the movement but by an individuals’ relationship with EA and multiple possible paths are mapped through the stages.
I believe that such a model is a more robust model for EA engagement. (Read More)
I provide evidence for this approach by presenting selected data from ~22 in-depth interviews with EAs. (Read More)

Very special thanks to Arjun Khandelwal for invaluable insights on the goals, framing & structure of this post and general motivation, and Nathan Heath for reviewing a draft version.

Introduction

EA community building aims to influence individuals to achieve the movement’s goals (to figure out how to do the most good, and do it), by engaging with EA principles and ideas and being influenced by them to take actions or change their behaviour. Since community building can encompass a wide range of possible activities, we need ways to narrow the scope down. One way to do this is to model different stages or levels of engagement. This can be a useful way to identify target audiences and to understand what their needs might be to narrow down the possible activities.

There have historically been relatively few models of community building prominent in the EA movement.^[1] I believe that the most prominent of these, the funnel model, has important limitations. I outline its approach, uses and limitations, and then propose an alternative ap...

Towards A Sociological Model of EA Movement Building