NRSP1: Research Planning Using the Current Research Information System (CRIS)

(National Research Support Project Summary)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[06/02/2006] [08/31/2007]

Date of Annual Report: 06/02/2006

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 06/02/2006 - 06/02/2006
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2004 - 09/01/2005

Participants

Michael Vayda, Lead Advisor and Northeast Region Advisor;
William Ravlin, North Central Region Advisor;
Roger Crickenberger, Southern Region Advisor;
Colin Kaltenbach, Western Region Advisor;
Dennis Unglesbee, CSREES-CRIS;
Michel Desbois, CSREES-ISTM;
Thomas A. Fretz, NERA;
Rubie G. Mize, NERA-NIMSS

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

The CRIS software system was utilized to maintain data in an on-line environment, accessible in a user friendly mode via the World Wide Web. The CRIS staff generated reports with technical information, financial information, or both, drawing on a variety of techniques to satisfy various requirements. Improved procedures were implemented for the data flow into the Cuadra/STAR data files and for increasing availability of CRIS data for searching and retrieving project information.<br /> <p><br /> CRIS websites were supported on the CRIS in-house CRISTEL server http://cris.csrees.usda.gov and the CRISFRMS web site at the University of Vermont http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris. Enhancements were designed and implemented on both sites to facilitate the usefulness of the sites, to increase processing efficiency, to improve the availability of information, and to address specific concerns of users. CRISTEL was modified in several areas enhancing the utility of the search support facilities and making additional fiscal years of financial summary reports available through the web site.<br /> <p><br /> CRISOPS continued as the dynamic database (transaction database) where CRIS staff processed transactions for new project input, revisions, changes, etc. as a continuous activity. The CRISTEL file was maintained on a separate server and provided public access to current data. The CRISTEL server file was updated regularly so that all information and data reflected was consistent with input submitted by contributors. The CRISTEL server was continuously available for more than 98% during the period.<br /> <p> <br /> The CRISFRMS data entry web site was supported through a collaborative effort between the CRIS staff and University of Vermont staff. The Vermont staff provided hardware and software facilities, and programming support for modifications as well as continued development of enhancements to the web site. Maintenance processes were performed continuously throughout the period and included data collection for project descriptions (AD-416/AD-417), collection of annual progress or termination reports (AD-421), submission of annual fiscal year reports (AD-418/AD-419), submission of the Program of Research, annual reporting checklists, weekly CRIS updates, correcting detected bugs, security enhancements, security updates, backups, and direct support to users.<br /> <p><br /> Additional activities conducted by the Vermont staff included completing work on the CRISFRMS web site implementing the USDA template for "Look and Feel" consistent with the USDA required style. At the request of the Forest Service, the AD-418 was added to the CRISFRMS system and implemented for availability to USDA agencies. Since XML is becoming an industry standard for data exchange a task was implemented to explore ways XML can be used to standardize and simplify data exchange between CRIS and other databases. A web service was added for test stations to provide a data refresh from their in-house system as an XML data stream. Additionally, a capability was provided allowing an in-house application to post data directly to the CRIS AD-421 web form, then complete that form before returning to the in-house system. The updated on-line CRIS Manuals for preparing the AD-421 and AD-419 were added to the previously updated AD-416/417 manual completed previously. The manuals are available to users on the home page link "CRIS Manuals" and links provided on the various forms as well. <br /> <p><br /> Management functions for SERD projects were extensively