Project management resources

Funding for research is provided by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) as recommended by the Legislative and Citizen Commission for Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). Project teams must meet LCCMR requirements as well as those of Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center (MITPPC) and the University of Minnesota.

The following are commonly used resources and information from the LCCMR and MITPPC to help you manage your project and share research. If you're looking for something you cannot find, please let us know.

Guidelines and expectations

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Budget and project timeline

Budgeting within your project timeline

At the start of each research project, we will negotiate an end date with your research team. Please plan to complete all work and spend all funding by that date. Plan to make initial submissions of academic research papers during your project timeline.

When your project ends, a formal closeout of the project is due within 45 days. The formal closeout includes:

  • A 50-word summary of major accomplishments
  • A 300-word abstract of significant findings and outcomes
  • A 100-word overview of dissemination activities
  • A final reconciliation of the project budget

We cannot give project extensions (including no-cost extensions) except in the most extreme circumstances. 

If your project has any unspent funds, the funds are not available for a research project after the end date.

LCCMR travel conference policy

The LCCMR allows one out-of-state conference per project to participate in formal presentation of research findings. 

There is no limit to in-state conference travel to present research findings.

Summer salary

You may use summer salary only to support work directly for the research project. Faculty with 9-month appointments qualify.

Budget amendments

MITPPC follows LCCMR guidelines on budgeting. To make any changes to the original approved budget, you must ask for an amendment and get approval. MITPPC will help facilitate the request with the LCCMR.

Project managers may spend personnel line items with discretion between positions listed.

To request an amendment, please discuss it at the bi-annual update meeting with MITPPC. If it is more urgent, contact Heather Koop at [email protected].

Contact

For all budget questions, contact Heather Koop at [email protected].

Additional resources

LCCMR allowable expenses (updated January 2023)

UMN travel policy

Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) project requirements

Reporting

MITPPC requires:

  • Bi-annual written reports during the project
  • Project update meetings during the project
  • Final written report at the end of the project

We will let you know when written reports are due. Submit written reports through the grant portal (WizeHive).

Log in to WizeHive

Writing reports

When writing reports, please provide high-level, easy-to-read summaries of your progress. Please write for a non-technical audience rather than for academic peers or other specialists in the field. 

We re-use the information in your reports, like giving updates to the LCCMR. We appreciate it when it’s concise, easy to read, and explains the impact of the work.

Bi-annual meetings

As a supplement to the bi-annual written reports, we’ll schedule bi-annual meetings in late fall and late spring. We want to hear about your overall progress, discuss any blockers, and generally hear how things are going. It can be informal—slides or a formal presentation aren’t required.

At the bi-annual meetings, be prepared to share the following as it applies:

  • High-level status and progress on research goals
  • Any high-level findings or outcomes, and what the implications are or the impact may be (i.e., why does it matter?)
  • Describe your work with implementation partners
  • Publications planned or submitted
  • Budget needs
  • Research team changes
  • Outreach or dissemination efforts

Contact

For questions about reporting, contact Heather Koop at [email protected].

Outreach and dissemination expectations

MITPPC expects project teams to share research findings with implementation partners as they become available. You should be building relationships and regularly communicating with them. Implementation partners are those who are external to the University and can use the research to make changes to management practices in the field.

Outreach also includes sharing your research with peers via seminars, conferences, symposiums, etc.

Acknowledgement requirements and guidelines

When sharing or presenting your work funded by MITPPC via the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, you must provide acknowledgement of funding. This includes all academic papers, project communications, outreach, press releases, media interactions, signs, event advertisements, websites, newsletters, printed materials, presentations, and social media. 

Acknowledgement can be made through use of the MITPPC and ENRTF logos, attribution language, or by tagging MITPPC and ENRTF on social media.

Suggested attribution language:

“Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center, supported by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).”

LCCMR acknowledgement requirements and guidelines

ENRTF logos available for download

For MITPPC logos, contact Domini Brown at [email protected].

