Identify and recruit the talented people who can own the most critical projects in biosecurity risk reduction.

## Stakes
It has become consensus in the biosecurity field that the biggest bottleneck in pandemic-proofing the world is not funding or high-level strategy. It is effective people who take ownership over solving specific problems.

The number of people working full-time on preventing catastrophic biological threats is ~160 people globally, and many of the most important projects have no [owner](https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/there-should-be-general-managers).

Without a stronger, dedicated effort to find and support these people, the many projects critical for securing the world against bioweapons may never happen, which could cost the world an incalculable number of lives and trillions of dollars.

## Context
Biosecurity is often described as necessitating a “Swiss cheese” defense stratagem. Almost every defensive effort has a “hole” that a threat actor could theoretically find a workaround for. For example, synthesis screening can be evaded by using benchtop synthesizers without proper safeguards. This means that the collective effort, including every project, big or small, is what builds the overall defense infrastructure. It is therefore critical to find owners for as many important biosecurity areas as possible.

Several organizations are already working on this. [BlueDot Impact](https://bluedot.org/) has been building this workforce through educational courses, career transition grants, and rapid grants. The flagship Biosecurity course launched in 2023.

Related organizations working on biosecurity talent include:
- [Halcyon Futures](https://halcyonfutures.org/): Backs founders, especially senior talent founders, in biosecurity and AI safety with grants, incubation, investment, and career transition support. See: [Request for Founders](https://halcyonfutures.org/founders).
- [80,000 Hours](https://80000hours.org/): Career advising, job board, and 1-on-1 advising on biosecurity.
- [Coefficient Giving](https://coefficientgiving.org/): Career development and transition funding.
- [Horizon Institute for Public Service](https://horizonpublicservice.org/): Fellowships for early-to-mid career professionals for DC policy roles across biotech and emerging tech.
- [Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security](https://centerforhealthsecurity.org/education-training/emerging-leaders-in-biosecurity-fellowship): Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity (ELBI) fellowship and network of 300+ alumni.
- [Council on Strategic Risks](https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/): Fellowship for Ending Bioweapons, Mid-Career “Biodefense Bootcamp.”
- [NTI | bio](https://www.nti.org/about/programs-projects/project/next-generation-for-biosecurity/): Next Generation for Biosecurity competition and BWC delegations.
- Short research fellowships: [ERA](https://erafellowship.org/) (AI x Bio), [Pivotal Research](https://www.pivotal-research.org/), [Non-Trivial](https://www.non-trivial.org/)
The largest remaining gap is finding senior talent, as the vast majority of the above organizations focus on early to mid-career talent resourcing. This is also the most difficult type of talent resourcing to do, especially when you are looking for people who are able to fully own large problems.

## **Target End-State**
A competent organization dedicated to headhunting senior talent exists, either as a standalone org or embedded in an existing field-building operation. Within ~6–12 months of a founder starting, 5 missions in this repository have at least one capable owner who sees it as their personal responsibility to make them happen.

## **Owner Profile**
This can be led by a driven generalist with the ability to hire out expertise.
The ideal owner profile:
- Strong existing network.
- Experience in recruiting or career advising.
- Persuasive.

## **Initial Scoping**
**First 3 Months**
- Talk to everyone currently working on this problem, especially leadership at BlueDot Impact, Halcyon Futures, and 80,000 Hours.
- Map the current talent pipeline and develop a system to track it.
- Identify and interview owners of other objectives to understand what talent profiles they need/what profiles might work to own objectives with no owner.
- Establish relationships with relevant graduate programs, communities, etc.
- Develop an outreach and evaluation process for promising candidates.

**Key Questions**
- What existing infrastructure can be leveraged vs. what needs to be built from scratch?
- How do you evaluate "ownership potential" in people who haven't done this work before?
- What incentives most reliably drive full commitment?

## **Funders and Partners**
**How much money is behind this?**
A [wave of philanthropic capital](https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/the-third-wave-of-american-philanthropy) is soon to be available for founders looking to work on important problems like biosecurity. The OpenAI Foundation, for instance, is part of an estimated $37–100B/year in new AI-lab-driven giving. Existing philanthropic capital is also significant. Coefficient Giving alone deploys over $100M per year to biosecurity.

**Potential Funders**
[Coefficient Giving](http://coefficientgiving.org)
[BlueDot Impact](http://bluedot.org)

**Potential Partners and Stakeholders**
[BlueDot Impact](http://bluedot.org)
[80,000 Hours](https://80000hours.org/)

## Learn More
[Coefficient Giving — "Defenses in Depth" project list](https://defensesindepth.bio/10-big-projects-for-reducing-bio-x-risk/)
<https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/there-should-be-general-managers>
[Working on vs. Solving – Anastasia Gamick](https://anastasiagamick.substack.com/p/working-on-vs-solving)

## Interested in building this?
Contact: Olivia Scharfman, [olivia@bluedot.org](mailto:olivia@bluedot.org).


Headhunting and Talent Resourcing