modified in the web forms system. SERD AD-416/417s and AD-421s are submitted directly by the grantees. When the requirement for state partner institutions to manage SERD grants at their institutions was identified, modifications were planned and implemented allowing state partner administrative users to transparently access the SERD database for their grantees. An improved solution was completed later that was based on a new process to efficiently add new database fields as needed, and to make the allowed project types easily modifiable for any site. SERD projects now have the same management features as all other grants. The Administrative users at state partner sites who select the option to manage SERD grants may submit SERD AD-421 reports as well as AD-416/417s. A function was added to display which sites have selected the SERD project management option. This is available from the help link on the site selection page called "SERD -- more about who should use this". <br /> <p><br /> Changes were implemented so that Multistate projects are now referred to as 'Hatch/Multistate' and are identified separately from regular Hatch within the AD-416 web forms. Multistate project number is now 'restricted use' field and can only be filled in for Hatch projects. Options have been made available to users so they may choose to enter appropriate information for the Multistate projects, or use the link provided to NIMSS to find the required information. <br /> <p><br /> Additional functions for CRIS administrative users were added to the CRISFRMS web site: 1) the ability to delete a project from the VT-hosted CRIS web forms database from a lookup based on accession number; 2) a search function to see if any proposal number has been submitted to CRIS with ID details and ability to delete it from the list of submitted numbers if submitted in error; 3) the ability to "open or close" a FY for NSCG AD-419 reporting, and allow 2 FY's to be open at the same time.<br /> <p><br /> Other modifications completed included changing the non-tech summary and documentation to be a max of 1600 characters for all project types, additional sort/select options for web forms admin users, a more intuitive user interface for selecting projects for AD-421 reports, a "last edited" note for AD-416s, and improving on-line end-user documentation. <br /> <p><br /> Restructuring of the CRIS fiscal data was completed to maintain the data in separate files not accessible from the CRIS website. Requests for retrieval of information or report generation was performed by CRIS staff insuring appropriate information was retrieved, and that the report generated provided information with integrity, consistent with agency baselines, and conforming to guidelines for fiscal reporting.<br /> <p><br /> CRIS staff collaborated with members of the REEIS team to improve the data transfer of CRIS records into the REEIS production environment. The integrity of the data transfer was improved and new procedures were developed supporting increased frequency requiring less staff time and effort. CRIS data is available through the REEIS platform increasing visibility and potential usefulness of the information collected through CRIS.<br /> <p><br /> Members of the CRIS staff conducted individual sessions and demonstrations for individuals and groups to assist with familiarizing them with data entry facilities of CRIS or search and retrieval capabilities. Additionally, CRIS staff provided assistance to many users through responses to emails or telephone calls providing technical assistance and data interpretation. <br /> <p><br /> A previous study determined a migration of the CRIS database into a relational environment was technically feasible and should provide significant technical benefits to CRIS. The study documented Use Case Scenarios for CRIS processing and operations, provided a data flow analysis with mapping to the Use Case Scenarios, furnished both logical and physical data models, and established a stepwise (modular) migration plan. The study results served as the foundation for planning and implementing a project to accomplish the migration during the next 36 months. A contract was awarded to perform a three phase effort accomplishing conversion of the underlying STAR database to a relational database environment. <br />

