Second, I intend to remove requirements for every grant to first receive a speculation grant in order to be considered in a grant round.
In SFF S-Process rounds, Recommenders are allowed to whitelist applications that didn’t receive a Speculation Grant, and those applications are considered in the round. The only limits on that (iirc) are that the application has to have been submitted before that round’s application deadline, and a Recommender has to evaluate any application that they whitelist.
There are of course always escape hatches, and I am glad they exist, but I wouldn’t currently feel comfortable telling anyone that receiving speculation grants is optional in any meaningful way.
I’ll change the wording to be a bit weaker though and say “first receive a speculation grant in order to be evaluated in a grant round on the same basis as other applicants”.
In SFF S-Process rounds, Recommenders are allowed to whitelist applications that didn’t receive a Speculation Grant, and those applications are considered in the round. The only limits on that (iirc) are that the application has to have been submitted before that round’s application deadline, and a Recommender has to evaluate any application that they whitelist.
Oh cool, that appears to be a recent change! The 2025 FAQ indicated more strongly that speculation grants are required. I am glad recommenders can now override this default if they want.
The website does still say:
There are of course always escape hatches, and I am glad they exist, but I wouldn’t currently feel comfortable telling anyone that receiving speculation grants is optional in any meaningful way.
I’ll change the wording to be a bit weaker though and say “first receive a speculation grant in order to be evaluated in a grant round on the same basis as other applicants”.