Verify before the spotlight.

Before approval, b54 confirms the proposed winner’s identity, eligibility at the required date, authorship and contribution, institution or qualification where relevant, originality and permissions, material claims, contact channel, and ability to receive the published award lawfully.

The verification record must resolve reviewer conflicts and material score anomalies, document any plagiarism or research-integrity check, and confirm that no prohibited staff, judge, partner, or applicant contact affected the outcome. For co-authored work, verify who is eligible to receive the award and obtain required consent; do not assume that one applicant owns every right.

Payment information is requested only after conditional selection and only through the approved private process. The verified recipient name must match the winner or another recipient expressly permitted by the published rules, such as a lawful guardian for a minor. A request to divert payment to staff, a judge, a Campus Rep, an agent, a partner, an unrelated institution, or a personal intermediary is rejected and escalated.

No winner is publicly announced until the required checks are complete. Any outstanding condition remains part of private conditional notification, not a public result.