Publications

Impact Statements

  1. CRIS data collection processes sustained the flow of information from a broad range of research and education activities into a national database. The public portion of the information collected was made available in an immediate timeframe accessible through the World Wide Web to all interested organizations, groups and individuals. CRIS operations sustained a high level of efficiency providing availability above 98% for the period.
  2. Availability of CRIS data through World Wide Web access resulted in increased activity on the primary CRIS database (CRISTEL). Individual users performed searches and retrieved information from CRIS by utilizing either the assisted search or professional search tools provided on the web site. The number of in-house requests for information retrieval declined. The characteristics of requests performed by the CRIS staff reflected increased complexity and required a higher level of search expertise. This pattern is consistent with CRIS goals and expectations indicating the efforts pursued during the past several years have been successful in providing effective search facilities that individual users are finding useful. This transition of search/retrieval support to a more >self service= mode benefits the CRIS program by allowing staff to concentrate on more complex problems and activities while individual users may obtain routine access services 24/7 through the website.
  3. CRIS staff coordinated with the CSREES Planning and Accountability staff to support efforts to complete investment portfolio analyses required by OMB. Utilizing the search facilities and report generation capabilities of CRIS, an effective collection of reports summarizing information aligned on strategic goals were created and made available to the portfolio review teams for source material in completing the evaluation process.
  4. The XML project conducted by the University of Vermont staff resulted in a web service being added for testing and evaluation to provide a data refresh from a stations in-house system as an XML data stream. Additionally, a capability was provided allowing an institutions in-house application to post data directly to the CRIS AD-421 web form, then complete that form before returning to the in-house system.
  5. The updated on-line CRIS Manuals for preparing the AD-421 and AD-419 were added to the previously updated AD-416/417 manual completed last year. The manuals are available to users on the CRISFRMS home page link "CRIS Manuals" and links provided on the various forms as well.
  6. A new SERD project management option allowed access from the help link on the site selection page called "SERD -- more about who should use this". Management of SERD projects was extensively modified in the web forms system. The modifications were completed allowing users to transparently access the SERD database. This permitted state partner institutions to manage SERD grants more effectively at their institutions. SERD projects now have the same features for managing projects as other grants. The Administrative users at state partner sites who select the option to manage SERD grants may submit SERD AD-421 reports as well as AD-416/417s instead of the individual grantees.
  7. CRIS provided the CSREES National Program Leader (NPL) responsible for grant awards (program manager) with copies of final reports received each month in CRIS as AD-421 termination reports. The NPL is responsible for approving final reports before closing a grant and this procedure facilitates the close out process and improved the communication efficiency between the program manager and grant recipient.
  8. Over 40,000 projects documented in CRIS are performed or sponsored by USDA research agencies, state agricultural experiment stations, the state land-grant university system, other cooperating state institutions, and participants in CSREES administered grant programs.
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Date of Annual Report: 08/31/2007

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/28/2007 - 08/28/2007
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2006 - 09/01/2007

Participants

Michael Vayda, Lead Advisor and Northeast Region Advisor;
William Ravlin, North Central Region Advisor;
Lisa Collins, Southern Region Advisor;
Colin Kaltenbach, Western Region Advisor;
Dennis Unglesbee, CSREES-CRIS;
Carol Sowers, CSREES-CRIS;
Michel Desbois, CSREES-ISTM;
John Minghee, CSREES-ISTM;
Greg Crosby, CSREES-One Solution;
Daniel Rossi, NERA;
Rubie G. Mize, NERA-NIMSS

Brief Summary of Minutes

Action Items:

  1. One Solution will put together an Advisory Group with representatives from all the sections and regions. The four regional advisors of NRSP-1 will be members of this group. A suggestion was made to avoid standardizing to fit all. It is important to be sensitive to the differences inherent among extension, research and teaching.
  2. CSREES staff from CRIS and One Solution will be invited to give updates at the regional associations' spring meetings.
  3. In addition to the annual face-to-face meeting, the NRSP-1 Technical Committee will meet by teleconference quarterly.
  4. NRSP-1 will expire on 9/2009. The proposal should be finalized by March 2008. An external review of NRSP-1 will be proposed prior to its revision.
  5. An update on One Solution will be requested for inclusion in the Experiment Station Section Meeting to be held in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 2007.

