This is a linkpost for https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/guide-to-back-of-the-envelope-calculations-for-global-health-and-wellbeing/
We just published two related items:
- A blog post briefly summarizing our approach to building BOTECs (back-of-the-enveloped calculations) for estimating the cost-effectiveness of grants under our Global Health and Wellbeing portfolio.
- The much less brief BOTEC guide used by our staff — lightly edited for external use, but largely untouched. Includes templates and sample calculations!
If you've been curious about our work, or trying to develop your own cost-effectiveness estimates, we hope you find these interesting.
We also shared a set of sample BOTECs earlier this year, showing the process in action across four different cause areas.
Thanks so much for sharing these resources!!
It'd be awesome for OP to explore in parallel other cause areas and interventions that the DALY misses, such as less prevalent conditions inflicting very severe suffering. Otherwise, we risk neglecting those who are worst off.
I make this case in my paper "The Heavy Tail of Extreme Pain Exacerbates Health Inequality: Evidence from Cluster Headache Underinvestment" (forthcoming in "Nature: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications"). My post "How much should we value averting a Day Lived in Extreme Suffering (DLES)?" also touches on some of these themes.
This is an interesting area to explore, and something that is rare in conversation in GHW. I appreciate your work in quantifying and standardizing additional measures.