Reporting Requirements, Mentorship and Budgets
Reporting Requirement Dates Based on Estimated Dates of Travel (Subject to Change with Pre-travel/Payment Request)
Departure
Date
JorgeColombia
RyanColombia
OwenBrazil
Emily G. –
S. Africa
GabeColombia
Elyssa - S.
Africa
Megan- S.
Africa
KaterineColombia
Julia – S.
Africa
Carrie India
Gwen Indonesia
Emily W.
–
Colombia
2
10/7/15
4
9/1/15
4
8/5/15
1.5
7/28/15
6
10/1/15
2.5
7/8/15
6
3/13/15
2
6/27/15
3
6/2/16
2.5
10/1/15
3
6/12/15
Quarter 1
Report
Due Actual
11/7
Quarter 2
Report
Due Actual
12/7
Quarter 3
Report
Due
Actual
Quarter 4
Report
Due
Actual
10/1
11/1
12/1
1/2
9/5
10/5
11/5
12/5
8/28
9/28
11/1
12/1
1/1
8/8
9/8
9/20
4/13
6
4/8
5/13
4/23
6/13
8/8
10/2
7/10
8/10
9/10
11/1
12/1
12/15
7/22
8/22
9/22
7/22
8/22
9/22
Quarter 5
Report
Due
Actual
Quarter 6
Report
Due
Actual
2/1
3/1
4/1
7/14
8/14
9/14
10/22
11/22
12/22
6/22/15
Monthly and Final Reports:
Monthly report forms will be created by you in accordance with your M&E plans developed in your Project
Implementation Plans. Please make sure to send Elana a draft of your monthly report form by the end of March,
but if you’d like to add on to your forms, feel free to do so. These reports should help you to track your own
progress toward your goals and provide some narrative. See example from a Horticulture CRSP project
attached. The final report should be completed after you return from your trip. Besides your final M&E table it
should include:
 Analysis of your M&E (what were you able to achieve with your project and how did your
achievements measure up to your expectations/indicators? What affected your project in allowing
you or prohibiting you to reach your goals?)
 Based on your project, what recommendations to future researchers working on your project?
 Based on your experience as a RIFA fellow, what recommendations would you make about
improving the program to help fellows to be better able to achieve their goals?
All monthly reports and the final report should be submitted directly to your mentors (please cc Elana).
Mentorships:
All fellows can expect the following commitment from his/her mentor:
1. That each mentor read 2-3 full project proposals, one of which will be the project of the mentor’s own
student fellow.
2. That the mentor have an initial meeting with the student prior to departure to discuss their thoughts on
the students proposal and the feedback from other mentors to plan for their work abroad.
3. That the mentor review the monthly report from his/her student and provide feedback. Each student will
submit a monthly report for each month they are abroad. The number of months a student will be abroad
is indicated in each of the project descriptions below and will vary from 2-6 months.
4. That the mentor email the student at least once monthly and Skype with the student once monthly while
abroad. Conversations may center around the monthly reports or other topics, issues and questions.
5. That the mentor reviews the student’s final report and meets with the student upon his/her return to
Davis to discuss the report and final thoughts.
Besides monthly reports you will also asked to fill out a follow-up exit survey that will be distributed directly
by the USAID Global Development Lab. I will include questions on that survey that directly relate to our
program, but that survey will primarily impact how USAID changes the broader program to better fit host and
student needs.
Budgets:
Please use the following template:
Actual
Travel (please make an actual estimate about how the
$2,000 will be divided among travel expenses i.e.
airfare, ground transport to field sites etc.)
In-Kind
Include here all material
costs (and other costs
covered by your host
organization)
Meals and Lodging (this is where your monthly
stipend goes, but do not call it stipend, be sure to call
it meals and lodging)
Requested
If you plan on applying
to other funding sources
to do additional
activities please include
a budget breakdown in
this column.
Pre-travel medical costs (we estimated
approximately $200/student)
Example Monthly Report:
Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Program
Exploratory Projects
Performance Report – 3rd Quarter (April 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011)
Due July 31, 2011
Title of Project:
Strengthening Indigenous Informal Seed Systems in Southeast Asia
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Ricky M. Bates
Report Submitted By: Dr. Ricky M. Bates
Email Address:
rmb30@psu.edu
This report consists of three parts:
 Part I - Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Matrix (based on your project proposal)
 Part II - Narrative
 Part III - Please include any materials that have been generated during the first quarter by your project
(i.e. photos, agendas, blueprints, factsheets, etc.)
Part I - Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Matrix. In your project proposal, you completed a Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan Matrix. This plan included Activities, Outcomes, Measures of Success, and Documentation of
Success. Please indicate your progress to date on your plan (ending June 30, 2011). Add additional matrices as
necessary.
Objective 1: Develop a team and a strategy focused on strengthening the indigenous informal seed system in
Southeast Asia, including the conservation of knowledge surrounding that system. (Italics=completed in Quarters 1
& 2)
Progress to Date (3rd
Documentation of
Activities
Outcomes
Measures of Success
Quarter ending June
Success
30, 2011)
1) Strategy &
1) Creation of a
Team agrees, in
Meeting is
The research
development
detailed,
principle, that the
conducted to initiate strategy developed
meetings with key
comprehensive plan
Exploratory Project, development of a
for this project was
team personnel and
of action for 1-yr.
if successful, will
successful
reviewed during
co-PI’s,
Exploratory Project
form the foundation
Horticulture CRSP
meetings in Chiang
(representing ECHO activities, 2)
for submittal of a
Pilot Project. The
Mai, Thailand. A
Asia, Maejo Univ.
