(apologies for this being up without a description - Manifund glitch which was fixed now)

Project summary

TLDR: Office in city center of Belgrade, Serbia is offered to our NGO at a discounted price of 550 Euros for ~45m2. It is not lavish, but quite functional with three rooms (standing work, sit-down, and quiet room). We raised 2k from an individual funder, and I added another 2k to push us until December, but we are looking for funding for 2024. The maximum goal gets us to cover costs for 1y, minimum goal is for ~2 months. If you wish to support beyond that, we have a budget (~EUR40K/year), which would include paying a Project Manager 0.25 FTE to manage the office, and review the applications, as well as maintenance staff.

In-depth: The main benefits of the project come from Serbia’s visa policy, which is unique:

• Visa-free 3 months per 6 months to Western countries (or holders of EU/US visa)

• Unlimited (w/monthly border crossings ie, 25 EUR and 3 hours) for Chinese and Russian citizens

  • They have a hard time staying long in other countries. 

• It is also fairly easy/cheap (~500 Eur start+300 Eur/month tax) to get a residency permit/health insurance/social insurance (citizenship after 3-5 years, possibly with renouncing your passport).

This makes it a good gathering point for AIS researchers. As a founder of EA Serbia and ENAIS, I believe to have found a great venue:

• Fairly central (20 minutes walk to City Square)

• It fits 10-15 people (more in the coffee shop downstairs if need arises)

• Activist landlords that agree with our mission

• Newly Renovated and can be adjusted to our needs

What are this project's goals and how will you achieve them?

1) Provide an office where people can be close to EU/UK without having problems with Visas/pay as much in living costs.

2) Have the capacity in case of future geopolitical shifts to quickly scale up office (and possibly housing) to help AIS researchers fleeing their countries. (e.g., had this office existed in 2022, it could have been a Schelling point for Russian/Ukrainian researchers while they found more permanent solutions).

3) Having office space is prestigious, and in my current networking efforts within Serbia, saying that AIS Hub Serbia was a physical space and being able to offer it to Serbian researchers has been a boon.

4) Organizing smaller work retreats/gatherings in the office for cheap/free for small projects that benefit from frugal retreats.

5) Office doubles as meeting/working space for EA Serbia members while capacity is not full. This is a side goal and would be phased out if the office was at capacity.

How will this funding be used?

Funding raised here goes directly to rents and utilities and nothing else. Currently, the necessary labor of selecting people/maintaining the office/negotiate with landlords is done by me on a voluntary basis, and I am ok with it, although if the project grows much more, I will likely want to outsource that to a project manager. Still, I do not want to seek funding for that until I see that the venue is seeing more use.

Who is on your team and what's your track record on similar projects?

I am Dušan D. Nešić, (LinkedIn) founder of EA Serbia and ENAIS, Ops Lead at PIBBSS. I have built communities such as student councils and clubs, as well as professional organizations and academic gatherings for ~12 years, and since this project is fairly low-key, I think this is enough expertise for now. I would like to gather a board of trustees to decide on applicants, but the flow currently does not require such a level of governance, yet.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails? (premortem)

The only extreme failure scenario is one of geopolitical turmoil capturing Serbia while we have many guests visiting, but the combined probabilities of that are sufficiently low.

Office space not being used by tenants is the most probable failure, but as it is quite cheap, not too much has been lost. I believe the project is still worthwhile based on the value of having a flexible capacity to accept researchers from Russia/China/other countries outside of EU/US/UK. Additionally, even if not many tenants are present, Goal #3 is still achieved, and so far I have found it useful.

What other funding are you or your project getting?

We have gotten 2000 from an individual funder to get started, and I have put 2000 more for three months until January. I am not seeking other funding as the sum is too small for big funds, and I do not wish to strain their decision-making capacity with such a small project.

What if I want to come?

Please apply at this link! :)