Accomplishments

The CRIS websites were supported on both the CRIS CRISTEL server http://cris.csrees.usda.gov and the CRISFRMS web site at the University of Vermont http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris. Enhancements were designed, developed, and implemented facilitating usefulness, increasing processing efficiency, improving the availability of information, and addressing specific concerns of users. <br /> <p><br /> CRISOPS continued as the foundation database where CRIS staff processed transactions for project input, revisions, changes, etc. as an ongoing production activity. The CRISTEL file was maintained on a separate server and provided public access to current data. The CRISTEL server file was updated regularly so all information and data reflected was consistent with input submitted by contributors. The CRISTEL server was continuously available for more than 99% of time during the period.<br /> <p><br /> The CRIS software system was utilized to maintain data in an on-line environment, accessible in a user friendly mode via the World Wide Web. The CRIS staff generated reports with technical information, financial information, or both, drawing on a variety of techniques to satisfy user requirements. Processing efficiency was increased by improving procedures for the data flow into the CRIS data files resulting in increased availability of CRIS data for searching and retrieval.<br /> <p><br /> <br /> The CRISFRMS data entry web site was supported through a collaborative effort between the CRIS staff and University of Vermont staff. The Vermont staff provided customer service, hardware and software facilities, and programming support for modifications as well as continued development of enhancements to the web site. Maintenance processes were performed continuously throughout the period and included data collection for project descriptions (AD-416/AD-417), collection of annual progress or termination reports (AD-421), submission of annual fiscal year reports (AD-418/AD-419), submission of the Program of Research, annual reporting checklists, weekly CRIS updates, correcting bugs, security enhancements, security updates, backups, and direct support to users.<br /> <p><br /> The CRISFRMS site furnished the managers of data at the institutions features and functions needed to effectively work with their CRIS project information. The web forms system helped sustain data quality because the information entered was checked and verified before being submitted to CRIS. Forms could not be submitted with inappropriate or erroneous information because the web forms are designed to enforce all of the CRIS business rules. This feature sustains higher data quality and better efficiency in collecting project data. <br /> <p><br /> The administrative functions in the web forms system are the primary tools allowing designated CRIS site contacts to collect information at their site, verify that it is correct, and submit it to CRIS when ready. An online tutorial was available and is an integral part of the training. One of the most important concepts to understand is that until the action to submit data to CRIS is performed, the information entered is entirely in the site's own control and accessible only by the passwords which they control. Each site "owns" the information completely until they submit it to CRIS.<br /> <p><br /> Additional activities conducted by the Vermont staff included enhancing security measures and converting to updated software and operating systems for the web forms system to meet industry standards. This security effort was a major focus during FY 2006. Achieving compliance with required security policies involved, providing system specific documentation (hardware, software, and operating details), creating comprehensive manuals that furnished operator-level details, enhancing backup procedures, and developing a disaster recovery plan. When fully implemented in 2007, the CRIS web forms system will have on-site redundancy for rapid internal recovery as well as off-site fail-over in case of University of Vermont campus-wide or regional disaster. A network/server/security consultant assisted with designing, setting up, and implementing the plan. All server and application software was upgraded to the most current versions available, and hardware standardized within the network in order to maximize rapid recovery from any system component failure. <br /> <p><br /> The Vermont staff also addressed underlying application design of CRISFRMS to integrate a reference control table describing the CRIS "business rules" that will drive the application processes and screen designs. Computer Graphics Interface (CGI) and Extensible Markup Language (XML) processes were developed for participating sites to use for their own applications to place data into the web forms database, and extract data from it. Significant new features added to the application included the addition of new funding types and the options for sites to include Extension-funded activities along with research and education projects, or alternately, utilize the option to have a separate Extension site with its own site administrator. Management features for grants requiring anniversary reporting were implemented and documented in the on-line News and on screens where report due dates are indicated. Information and reports that use CSREES Strategic Goals were added in addition to GPRA goals (since the old GPRA goals are still being used through the 2007 report). The ability to resubmit the CSREES-2008 Assurance Statements was added. The submission of anniversary reports more than 30 days before they are due was blocked to assure proper timing in reporting. Additional features and modifications were completed and documented for users in the on-line News which retains all old notices in reverse chronological order. <br /> <p><br /> CRIS staff collaborated with members of the REEIS team to facilitate data transfer of CRIS records into the REEIS production environment. The integrity of the data transfer was monitored and improved with increased frequency requiring less staff time and effort. CRIS data is available through the REEIS platform increasing visibility and potential usefulness of the information collected through CRIS.<br /> <p><br /> Members of the CRIS staff conducted individual sessions and demonstrations for individuals and groups to assist with familiarizing them with data entry facilities of CRIS or search and retrieval capabilities. Additionally, CRIS staff provided assistance to many users through responses to emails or telephone calls providing technical assistance and data interpretation. <br /> <p><br /> During this period, a significant amount of work was accomplished on the CRIS migration of the underlying proprietary database to a relational database environment. The migration project will provide greater data access and ensure long term maintainability. The approach utilizes Oracle for the relational database environment on a Linux platform. Java Server Page (JSP) and the JAVA application programming language are utilized for the application phase. At the completion of the migration, CRIS will be supported by a fully integrated relational database management architecture, thereby increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of data management, improving the potential for system integration with other application systems within CSREES and partner institutions, and bring CRIS more in alignment with federal and agency enterprise architecture goals.<br /> <p><br /> The first phase involved validation and verification of the relational model for CRIS, finalizing definitions of the use-case scenarios and business rules controlling the processing of data, both in bound and out bound data, from the transaction database, creation of the physical database, generation of procedures to migrate data from the existing transaction database to the relational database, and generation of execution procedures to load data created in CRISFRMS at Vermont into the relational database. <br /> <p><br /> The existing transactional database and supporting databases have been mapped to a relational database structure. The basic JAVA application was still under development at the end of this period. There are major areas of functionality still to be addressed.<br /> <p><br /> When completed the implementation of the relational database and associated application will enable:<br /> <ul><br /> <li>Improved efficiencies of many data management functions<br /> <li>Automated processes in lieu of current manual processes<br /> <li>Improved audit and tracking functions<br /> <li>Improved data validation processes<br /> <li>Integration with other applications and databases<br /> </ul>

