The dreaded alternate slot

[nescafe]

I learned recently that I'm the alternate for a fellowship I'd be very, very lucky to get. This is good news, of course, because it means that the project I'm working on is fundable. But my experience to this point is that alternates rarely (if ever) get funded in the end because awardees are unlikely to decline awards in this current climate.

So good people, tell me your stories about being the alternate; the good, the bad, the ugly. For now, I'll try not to compound the stress by our current TA strike/COVID 19 panic. :)

[youllneverwalkalone]

This has happened to me once, in Europe, in the context of a larger collaborative grant application. IIRC they funded like four projects and placed ours in the alternate slot.

Like you, at the time I thought there was no chance that this would end up with us getting funded...but it did! They contacted us a few months past the decision to let us know we got the grant. I don't remember anymore (or maybe never knew) what was the issue with the original awardees.

Bottom line, there is hope :)

[nescafe]

Aw, that gives me some hope! Thank you. I've been the alternate several times (despite being early-career), and the snag has usually been US policy toward the region I study. Maybe I have some amount of funding application PTSD lol.

This time around, that's not the issue, and I'm guessing I'm one of some small number who are just "next up" in the event of declined awards. Here's hoping, for real.