Project management resources

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 permits, research activities, and spending of 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. 

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 or affects your project timeline, 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

Throughout your project, we require the following types of reporting:

• Bi-annual written reports during the project
• Bi-annual 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 in 200 words or less. Write for a non-technical audience rather than for academic peers or other specialists in the field. Your reports are used when we give updates to the LCCMR.

Do: 

• Give brief statements of findings or outcomes.
• Give examples of the extent of the work over the previous 6 months (e.g. number of sites visited, plots surveyed, samples processed, etc.).
• State any significant obstacles that might have affected the pace of the work, and steps taken to correct the issues.

Do not: 

• Re-state why your invasive species is a problem, or
• Give overviews of the research approach.

Presentation guidelines for bi-annual update meetings

In addition 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 and discuss any blockers or opportunities.

Please prepare slides for a presentation using templates MITPPC has provided.

Presentation slides should include: 

• A brief overview of progress within the last 6 months (it is not necessary to re-state the research issue or methodology)
• A summary of each research activity, preliminary findings, and associated outcomes
• A summary of interactions with implementation partners, if applicable
• A list of outreach events, publications, or media, if applicable
• Budget needs, if any
• Research team changes, if any

Contact

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

Working with Indigenous partners

• Research with Indigenous partners, U of M Libraries resources
• Indigenous Research Resources, Office of Native American Affairs
• University of Minnesota Guidelines for Indigenous Research
• Tribal-University Relations Training (requires UMN login)

U of M Research and Innovation Office

Learn about the resources available from the U of M Research and Innovation Office including programming, facilities, tools, and information systems.

If your project involves any organisms regulated by the State of Minnesota or the USDA, you may need a permit for your research. This includes moving organisms across state lines or the movement or release of a biological control organism. Be aware that getting permits may take a significant amount of time. Plan accordingly in your project timeline.

If you have questions about permits, contact MITPPC Director Rob Venette at [email protected].

State of Minnesota regulation

• Minnesota Noxious Weed List - Minnesota Department of Agriculture
• Prohibited and regulated species permits - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Federal regulation by USDA APHIS

• Regulated organism and soil permits
• Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, phytoplasmas and viruses permits
• Biological control organism permits

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.

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].

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

• Open Access Policy
• Open access information and resources
• Author options for open access
• UMN Library support for open access: [email protected]
• University Digital Conservancy (UMN repository for scholarly works)
• MITPPC collection in the University Digital Conservancy
• Sherpa Romeo tool to look up publisher's policies
• Owning and managing academic rights

Report an invention

Federal and University of Minnesota policy requires researchers to report or disclose inventions that may have commercial or public value. Reporting a technology does not prevent you from publishing or talking about your research results, but you must report your technology first. Learn what types of inventions to report, when, and how.

Commercialization process

Technology commercialization is at the intersection of discovery, business, and intellectual property law. The University's Office of Research and Innovation partners with you throughout the entire process to determine the best commercial strategy for your technology.

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.

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

Google slides - MITPPC-branded template

Microsoft PowerPoint slides - MITPPC branded template (download as a .PPTX)

If you have any access issues, email Domini Brown at [email protected].

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.

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

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/umnmitppc
• Facebook: facebook.com/umnmitppc 
• YouTube: youtube.com/@umnmitppc/featured 

ENRTF social media

• Twitter/X: @mnenrtf
• Facebook: facebook.com/mnenrtf 

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.