M E M O R A N D U M

TO: Ag Executive Council and College of Agriculture Faculty

DATE: October 13, 1998

FROM: Richard C. Heimsch, Director

Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station

SUBJECT: Schedule for Developing and Submitting FY 2000 Research and Extension Proposals and FY 1999 Progress Reports for Commodity Commissions and Organizations

The schedule for developing and submitting FY 2000 (the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999) research and extension proposals and progress reports for projects funded in FY 1999 to be considered by Idaho's commodity commissions and organizations are given below. Please note the due dates for receipt of proposals and progress reports in the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station office. Departmental due dates may vary, so please check with your department.

Attached is a copy of the REVISED (10/98) instructions for preparing proposals and progress reports. To avoid delays in printing of the booklets, note deadlines and the prescribed format (i.e., budget and internal peer review section). In the attached instructions, the standard budget format has been revised to include a summary section of prior fiscal year funding per the request of the commodity commissions and groups. Also, the Idaho Wheat Commission requires a specific budget format for proposals.

All proposals and progress reports should be submitted in "copy ready form" in the font New Times Roman or similar font . All proposals and progress reports are limited to 3 pages to help keep the printing costs of the commission books reasonable. Any information that may be released by the various commissions regarding research/extension priorities for the coming year will be communicated to appropriate departments as it is received. Mark your calendars accordingly.

*The Alfalfa Seed Commission has indicated that "grants normally do not exceed $7,500, but larger proposals will be considered."

Please contact Holly Waters should you have any questions regarding the submission of proposals and progress reports to commodity commissions and organizations.

The research extension activity proposed for funding should:

reflect the professional skills and responsibility of the project leader within the College of Agriculture

address particular problems and concerns of the target industry and be beneficial to the state of Idaho

not exceed the facility and equipment resources of the College of Agriculture

Both basic and applied research projects with more immediate as well as long-term end-points are encouraged. To guide funding decisions, various commodity commissions/groups often will establish research/extension program priorities for the next fiscal year well in advance of the date that proposals are to be submitted. When this is done, the IAES Director's Office generally receives this information between the months of December to March and distributes it to faculty as soon as it is received. If a P.I. is uncertain as to whether a particular commodity commission has established research/extension priorities for the coming year, he/she is encouraged to check with the IAES Office prior to preparing a proposal.

Proposals should be no longer than three single-spaced typed pages, in New Times Roman or similar font, and should follow the format outlined below.

Proposals should following the following sequence:

PROJECT NO: Cite existing "Budget Number" or "New Project".

TITLE: The project title should be brief and indicate what the project is about.

PERSONNEL: List the leader(s) and other faculty and support personnel assigned to the project.

JUSTIFICATION: Present the importance of the problem, the reasons for doing the work and the probable outcome of the project. Indicate how the interests of industry, citizens, and/or science will be served by the proposed project.

OBJECTIVES: Concisely stated objectives should be numbered and listed in order of importance.

PROCEDURES: Present the actual plan of work to be used in attaining the objectives. State where and how the work is to be done. Describe any statistical analysis and teaching or extension methods that may be involved.

DURATION: Give the expected duration of the project (normally 1 to 3 years). For multi-year projects remember that they are funded for one fiscal year at a time. Continued funding beyond the initial year is dependent upon adequate progress and subsequent yearly awards by the commission/organization.

COOPERATION: List all state and/or federal agencies, groups, or individuals cooperating in the project. (Example: a potato processor furnishing facilities or a grower furnishing land, labor, and/or equivalent.) List any subject matter departments, USDA agencies, private firms, etc., and briefly state the responsibility of each.

ANTICIPATED BENEFITS AND INFORMATION TRANSFER RESULTING FROM RESEARCH: Clearly identify and briefly discuss the anticipated benefits of the proposed research to the specified agricultural industry/commodity. In addition, briefly summarize the technology transfer plan for information resulting from the research (e.g., journal articles, commodity schools, etc.).

