My complaint is that I think the existing applications don’t make it obvious that that’s an okay pitch to make. My goal is some combination of “get the forms changed to make it more obvious that this kind of pitch is okay” and “spread the knowledge that that this can work even if the form seems like the form wants something else”.
That seems like an easy win—and if the grantmaker is specifically not interested in pure model-based justifications, saying so would also be helpful so that honest model-based applicants don’t have to waste their time.
and fill out forms with the vibe that I’m definitely going to do these specific things and if I don’t have committed a moral fraud
That seems like a foolish grantmaking strategy—in the startup world, most VCs seem to encourage startups to pivot, kill unpromising projects, and assume that the first product idea isn’t going to be the last one because it takes time to find a compelling benefit and product-market fit. To insist that the grantee stake their reputation not only on successful execution but also on sticking to the original project idea seems like a way to help projects fail while selecting for a mixture of immaturity and dishonesty. That doesn’t mean I think those awarded grants are immoral—my hope is that most applicants are moral people and that such a rigid grantmaking process is just making the selection process marginally worse than it otherwise might be.
Honestly I think the best thing for funding me and people like me[3] might be to embrace impact certificates/retroactive grant making. It avoids the problems that stem from premature project legibilization without leaving grantmakers funding a bunch of random bullshit. That’s probably a bigger deal than wording on a form.
Yeah, I think this is an interesting space. Certainly much more work to make this work than changing the wording on a form though!
Sounds like we’re pretty much in agreement at least in terms of general principles.
That seems like an easy win—and if the grantmaker is specifically not interested in pure model-based justifications, saying so would also be helpful so that honest model-based applicants don’t have to waste their time.
That seems like a foolish grantmaking strategy—in the startup world, most VCs seem to encourage startups to pivot, kill unpromising projects, and assume that the first product idea isn’t going to be the last one because it takes time to find a compelling benefit and product-market fit. To insist that the grantee stake their reputation not only on successful execution but also on sticking to the original project idea seems like a way to help projects fail while selecting for a mixture of immaturity and dishonesty. That doesn’t mean I think those awarded grants are immoral—my hope is that most applicants are moral people and that such a rigid grantmaking process is just making the selection process marginally worse than it otherwise might be.
Yeah, I think this is an interesting space. Certainly much more work to make this work than changing the wording on a form though!
Sounds like we’re pretty much in agreement at least in terms of general principles.