Last updated: 4th October, 2023. We plan to update this page further in the coming months.

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1. What is an introduction fellowship?

An EA Introduction fellowship is an 8-week program that aims to introduce people who are not familiar with effective altruism core principles and ideas. It often consists of (i) 1-1.5hr readings that participants will complete in their own time, and (ii) weekly discussion groups of 4-8 people that are moderated by someone who is more experienced.

2. Should you run a fellowship?

Fellowships take a significant amount of time to run, and poorly-run fellowships run the risk of putting off people who might otherwise be interested in EA, so we encourage you to think carefully about whether your group is well-suited to run one. However, they are ran by the majority of groups from all over the world and are often cited as the most successful part of a group.

A fellowship is often more successful if you have some of the following characteristics, however, we would usually still recommend you run them if you don’t fit the bullet points below. If you feel unsure, we recommend reaching out to [email protected] to chat.

• Feel prepared to engage with public speaking and facilitating discussions
• Have sufficient time to plan and execute the fellowship (minimum 4 hours per week)
• Have good organisational skills
• Are very familiar with EA

If you are unsure about whether you are able to/should be running an introduction fellowship with your group, we encourage you to reach out to other members of the EA community. See key contacts for who to message, though [email protected] is a safe bet too! If you'd like your group members to be able to attend a fellowship, but you don't want to run one right now, you can recommend you sign up for EA Virtual Programs with the other interested people. Even if you already know EA in some detail, we think it’s often beneficial for people in the same university/potential group to participate together - you can request to be put in the same cohort. Additionally, you and your group members could still meet up to discuss the program in-person even if you’re doing the program virtually!

3. Pre-fellowship preparation

a. Format

Different groups use different formats. Here are three options:

1. The most common option: Accept many applicants from a pool and split them into groups of 2-5 fellows. Assign a facilitator to each group. Ensure you have thoroughly reviewed the facilitation techniques and managing group conversations page. The groups can meet at different times of the week for weekly discussions; we recommend using the useful online tools page for assistance with this. Groups using this model often have social events for all their fellows. Some groups have found it useful to put participants who seem equally engaged together.
2. Invite approximately 15 people from a pool of applicants to attend weekly discussions. During the discussions, participants split out into smaller breakout groups, each with a facilitator (but the groups and the facilitators can change every week). It can be useful to take attendance here and build 1:1 relationships.