REQUESTED SUPPORT: Follow the format outlined below. According to the following instructions, with the exception of proposals to the Idaho Wheat Commission (see the Idaho Wheat Commission Requested Support Format), budgets for proposed projects should be developed carefully and accurately with respect to the various budget categories (salary, IH, OE, travel and capital outlay). In recent years, several commodity commissions have expressed significant concern that projects expenditure reports by budget category at the end of the fiscal year all too frequently show little resemblance to the funding requested in the original proposal. Certainly some budget flexibility (variation between the proposed budget and final expenditures) is appropriate, but great differences do not reflect well on the project leader(s), academic unit, college, or university. As a guideline, it is desirable to hold deviations from established budget categories to no more than 10 percent of the total project award.

1) ALLOCATED BY (COMMODITY/ORGANIZATION) DURING FY 1998 AND FY 1999 - Completion of this section is required for existing projects requesting continued funding.

2) BUDGET REQUEST FOR FY 2000 - You are requesting FY 2000 funds (to be used between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2000) and a summary of funds awarded for FY 1999 (if, applicable).

3) FRINGE BENEFITS - Include current costs for employee fringe benefits. The current fringe benefit rates are: full-time board-appointed salaries and wages, 28.5 percent (over $30,000) and 34.5 percent (under $30,000); teaching and research assistants, 1.0 percent; irregular help employees working at least 50 percent time and longer than five months, 25.0 percent; other irregular help employees, 9.0 percent; and full-time students irregular help employees, 1.0 percent.

4) OTHER SUPPORT IN FY 2000 - Include dollar values of all funds, equipment, land and services that directly relates to the proposed project. Include appropriate portion of all faculty and support personnel salaries directed toward the project. Also, 31.5% (the IAES indirect cost rate) of the total requested budget should be included in the U of I support figure. For faculty involved in multiple proposals, be sure not to overestimate the "other support" figure.

REQUESTED SUPPORT:

Allocated by during FY 1998 $

(Commission/Organization)

Allocated by during FY 1999 $

(Commission/Organization)

Budget

Other Support in FY 2000

Industry $

Univ. of Idaho (salaries, operating)

Other (local, state, federal)

TOTAL OTHER SUPPORT

TOTAL PROJECT ESTIMATE FOR FY 2000 $________________ + _________________ = ____________

(Requested Support) (Other Support) (Total)

Comments: (i.e., justification of capital outlay request)

 

Internal Peer Review VERIFICATION: Commodity commissions/organizations have requested that we incorporate a formal internal peer review process for proposals submitted to the commissions for funding competition. Accordingly, for the FY 2000 commodity commission proposals, we request that all faculty have their proposals reviewed by two departmental colleagues familiar with the subject matter before submitting the proposals to their department and the IAES Office. The peer review section should appear as follows:

Peer Review Verification:

Reviewer 1: _____________________________ ____________

(signature) (date)

Reviewer 2: _____________________________ ____________

(signature) (date)

Dept. Head/Unit Admin.: _____________________________ ____________

(signature) (date)

Faculty submitting proposals to the Idaho Wheat Commission for FY 2000 must include specific sources of funding and by budget category in addition to the request to the commission. The "Requested Support" section should be expanded using the following example:

REQUESTED SUPPORT:

 

Allocated by Idaho Wheat Commission during FY 1998 $

Allocated by Idaho Wheat Commission during FY 1999 $

*20% PI salary and 100% graduate student stipend/benefits

**100% graduate student stipend/benefits

1CO request for new cone planter with disc openers

2Indirect cost calculated on all categories except capital items

TOTAL PROJECT ESTIMATE FOR FY 2000 $________________ + _________________ = _____________

(Requested Support) (Other Support) (Total)

All projects previously funded by commissions/industry in a previous fiscal year must furnish a report of accomplishments.

Progress reports should accompany your project proposal if you are applying for renewed funding or be submitted independently by the requested due date if you are not asking for additional support.

Progress reports, like proposals, should not exceed three pages in length.

Highlight your accomplishments, the information gained and any benefits derived according to the following format:

Progress Reports should be prepared in the following sequence.

PROJECT NO: Cite existing "Budget number"

TITLE: The project title should be brief and indicate what the project is about.

PERSONNEL: List the leader(s) and other faculty and support personnel assigned to the project.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Present accomplishments relative to the stated objectives.

PROJECTIONS: State how any new information can and/or will be used. Comment on design of objective of possible future projects.