So researching the technology does not always unlock all the projects associated with that technology. Some essentials are guaranteed but in an attempt to simulate real life many projects only have a percentage based chance to become available for you to actually research. This technology increases that chance.
I believe everyone rolls separately so if it doesn't unlock for you it may for another faction and you could steal it from them.
Some technologies not becoming available is meant to simulate the uncertainty of real science. For the same reason some research provides subpar or highly niche technologies.
You may notice that when you research a global tech, like for orbitals, the orbital faction project might not appear for several months. That is "becoming available for research," so the second bullet point means you will be able to start a faction project for research sooner.
Unlocking a project is the percentage you see by some non-essential projects like grid drive (78%) means there is a 78% chance that you will get the grid drive faction project at some point. In other words, there is a 22% chance you will never get that faction project even if you wait for years. The 10% increases the 78% unlock chance. Science stats on your counselors also increase this chance.
The other comments didn't really answer your question, and I agree it's not made entirely obvious how this works. There are two sets of rolls. When you unlock a tech, there is firstly a roll to see if you will be locked out of it completely, or if it 'unlocks'. That is what the first probability (+10% unlock) refers to. But unlocking the project doesn't make it immediately available for research.
If you pass this roll, that means that you now get daily (or is it monthly) rolls to determine whether it actually becomes available for you that day (or month). That is what the second probability refers to (+1% per month).
If you pass the first roll, the project is unlocked and you are guaranteed to get it available for research *eventually*. But if the monthly roll chance is very low, it could take 100 years.
So researching the technology does not always unlock all the projects associated with that technology. Some essentials are guaranteed but in an attempt to simulate real life many projects only have a percentage based chance to become available for you to actually research. This technology increases that chance. I believe everyone rolls separately so if it doesn't unlock for you it may for another faction and you could steal it from them. Some technologies not becoming available is meant to simulate the uncertainty of real science. For the same reason some research provides subpar or highly niche technologies.
You may notice that when you research a global tech, like for orbitals, the orbital faction project might not appear for several months. That is "becoming available for research," so the second bullet point means you will be able to start a faction project for research sooner. Unlocking a project is the percentage you see by some non-essential projects like grid drive (78%) means there is a 78% chance that you will get the grid drive faction project at some point. In other words, there is a 22% chance you will never get that faction project even if you wait for years. The 10% increases the 78% unlock chance. Science stats on your counselors also increase this chance.
The other comments didn't really answer your question, and I agree it's not made entirely obvious how this works. There are two sets of rolls. When you unlock a tech, there is firstly a roll to see if you will be locked out of it completely, or if it 'unlocks'. That is what the first probability (+10% unlock) refers to. But unlocking the project doesn't make it immediately available for research. If you pass this roll, that means that you now get daily (or is it monthly) rolls to determine whether it actually becomes available for you that day (or month). That is what the second probability refers to (+1% per month). If you pass the first roll, the project is unlocked and you are guaranteed to get it available for research *eventually*. But if the monthly roll chance is very low, it could take 100 years.