Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: A one-year no-cost extension was requested in order to move the servers used to host and maintain the CRIS Forms Assistance web application to another building at the University of Vermont. The new server facility is highly secure and continues to provide reliable service for CRIS reporting activities. A photo of the servers that host the CRIS web forms at the new location can be seen at http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris/servercage.jpg. The CRIS forms assistance grant is continued under the new title: Maintain CRIS data collection for NIFA state partners and grantees and support transition to REEport. Continued annual progress is reported there. PARTICIPANTS: Patricia Downer at the University of Vermont was the project director and primary system developer/programmer, also providing user support. Susan Lang at the University of Vermont provided design and development assistance, user support, and administrated the servers and networking. Jan Iron at Colorado State University was a collaborator providing design and development assistance, system testing, and maintained user documentation. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audiences (users of the system) during the project lifetime were all NIFA state partner institutions (Land Grant colleges, forestry and veterinary schools, 1890 schools, tribal colleges, the US Forest Service), all who report to CRIS. In addition, all NIFA grantees who are not at the above institutions used this system. The CRIS staff used functions and reports provided as part of this system. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The CRIS Forms Assistance web site provides the primary means for NIFA grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. NIFA grantees and their institutions benefit by using this paperless system to submit required CRIS documentation using the web rather than paper and surface mail as well as making use of extended project management features, reports, and data export functions. System update and security measures are designed and deployed to meet industry standards and assure CRIS web forms users that the system is secure and able to recover rapidly from any identifiable problem.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The CRIS Forms Assistance web site will continue to provide the primary means for NIFA grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database until replaced by the new reporting application REEport. Activities during this reporting period include the usual user support, system maintenance, security monitoring and enhancement, minor program enhancements and modifications. As always, documentation is provided on the web site (http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris) in the current News tab as well as help links, manuals, and tutorials. Internal system documentation is also provided to the CRIS team leader. The regular annual requests for the Program of Research and the reporting checklists were done as usual. The agency name change from CSREES to NIFA occurred during this period and all programs, data, and documentation needed to be modified to reflect the new name. The CRIS web forms team has been assisting the REEport development effort by providing site administrative and contact data, testing, clarification, and recommendations regarding features beneficial to the state partner institutions. We frequently discuss upcoming stages of REEport deployment with CRIS site contacts at the state partner institutions and help them understand the implications for their future grant documentation efforts through regular communication, email list, NEWS items, and attending the annual administrative officers conference. A staging site is being developed to show how CRIS web forms will change to accommodate the transition to REEport at the various stages. We are currently preparing to disallow non-formula grant project submission in web forms for the October 1, 2010 Stage A REEport deployment, including both program and documentation changes to be implemented September 23. All other web forms functions will continue as is until additional REEport stages are deployed, including all reporting and weekly project information updates. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The CRIS Forms Assistance web site provides the primary means for NIFA grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. NIFA grantees and their institutions benefit by using this paperless system to submit required CRIS documentation using the web rather than paper and surface mail as well as making use of extended project management features, reports, and data export functions. Enhanced system update and security measures that meet industry standards assure CRIS web forms users that the system is secure and able to recover rapidly from any identifiable problem.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The CRIS Forms Assistance web site continues to provide the primary means for CSREES grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. Activities during this reporting period include the usual user support, system maintenance, security monitoring and enhancement, minor program enhancements and modifications, and new application development efforts. As always, documentation is provided on the web site (http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris) in the current News tab as well as help links, manuals, and tutorials. Internal system documentation is also provided to the CRIS team leader. During this period, comprehensive manuals that provide operator-level detail were updated. Enhanced backup procedures and the disaster recovery plan were fully implemented giving the CRIS web forms system on-site redundancy for rapid internal recovery as well as off-site redundancy in case of University of Vermont campus-wide or regional disaster (implemented and tested). A dropdown list of all active multistate projects was added to interface with the AD-416 form for initiating a Hatch/Multistate project in CRIS. Once a multistate number is selected, the project title and termination date are automatically filled in with the correct information. This eliminates the many errors that were occurring when participants could enter the multistate project information themselves. Another feature added during this period allows the participating sites to manage their own department lists. CRIS no longer needs to track and