Governments and other powerful institutions, like the EU and UN, are often crucial in addressing many of the pressing issues we have covered – for example preventing pandemics and ensuring a safe development of AI – since they are the only institutions that create and enforce laws and regulation. So learning to navigate, improve and assist these institutions is a route to having a big impact.
Policy work can also take place in think tanks or lobby organizations, where you can develop or disseminate proposals that could have a major impact. Moreover, there are many positions that offer a good network and a high potential for impact relative to how competitive they are. However, some aspects are beneficial in almost all of them: Understanding the political landscape, being effective in communicating ideas and proposals, building a network with key stakeholders and expertise in the domain you are trying to affect.
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Policy and political skills – article by 80,000 Hours