Project Tracking Policy and Guidance

Jump to a section:

• Guidance for Project Teams
• Guidance for CASC Host Institutions
• Additional Guidance for All CASC Funding Recipients
• Project Web Tools

Project Team Guidance:

 

Respond to a CASC Project Solicitation:

Statements of Interest and Proposals submitted to a CASC for project funding consideration must use the templates provided below and must be submitted through the CASC Proposal Solicitation Manager (PSManager). Note: CASC Project Solicitations are limited to eligible researchers. Solicitations will not be announced on this public website. Please check with your CASC for more information.

• Statement of Interest Template (Word)

• Full Invited Project Proposals:

  • Proposal Template (Word)

  • Budget Spreadsheet Template (Excel) 

  • Budget Justification Template (Word)

  • Data Management Plan Template (Word)
    
     

Submit an Annual or Final Report:

All funded projects are required to submit Annual Progress Reports and a Final Project Report according to the templates provided below (in addition to the Federal Financial Report required for external agreement administration, Form SF-425). Additional or more frequent reporting may be required by individual CASCs. Please check with the CASC Directors or Research Coordinators to determine specific requirements.

• Annual Progress Report Template: PDF, Word 
  • Due Date: 60 days prior to the anniversary of the start of the project's performance period. 
• Final Project Report Template: PDF, Word 
  • Due Date: 120 days after the close of the project's performance period / project end date.
  • NOTE: Final Reports authored by USGS researchers must go through the USGS Fundamental Science Practices (FSP) process.

Guidelines for Plain Language Public Summaries:

Plain Language Public Summaries are a required component for all CASC projects. Plain Language Summaries provide a synopsis of the overall project and follow the principles of the Plain Writing Act of 2010. These summaries should be included in all proposals submitted to the CASCs for funding consideration.

• Guidelines for Plain Language Public Summaries
• Additional information and resources about writing in plain language can be found here: https://www.plainlanguage.gov/ 

CASC Host Institution Guidance:

Respond to a CASC Host Recompete Solicitation:

Institutions submitting proposals to host a CASC as part of an official Host Solicitation should use the templates below. 

• Budget Table Template - HOST (Excel)
• Budget Justification Template - HOST (Word)
  
   

Submit a Host Institution Annual or Final Report:

• Host Annual Report Template (Word)
• Host Final Report Template (Word)
  
   

Additional Guidance for All CASC Funding Recipients:

 

Instructions for Manuscripts and Publications, Press Releases, and Other Products:

Funded researchers must provide advanced notification to CASC Directors of all anticipated manuscripts, videos, web tools, educational tools, etc. (any type of deliverable that will be made public) intended for publication/distribution that have been produced through the CASC-funded project (or where staff received funding through a CASC graduate fellowship).

All manuscripts, press releases, and project products should include appropriate funding acknowledgements. 

• CASC Funding Acknowledgement Policy

Photos:

Photographs that represent and showcase research projects are a great way to help communicate and feature the important and interesting work of CASC-funded researchers. Project photos (e.g. of wildlife, landscapes, habitats, or researchers in the field) can be used on our project information web pages, in press releases and announcements, Congressional briefings, social media, and other venues. To submit photos from your project, please email casc@usgs.gov. Non-federal photographers must also sign and submit the USGS photo permission form, which NCASC staff will provide. 

CASC Project Web Tools:

The CASCs maintain a suite of online tools to support the entire project lifecycle, from the project solicitation and review process all the way to project close-out. Three main tools, listed below, can be used and are often needed by project teams and Principal Investigators (PIs):

• PSManager: The Proposal Solicitation Manager (PSManager) provides project managers with a simple, configurable tool that gathers information and documents for project solicitations. Its multi-step process follows a solicitation through the submission, scoring, review, and final selection process.
• DMPEditor: DMPEditor helps PIs and project managers easily create, edit, and manage Data Management Plans (DMPs), a required component of projects funded by a CASC. Learn more about our data requirements and policies here. 
• Project Explorer: Our online webpages and search tool allow users to search and discover CASC funded projects, including data, tools, publications, and other project products.