Sshr postdoc waitlist, how does it work?

[jiko1]

Hello everyone,

I've made this post due to the immense confusion I got when I received the letter from the sshrc postdoc competition. It says there are alternate awards, but with vague details on how or when they are offered. They also emphasize that there is No waitlist. This is the info they send by email to whomever asks about alternate awards: "SSHRC retains a pool of alternate candidates recommended for funding by committee members in the event that additional funds become available. In addition, the funding provided by SSHRC’s partners in the context of joint initiatives may occasionally allow us to offer awards to meritorious candidates who indicated interest at the time of application but who were not offered an award. SSHRC cannot predict if and when additional offers can be made, as these offers depend on a variety of factors which change from year to year. In the event that funding becomes available, offers will be made in such a way as to maintain the success rate across the selection committees."

Is there a waitlist? If somebody declines their award does it go to the next in rank? Are the alternate awards made after the deadline for accepting/declining the award or are they made during a specific period, like specifically in september?

Would greatly appreciate the insights! This post could also help future applicants understand what all this means.

Edited March 13 by jiko1

[jiko1]

 This is from a supervisor on reddit: 

'Alternates are possible. SSHRC officers do not want to raise the expectations of any candidates as that would be unfair to them, but you have a reasonable shot at receiving the award. If you are first alternate you will receive it if anyone ahead of you declines theirs. The two most likely reasons someone would decline are if they receive a tenure track job, a Banting post-doc, or simply decide to leave the field. 

The number of SSHRC Banting winners is very small and many of the winners have previously or currently hold a SSHRC postdoc, so the odds of one of the winners being from your committee aren't great. Your best hope is that someone gets a job!

Good luck. You might not hear until June or even later. I supervised a SSHRC funded postdoc who didn't hear until late summer the year she got it and came off the alternate list'

Edited March 28 by jiko1