Note: This page summarizes the rationale behind a GiveWell grant to Urban Institute. Urban Institute staff reviewed this page prior to publication.
In a nutshell
In October 2024, GiveWell recommended a $50,000 grant from the Unrestricted Fund to Urban Institute to commission two case studies under the banner of its History of Philanthropy project. This work is led by Benjamin Soskis and several of the prior studies have been commissioned by GiveWell and Open Philanthropy. The grant was funded by unrestricted donations that had been re-designated by the GiveWell board for granting. (more)
The topics of the case studies are under discussion. The first is likely to look at the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) initiative, to understand the degree of and contributing factors to its success. (more)
GiveWell recommended this grant via our policy for small discretionary grantmaking. As a small discretionary grant, this funding opportunity did not receive the same review as larger grants we recommend. Instead, we more minimally evaluated the case for the grant and any potential risks or downsides. (more)
Published: December 2024
Table of Contents
What we think this grant will do
The grant will fund Benjamin Soskis and a consultant to conduct research and interviews, and write two case studies on philanthropic success stories in the style of previous History of Philanthropy studies. The topics of the two new studies are under discussion, and will be agreed upon by Dr. Soskis and GiveWell. Urban Institute will post the completed case studies on their website. About 10% of the grant will support Urban Institute's indirect costs.
Why we made this grant
We have followed and previously commissioned Dr. Soskis's work over many years and believe it has provided insights into philanthropic impact that we don't get from other sources.1 We are particularly interested in exploring the factors that have contributed to successes in driving down vaccine-preventable diseases. The burden of many vaccine-preventable diseases remains high and a better understanding of what's been done before may contribute to increasing the effectiveness of our work in this space. The first case study is likely to look at the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) initiative, to understand the degree of and contributing factors to its success.
Our main reservations
We do not have any significant reservations about this grant. The main risk is that the work might lack focus on actionable questions, reducing its relevance to and influence on GiveWell's decision-making. As a small discretionary grant, we have not invested much time to date in aligning with Dr. Soskis on how to maximize the usefulness of the work and expect to largely rely on Dr. Soskis's familiarity with GiveWell's goals to guide the work.
Plans for follow up
We plan to read the case studies and possibly ask the authors questions about their methods and conclusions.
Sources
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Several prior History of Philanthropy studies have been commissioned by GiveWell and Open Philanthropy, many of which have been led by Dr, Soskis. See The GiveWell Blog, “The first case study from our history of philanthropy project,” March 25, 2014; The GiveWell Blog, “History of philanthropy case study: Pew and drug safety legislation,” May 15, 2015; The GiveWell Blog, “History of philanthropy case study: The impact of philanthropy on the passage of the Affordable Care Act,” September 2, 2015; and Open Philanthropy, "History of Philanthropy."