Monthly project
future Horticulture
decision was made
research plan was
and Penn State
assessment produced CRSP Pilot Project,
to skip the July 15
developed including
Univ.), in October,
to indicate overall
(ie. Prototype
call for proposals,
next steps, and a
2010 and September, health and direction development).
and wait until the
framework for the
2011, 2) Monthly
of project, 3) Final
next round, in order
next proposal. This
meeting updates via
inventory produced
to be more
included the
email or Skype.
outlining what
competitive in the
development of an
worked and what
process.
overall strategy,
didn’t.
goals and specific
objectives. The
entire team met and
assessed the field
research component
of the project.
Objective 2: Document and characterize indigenous annual and perennial vegetable crops, including seed system
pathways and “germplasm gatekeepers”, for Northern Thailand hill tribe communities and a Cambodian Khmer
village. (Italics=completed in Quarter 1 & 2)
Progress to Date (3rd
Documentation of
Activities
Outcomes
Measures of Success
Quarter ending June
Success
30, 2011)
1) Develop survey
1) Data generated
1) Identify at least
1) ECHO-MaejoAll field work within
tool, 2) Conduct
will contain
12 annual and/or
Penn State extension the Thai and
inventories of
accurate species
perennial vegetable
publication produced Cambodian village
commonly used
classification,
species with
which lists selected
clusters has been
annual and
perennial vegetable
crops, including
their culture and
use, in targeted
communities,
including, but not
limited to the Lahu,
Palaung, Akha, and
Kachin, Hmong,
Shan and Khmer 3)
Collect key
information
regarding pathways
and “gatekeepers”
of seed through the
system.
cultural description,
and use within local
diets, 2) Baseline
biographical
information
gathered from
survey participants,
and information
regarding key seed
traders, and seed
pathways.
potential for
expanded use. 2)
Development of
complete crop
profiles for these
species, 3) Identify
key “gatekeepers”
within the local,
informal seed
system, in order to
generate a
germplasm map for
informal seed
systems.
species, and
explaining important
aspects of culture
and use, 2) Selected
species are adopted
by ECHO Asia seed
bank for future
production &
distribution, 3)
Germplasm map
developed indicating
key “gatekeepers”.
completed, resulting
in robust data sets
relative to species,
indigenous
knowledge, seed
system gatekeepers,
and germplasm
pathways. During
this reporting period,
meetings were held
to begin analyzing
data and developing
appropriate
publications.
Part II. Narrative. Please supply a narrative on your progress to date.
Dr.’s Ricky Bates and Abram Bicksler attended the Hort CRSP meeting hosted by UC Davis, in April,
2011. A poster detailing the components of this Exploratory project was presented. Useful networking occurred
and potential collaborations were discussed with a variety of researchers and attendees.
Dr.’s Ricky Bates and Thomas Gill travelled to Chiang Mai, Thailand and Phnom Penh, Cambodia in
May, 2011. The purpose of this trip was to assess progress on the project, meet with collaborators, manage data
from field research, organize next steps, including manuscripts and other publications, and develop a realistic
framework for ‘next steps’ and future project proposals. The field research component of the project concluded
by the beginning of this reporting period. Overall, all partners and key personnel were pleased with the data
collected from the three village clusters. Progress was made organizing the data sets and developing plans to
analyze the data. The information and data obtained in the field portion of the project was organized according
to potential publication. Timelines were developed and task lists and action points were developed. It was
generally felt that the project, even though small and of a short duration, yielded a wealth of valuable
information which should be communicated via appropriate venues. Additional time was spent in the Chiang
Dao village cluster, meeting with collaborators, inspecting fields, exchanging seed, and discussing various
components of the project.
Dr. Ricky Bates developed the following manuscript:
Title: Designing Strategies and Systems to Identify, Preserve and Promote Underutilized Indigenous Crop
Species
Abstract: Informal seed systems, such as farmer-to-farmer exchanges and farmer self-saved seed, are critical
components of resource poor farming systems. This local seed production and distribution facilitates
maintenance of crop bio-diversity by preserving in situ locally adapted varieties and by broadening the genetic
base of production with multiple varieties adapted to specific production systems and micro-climates. They
also enhance seed and food security during periods of instability or natural disaster, including changing
environmental conditions. A rich diversity of underutilized crop species function within these informal seed
systems in Southeast Asia, yet current efforts to conserve, improve, and disseminate indigenous species are
failing. A strategy was developed and tested linking an innovative seed bank, local farmers and noncommercial seed traders, with developing markets, supported by accessible information made available through
a local outreach network. Impacts included identification of key seed traders and farmers functioning within
targeted regions of high species diversity, inventories of important indigenous crop species, documentation of
specific indigenous knowledge surrounding the culture of key crops, and expanded exchange and distribution of
locally adapted underutilized species. This project paves the way for potential longer term benefits including
formation of seed bank-farmer linkages that allow non-commercial seed producers to access new varieties,
hybrids and high-value seed resources not available from traditional sources, development of value chains
around key indigenous species, and regional distribution of important seed resources to less developed neighbor
nations.
Part III - Materials. Please attach any materials you have developed in the second quarter (i.e. photos,
agendas, blueprints, factsheets, etc.).