Publications

Impact Statements

  1. CRIS data collection processes sustained the flow of information from a broad range of research and education activities into a national database. The public portion of the information collected was made available in an immediate timeframe accessible through the World Wide Web to all interested organizations, groups and individuals. CRIS operations sustained a high level of efficiency providing availability above 99% for the period.
  2. Individual users performed searches and retrieved information from CRIS by utilizing search tools provided on the CRIS web site. The number of in-house requests for information retrieval declined while the requests performed by the CRIS staff required a higher level of search expertise. This shift in the technical complexity of staff searches was consistent with CRIS expectations. The change indicated the efforts pursued during the past several years have been successful in providing effective search facilities that individual users are finding useful. This transition of search/retrieval support to a more self service-mode benefits the CRIS program by allowing staff to concentrate on more complex problems and activities while individual users may obtain routine access services 24/7 through the website.
  3. CRIS staff coordinated with the CSREES Planning and Accountability staff to support efforts to complete investment portfolio analyses required by OMB. Utilizing the search facilities and report generation capabilities of CRIS, an effective collection of reports summarizing information aligned on strategic goals were created and made available to the portfolio review teams for source material in completing the evaluation process.
  4. The CRIS Forms Assistance web site is the primary means for CSREES-funded activities to be documented in the CRIS database. Enhanced system updates and security measures meeting industry standards assure CRIS web forms users that the system is secure and able to recover rapidly from any identifiable problem. Modifications implemented in the underlying database structure help assure the CRIS database will be able to expand coverage to encompass additional activities, as well as assure the web forms system is flexible enough to adapt quickly to changes needed by CSREES and the participating partner institutions.
  5. The updated on-line CRIS Manuals for preparing the AD-421 and AD-419 were added to the previously updated AD-416/417 manual completed previously. The manuals are available to users on the CRISFRMS home page link "CRIS Manuals" and links provided on the various forms as well.
  6. The development project to convert the CRIS database to a relational database environment has successfully developed the physical database; implemented the logical database and can migrate data from the current database to the relational environment; has verified and validated the data management processes; performed a conversion of data management functions into the application system associated with the Oracle relational database environment; and developed a procedure to extract data from the Oracle database and populate the database supporting public access to CRIS.
  7. At the completion of the project CRIS will be supported by a fully integrated relational database management architecture increasing flexibility, increasing effectiveness of data management, and improving the potential for system integration with other major application systems such as REEIS, C-REEMS, Plan-of-Work, etc. within CSREES as well as with systems in partner institutions.
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