I was very glad that the Foundation decided to extend the fundraiser.
I think adding projects outside of the lengthy, formulaic,
overly-committee laden, but necessary in part FDC funding process and
getting a head start on the endowment is essential for retaining the
soul of the Foundation's traditional agility and creativity. Sure, it
made a liar out of Jimmy and other officials this year, and they
should be commended by those of us who think the effective
non-sacrifice to their reputations is worth it.
Accordingly, I propose the following $2.5 million-range projects for
further extension of this year's fundraiser:
1. A study of systemic bias in economics articles on the English Wikipedia;
2. An extension of the (in the interest of full disclosure: my student
and my) Accuracy Review of Wikipedias Google Summer of Code Project
into a general computer-aided educational system including authentic
intelligibility remediation of spoken language skills, as proposed at
https://goo.gl/WGUIFa
3. A study of the top five endowment-grade mutual funds available for
general Foundation investments, their prospects, and opportunities for
divestments and strategic investments consistent with the Mission
broadly construed.
4. A study of the social implications of copyright law and regulation
changes in relation to the Foundation's Mission for the Public Policy
group.
That's about $10 million. What other ideas are there?
Best regards,
Jim