assign unique department codes, they are completely managed by the individual sites. CRIS merely stores the information without validating so that it is available to the institutions for in-house data management. A new option was also added which allows the site administrative user to assign department coordinators to assist with site administration within departments. Department coordinators are assigned a password, and have access to all the same views and reports that the administrative user has, but is not able to submit anything directly to CRIS. The CRIS web forms team has been participating in REEport development meetings, testing the sandbox version, and providing comments and suggestions for basic design and improvements that will be important for the partner institutions. PARTICIPANTS: Patricia Downer at the University of Vermont is the project director and primary system developer/programmer, also providing user support. Susan Lang at the University of Vermont provides design and development assistance, user support, and administrates the servers and networking. Jan Iron at Colorado State University is a collaborator providing design and development assistance, system testing, and maintains user documentation. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audiences (users of the system) are all CSREES state partner institutions (Land Grant colleges, forestry and veterinary schools, 1890 schools, tribal colleges, the US Forest Service), all who report to CRIS. In addition, all CSREES grantees who are not at the above institutions use this system. The CRIS staff use functions provided as part of this system. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The CRIS Forms Assistance web site provides the primary means for CSREES grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. CSREES grantees and their institutions benefit by using this paperless system to submit required CRIS documentation using the web rather than paper and surface mail as well as making use of extended project management features, reports, and data export functions. Enhanced system update and security measures that meet industry standards assure CRIS web forms users that the system is secure and able to recover rapidly from any identifiable problem.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The CRIS Forms Assistance web site continues to provide the primary means for CSREES grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. Activities during this reporting period include the usual user support, system maintenance, security monitoring and enhancement, minor program enhancements and modifications, and new application development efforts. As always, documentation is provided on the web site (http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris) in the current News tab as well as help links, manuals, and tutorials. Internal system documentation is also provided to the CRIS team leader. During this period, comprehensive manuals that provide operator-level detail were completed. Enhanced backup procedures and the disaster recovery plan were fully implemented giving the CRIS web forms system on-site redundancy for rapid internal recovery as well as off-site redunancy in case of University of Vermont campus-wide or regional disaster (implemented and tested). Major new development was accomplished during this period in order to implement CSREES's transition standard report initiative which involved changes to the AD-416 (project description) and AD-421 (accomplishment report) forms. In addition to modification of the information being collected and the guidance for completing the forms, major improvements were made to the program functionality as well as the look and feel. A test version was provided and made available to all CRIS site contacts at partner institutions more than a month in advance of implementation October 1, 2007. The test version provided an opportunity to preview the new forms and respond with feedback to CSREES. The production version of the AD-421 was implemented October 1, 2007 and the the AD-416 was implemented October 25, 2007. A new feature was implemented on February 14, 2008 that allows sites to view/print AD-416/417 forms after CSREES approval. This allows the CRIS office to eliminate faxing these forms to the stations upon approval. Additional changes to the AD-421 were announced in April and deployed on May 19, 2008, which require users to identify a reason when narrative fields are left blank. Changes to the process of providing data files to CRIS were needed during the CRIS migration from the Star system to Oracle. The manual download process used by CRIS staff was replaced by an automated FTP process that runs overnight. New file generating procedures were needed in the web forms along with a way for CRIS staff to view/identify whether all files submitted were successfully downloaded. PARTICIPANTS: Patricia Downer at the University of Vermont is the project director and primary system developer/programmer, also providing user support. Susan Lang at the University of Vermont provides design and development assistance, user support, and administrates the servers and networking. Jan Iron at Colorado State University ia a collaborator providing design and development assistance, system testing, and maintains user documentation. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audiences (users of the system) are all CSREES state partner institutions (Land Grant colleges, forestry and veterinary schools, 1890 schools, tribal colleges, the US Forest Service), all who report to CRIS. In addition, all CSREES grantees who are not at the above institutions use this system. The CRIS staff use functions provided as part of this system. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The CRIS Forms Assistance web site provides the primary means for CSREES grantees and partner institutions to contribute data to the CRIS database. A new feature for sites to view/print AD-416/417 forms after CSREES approval allowed the CRIS office to eliminate faxing these forms to the stations upon approval. CSREES grantees and their institutions benefit by using this paperless system to submit required CRIS documentation using the web rather than paper and surface mail. Enhanced system update and security measures that meet industry standards assure CRIS web forms users that the system is secure and able to recover rapidly from any identifiable problem.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
|