Publishing papers

Acknowledge partners

In addition to acknowledging funding sources in your academic papers, please remember to acknowledge individuals or groups who made contributions to the work such as providing supplies, research sites, data, intelligence, etc.

Access rights

We strongly encourage you to publish your work with open access and/or to make your paper available through the University Digital Conservancy. Paying a fee is not the only option to make published work more widely available.

Here are some options:

  1. The University of Minnesota has an Open Access Policy that applies to scholarly articles created after January, 1, 2015. You can openly share your publication using the University Digital Conservancy, (UDC) while still publishing in the venue of your choice. This policy may be the best way to make your work open access as it does not require extra fees. There are rare times when a publisher’s policy conflicts with this policy.
  2. Publish with a journal that has no fees and/or is already entirely open access. 
  3. Share the publication at no cost following publishers’ rules. Many publishers have standing policies that allow you to share some version of the article online.
  4. Try to negotiate to reduce or eliminate fees with the publisher. The University participates in many agreements that reduce or eliminate fees.

If you have questions about publishing options, contact UMN open access experts at [email protected].

University Digital Conservancy

The University Digital Conservancy (UDC) is a data repository. You can upload digital items to share, publish, and preserve for permanent, long-term public access. 

You can upload items to the UDC as an author or owner of an item. Pay attention to any copyright or publisher policies that may apply.

You can also ask Domini Brown ([email protected]) to upload it on your behalf and add it to the MITPPC collection.

Publishing resources

Communications and media

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Promoting your research

MITPPC and University Relations have many ways in which we can amplify your work and promote your research. We can help spread the word about recruitment, volunteers, asking for citizen science volunteers, promoting a webinar or conference talk, etc.

Reach out to Domini Brown ([email protected]) as a first step.

If someone reaches out to you for an interview about your research, please give a timely response. Let MITPPC know of external media about your research so we can share it.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for media interview success.

Notify MITPPC of new papers

Please tell MITPPC staff when a new paper is about to be published or has been published. We'll add it to your project webpage and the MITPPC Zotero library.

We may determine the paper is a good topic for a press release. We work with University Relations to write a "Research Brief" that touches on the highlights and implications of the paper for a lay audience. A press release on a paper is one way to effectively do outreach about your work.

Submit your paper to UR

Presentation templates

Template for MITPPC-branded Google slides

For Microsoft PowerPoint slides, email Domini Brown at [email protected].

Photos

MITPPC wants to have photographs from every research project. Of special value are photos of research team members engaging in research activities, whether in the lab, greenhouse, or field. Photos of specific species and artifacts from experiments are also useful.

Domini Brown ([email protected]) manages MITPPC’s photos assets and is a photographer who can meet with your team to take photos. Please get in touch with her when there may be a research activity worth photographing. Please also share with Domini any photos you have taken that we could use in MITPPC communications.

Connect on social media

If you’re on social media and you're comfortable sharing, share your research with your followers. Tag MITPPC and the ENRTF when possible. We will re-share your posts and likewise tag you when we post.

MITPPC has a YouTube channel that can be used to host videos for your projects (e.g. seminars, research summaries). Get in touch with Domini Brown ([email protected]) for help.

MITPPC social media

ENRTF social media

Update your Experts@Minnesota profile

The tool Experts@Minnesota is a profile-based database (pulled from University records and Scopus) that the University uses to showcase research and the experts who produce it. Many if not most MITPPC researchers have an Experts profile. The system creates profiles based on University employment records.

We encourage you to keep your profile up to date. Results from Experts@Minnesota appear in search engines, like when someone searches in a web browser for a specific topic or researcher. 

Your work is also reflected in MITPPC’s Experts profile. If it isn't, you may need to indicate your affiliation with MITPPC in the Experts tool. 

UMN Libraries provides support for Experts@Minnesota.

Contact

​Budget and reporting: Heather Koop at [email protected]

Research: Rob Venette at [email protected]

Content and communications: Domini Brown at [email protected]

Open access policy: [email protected]