Projects requiring a proposal and approval by the NAAC must have a faculty sponsor (unless the proposer is a faculty member or other professional researcher).
A proposal form must be completed for each project. The form includes:
- Project proposer (name, e-mail address).
- Faculty sponsor (name, department, e-mail address).
- Description of project (title, objective, justification, methods and schedule, nature of final report) [Make this part concise.]
- Expected and possible impacts on NATL (flags, markers or equipment that will be left unattended, where and when they will be left, what initials or name will identify them; temporary or permanent changes in NATL ecology that are expected or might occur).
Once the proposer of the project has his/her sponsor's approval of the proposal, they should fill out the NATL Project Proposal Form. If the proposal meets the criteria above, the chair will consult the Advisory Committee for approval, disapproval, or required revisions. Researchers conducting approved projects in NATL are required to provide the Advisory Committee chair with a project abstract and photos representing the research being conducted in NATL.
In most cases, NAAC action on a proposal should be completed in one week.
If plots or transects are established at a different location than originally proposed, their locations should be plotted on a NATL Grid Map 2024 and emailed to natl@ufl.edu.
If a project lasts longer than one year, a one-page e-mailed progress report is due on each anniversary date of the project's approval. The report should describe progress and any changes or additions to the original proposal.
When the project is completed, a final report must be submitted in a form that can be posted on NATL's website. (This would presumably be the same information as in a hardcopy report of the project. If it is a thesis or dissertation, NATL's website should be able to link to UF's site for theses and dissertations.)
