The Unjournal is a nonprofit organization that seeks to make rigorous research more impactful and impactful research more rigorous. Rather than functioning as a traditional journal, it commissions and pays for open, expert evaluations of publicly hosted research papers and projects, focusing on quantitative work in economics, policy, and social science that informs global priorities. Evaluations, ratings, summaries, and author responses are published openly, providing researchers with credible feedback outside the traditional journal system while directing attention toward high-impact research relevant to effective altruism and existential risk reduction.
Funding Details
- Annual Budget
- $285,780
- Monthly Burn Rate
- $16,840
- Current Runway
- -
- Funding Goal
- -
- Funding Raised to Date
- $600,000
- Fiscal Sponsor
- -
Theory of Change
The Unjournal's theory of change rests on the observation that the traditional academic journal system is slow, opaque, and misaligned with directing research attention toward the most impactful questions. By creating a parallel system of open, paid expert evaluation focused specifically on research relevant to global priorities, The Unjournal aims to achieve two things: first, shift academic incentives so that open evaluation and public rating become a credible, high-status alternative to traditional journal publication, making it easier for researchers to focus on impactful questions rather than journal prestige; and second, directly improve the quality and rigor of EA-relevant and policy-relevant research by providing rapid, transparent feedback and quantitative ratings that funders, policymakers, and other practitioners can use to make better decisions. The Pivotal Questions initiative further tightens this causal chain by starting from the decisions that matter most and working backward to identify and evaluate the research that informs them.
Grants Received
from Survival and Flourishing Fund
Projects
No linked projects.
People
No linked people.
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Details
- Last Updated
- Apr 2, 2026, 9:59 PM UTC
- Created
- Mar 18, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC