“The Unjournal: Bridging the Rigor/Impact Gaps for EA-relevant Research Questions (marginal Funding 2025)” by david_reinstein, Davit Jintcharadze

Overview The Unjournal is a 501(c)(3) that commissions rigorous public expert evaluations of impactful research. We've built a strong team, completed more than 55 evaluation packages, built a database of impactful research, launched a Pivotal Questions initiative, and are systematically evaluating research from EA-aligned organizations We argue that 1. EA-driven research would benefit from external expert scrutiny to improve decision-making. 2. Academic research contains valuable insights but needs steering toward impact and usefulness. 3. The Unjournal bridges this gap through rigorous public evaluations of both EA-driven and academic research and ‘pivotal questions’. Our approach is more transparent and efficient than traditional academic journal peer review, but more rigorous and structured than crowdsourcing feedback, e.g., on the EA Forum. 4. We’re having some success. Our work has contributed to methodology and funding considerations at GiveWell, brought senior and prominent academics into the global priorities conversation, shaped animal welfare funding priorities, and provided quality control for EA organizations that use and produce research. The Unjournal commissions public evaluation packages: referee-style assessments, quantitative ratings, and "merited journal tier" recommendations. See our output and ratings dashboard, and claim assessment. We're at an inflection point. Future grant funding will determine whether we can [...] ---Outline:(00:17) Overview(00:53) We argue that(02:45) Why academic rigor matters for EA (and EA for academia)(02:52) The problem were addressing(03:31) Some examples(03:35) Cultured meat forecasts(04:03) Water Treatment(05:06) Promoting methodological rigor -  when can we trust research cited on this forum?(06:25) Pivotal methodological questions(07:02) Nudging academia towards impact(07:38) Our approach(09:01) Funding(09:04) Current Funding Situation(09:49) Using Marginal Funding(11:27) What were building: Infrastructure for better decision-making(12:38) Our theory of change(12:50) How to support and engage with us --- First published: November 21st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/FaBBakJn8ZKvC2HSn/the-unjournal-bridging-the-rigor-impact-gaps-for-ea-relevant --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.