Does this imply that I am ineligible to apply for this grant? Comment of grant reviewer in the field of chemistry:


  order to be eligible, your study must involve an inferential statistical test, and it appears your study will instead quantify the conditions required to [chemistry term]


Why would a grant in chemistry require such statistical test? Nowhere in the announcement of the grant was this pointed out. Am I understanding chemistry wrong?
It’s hard to say for sure, but at larger granting agencies, different review panels may focus on different areas and have quite stringent guidelines for what is considered on-topic. It may be that you need to have a statistical test as part of the guidelines for the area under which you asked your proposal to be judged. The reviewer’s response may be suggesting your submission falls out of their purview.