Great post! I especially agree that for most independent researchers, applying to PHDs before you necessarily want one would be a helpful option to have as a backstop for if your near term career plans don't work out - and people should apply early because there's such a long lag time between application and starting.

I think it's also worth emphasising that if you have a non-standard work history (or are a bit junior), but might want to work in the United States, pursuing higher education in the US is one of the easiest ways to secure long-term work authorisation (And if someone funds your PhD, is radically cheaper than almost every alternative)

the research management frame would be more helpful.

I think btw it gets more value than scholar support because it's a proactive service we offer to all scholars on a given stream, rather than waiting for them to only come to us when there's a problem.

the role of the RM should shift from writing the reports for mentors to helping the fellows prepare their own reports for mentors.

I spend a fair amount of time on my projects helping people prep for meetings with their supervisors, yeah. I also used to have scholars edit my written reports before sending to Ethan.