Individual scientists within one of the College’s five divisions or teams of scientists within or among the divisions, and/or with scientists in other academic units of the University and other universities (especially for multistate projects) are responsible for originating projects and conducting research. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged. In 2000, a new set of procedures for a paperless multistate research program has been developed. These can be found at the Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA) website: http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/NERA/home.html.

The following procedures should be followed in developing or revising an Experiment Station Research Project.

Preliminary Work

Research problems can arise from many sources including the scientist(s), administrators, client groups, students, etc. Once a problem has been identified, a thorough review of the literature should be conducted to assure full awareness of the current status of research in the study area, including the techniques and procedures being used, and to avoid unnecessary duplication and redundancy. This normally will include a review of the CSREES Current Research Information System (CRIS) database, which can be done through the CRIS internet website at the following URL: http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris/. In addition, the scientist(s) should discuss the proposed project with fellow scientists, appropriate Division Directors, and, if there are questions about the appropriateness of the research, with the Director or Associate Director of the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Research Prospectus

The next step is to prepare a short (two to three pages) prospectus of the proposed project which includes a statement of the problem, justification for the research, objectives to be attained, procedures to be used, expected results, and resource requirements for the duration of the project. Research projects are normally multi-year with a maximum of five years for Hatch/McIntire-Stennis projects (normally they can be extended, but only for one more year). The prospectus must be approved by the Division Director and then forwarded to the Associate Director for approval by the Experiment Station.

Research Proposal

After the project is approved by the Associate Director, the scientist(s) can proceed to develop a full proposal. The proposal should be as complete as possible, but should not be excessive in length. Normally 15-20 pages should be sufficient. The following outline should be used for the project proposal.

1. Title: (a short, descriptive title, the CRIS limit is 140 characters including spaces).
2. Principal Investigator(s): Names and Affiliations
3. Duration of the Project: Proposed length of the project in years (limited to five years).
4. Justification: This section should contain a statement of the problem, describe the importance of the problem to the state, region, and nation, and explain the expected benefits, i.e., ways in which the research will benefit the public and/or advance science.
5. Previous Work and Present Outlook: This section reviews the literature (with author-year citations in the text), describes related ongoing research in the subject area, tells how the proposed research is different, and explains how it will make contributions beyond those of related work.
6. Objectives: This should be a short list of the specific and clearly stated objectives that the proposed research will accomplish during its duration.
7. Procedures: This section will provide the work plan for carrying out the proposed research and should include the experimental design and the analytical procedures to be used for each objective listed in VI. It should also include a time table for carrying out the work, describe the location(s) where the work is to be done, and the facilities and equipment to be used in conducting the research.
8. . Financial Support Required: This section should list the annual requirements in terms of anticipated salaries and wages (or in terms of scientist years, SY) to carry out the project, costs of new equipment, facilities, maintenance and operating expenses (supplies, travel, etc.).
9. Personnel: List all personnel who will participate in the research including PIs, their affiliations, and the percentage of their time to be devoted to the proposed research. This list should include project leaders, other scientists, technicians, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, farm/forest workers, and others with significant roles in conducting the research.
10. Institutional Units and Other Agencies Involved: List all units to be involved in the project and the roles they will have in the research. If any of the units are outside the college, a letter or other documentation indicating willingness to cooperate on the research should be attached.
11. References: This is an alphabetic listing of all literature cited in the project proposal. Use a format appropriate to specific discipline. Ordinarily this will be: Author, Date, Title, Publication Information (city and press or journal, volume, pages, etc.).
12. Appendices: Attach materials that are relevant to the proposed project but that are inappropriate for inclusion in the main text of the proposal.

Peer Review

All project proposals must be peer reviewed (see policy on the Station Website). This process should be arranged for and supervised by the Division Director. A minimum of three competent scientists should be selected to review the proposal. These will include scientists from the Division or Divisions concerned and may include other scientists within or outside the Experiment Station. An Experiment Station form is provided for certifying peer review and the recommendation of the review panel.

Human and Animal Review Boards

If the project involves either human or animal subjects, the applicable forms must be completed, submitted to the appropriate review panel and approved before the project can be submitted to CSREES. These review boards are: Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) and Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) Links to the policies for both human and animal subjects can be found at the following Office of Sponsored Programs URL: http://www.wvu.edu/~osp/regulate.html.

Submission

When the peer review process is completed the Division Director will forward the project proposal and the signed peer review form to the Associate Director of the Experiment Station. After approval by the Associate Director or Director of the Experiment Station, CSREES forms AD-416 and AD-417 must be completed and submitted to CSREES for final approval. These forms are submitted electronically by the Office Administrator of the Experiment Station, but the scientist(s) are responsible for their preparation. The Office Administrator can assist with this process. These forms are available from the CSREES website listed above. The approved project will be assigned an Experiment Station number (Hatch, McIntire-Stennis, or State) and work under the project can begin on its starting date.

Implementation: The projects are implemented by the scientist(s) through the appropriate Divisions. Direct funding is not provided for projects by the Experiment Station. Hatch, McIntire-Stennis and Animal Health Funds are allocated to each Division to support work on projects in that unit with intra-division allocations and/or spending decisions made by the Division Director. Scientists are encouraged to seek external funding (grants or contracts) to provide additional support for their research.