FORMAT FOR HATCH NEW INVESTIGATOR, DEVELOPMENT, AND
MULTISTATE PROJECT PROPOSALS
Heading:
Department of _____________________
I. Cover Page. Fill out the cover page Appendix D and obtain signature of your department chair.
II. Title. A brief, clear, specific designation of the subject of the research. A title, used by itself, should give a good indication of what the project is about. Limit title to 80 characters, including letters, symbols and spaces.
III.
Personnel Involved. List names of PI and co-PIs, and
key research associates.
IV. Proposed
duration.
Projects start on Oct 1 and terminate Sept 30. If proposed for more than 3 years, funding is
contingent upon committee approval of a progress report due in year 3 of the
project.
V.
Summary/Abstract. Provide a description of the work proposed,
the approach to be taken, the expected outcome of the work and its
significance. Limit to 200 words.
VI. Introduction/Literature
Review.
Provide relevant background information describing the problem, what is
known about the field, and what needs to be done and why. A summary of related current research should
be obtained from the Current Research Information System (CRIS) and so
indicated. Limit to 2 pages.
VII.
Progress Report/Preliminary Results. Describe work that you have done with previous
Hatch funding, and preliminary results
that you have obtained regarding the proposed project. Limit to 2 pages of text.
VIII.
Objectives.
List objectives with a sentence or two of clarification for each. Limit to 1 page.
IX. Research
Plan and Methodology. Describe the experimental
design, the essential working plans, and methods to be used in attaining each
of the stated objectives. The procedures
should correspond to the objectives and follow the same order. Phases of the work to be undertaken
concurrently should be designated. The
location of the work and facilities, and equipment needed or available should
be indicated. Appropriate methods for
statistical analysis of the data should be indicated. Discuss expected results, potential pitfalls,
and potential alternate strategies. Statement
on procedures should indicate that the research has been carefully planned and
should provide for changes when they are necessary to improve the work. Limit to 7 pages.
X.
Significance. State the importance of the expected
outcomes. Also state the relevance of
expected outcomes to one or more of the VT-AES priority areas. Describe how the results might be used or
disseminated; the potential impact of the results on the problems; and the
beneficiaries of the research results and the nature of the benefits. Limit to 1 page.
XI. Timetable for proposed work. Provide a timeline for completing each of the
objectives and sub-objectives. Limit to
1 page.
LIMIT BODY OF PROPOSAL TO 15 PAGES INCLUDING FIGURES
XII.
Literature Cited. Length as needed
XIII.
Financial Support. Prepare Attachment B (Budget page) for each
year of support requested. The budget
request should be completely described and justified (Attachment C) as
described in “2006 Call for Proposals”. New
Investigator proposals should be limited to $20,000 per investigator per
year. Development proposals should be
limited to $15,000 per investigator per year.
Multi-state research proposals may
request up to an additional $1500 per year in travel to attend the annual
meeting of the multi-state collaborators.
XIV.
CV. Prepare a
curriculum vitae that includes publications and invited presentations during
the past 5 years.
XV.
Current and Pending Support. Complete
Form CSREES 2005.
XVI.
Institutional Units Involved. Indicate any
essential services or core facilities to be used.
XVII.
Institutional approval. If there is an advisory, coordinating, or directing committee for the
project (ie, recombinant DNA, radioactivity, human subjects, IACUC), approval for the project must be obtained
before the project can be submitted to USDA.
The applicant must indicate this on the Cover Page whether or not the proposed
research involves human subjects, animals, recombinant DNA, biohazardous
substances or radioactive substances. The
PI must obtain and submit the relevant authorization forms from the Office of
Sponsored Programs, 340 Waterman Building before funds can be released.
XVIII. Cooperation. A statement
as to cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture or any other
agricultural experiment stations, institutions, or other agencies cooperating
formally or informally on the project, if applicable. If the project is part of a multi-state
project, list the multi-state research project, its number and title, and
objectives of the multi-state project.
NOTES on MULTISTATE
RESEARCH PROJECTS:
Early in the development of
the multistate project proposal, the Vermont Experiment Station researcher
should prepare a contributing research project proposal using the format
outlined above. The title will be the same as the title of the multistate
project. The objective(s) must be worded exactly the same as the multistate
project objective(s) to which the Vermont Station work will contribute. Station
projects rarely contribute to all the objectives in a multistate project. The
remaining sections will be concerned only with the
If there is considerable
delay in the preparation of the multistate project proposal, the station
contributing project may be handled temporarily as a Vermont Hatch or State
project. This allows the researcher to proceed with the research pending final
approval of the multistate project.
Station Contribution After
Approval of Multistate Project
If a scientist's research
readily fits the objectives of a multistate project already underway, it may be
of mutual benefit to become associated with the multistate effort. The P.I.
prepares a research project proposal using the format described in Attachment A
(pp. 7-9) using the title of the multistate project and objective(s) in the
multistate project to which the station project will contribute.
Adapted from:
Administrative Manual for the Hatch (Experiment Station Act as Amended, USDA,
SEA, Agriculture Handbook Number 381).