What Makes a Dollar Matter? Lessons from Coefficient Giving

What if you could identify exactly where your philanthropic dollar would save the most lives or improve the most years of healthy living? In this episode, Deena Mousa, lead researcher at Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy), walks us through the rigorous frameworks that guide one of the world's most analytically driven funders. From evaluating causes using importance, neglectedness, and tractability, to calculating social return on investment, Deena explains how Coefficient Giving approaches everything from malaria prevention to AI's potential in low-resource settings. The conversation explores why AI hasn't replaced radiologists despite predictions a decade ago, and what that teaches us about deploying technology in complex systems. Deena also shares how improving AI performance in low-resource languages could dramatically shift the trajectory of global health equity. If you're curious about evidence-based philanthropy, the real-world challenges of AI deployment in global health, or how to learn as fast as possible when making high-stakes funding decisions, this conversation offers a masterclass in thoughtful impact maximization.