Multistate Fund Information
Participation in a Multi-State Research project and/or Extension Research Administration (ERA ) committees or Coordinating committees (CC) is one of the ways we fulfill our research and integrated research-extension mission as required by our acceptance of USDA Hatch Multi-State funds. This is also a good way to enhance collaboration with your peers from other states. You can use a Multi-State Research project as your primary ARC project. You can participate in ERA or CC efforts, as well, but they cannot be used as your primary ARC project. A complete list of available projects and committees with primary points of contact can be found at: NIMSS (National Information Management Support System) . When you have determined which project and/or committee meets your multi-state collaborative needs and interests, talk your plans over with your Department Chair to begin the relatively easy process of becoming an active participant. Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the ARC administrative office at (509) 335-4563
If
you want to join...
Fill out an Appendix
E. The Appendix E gives the Administrative Advisor (AA) notice
on how to contact you, the CRIS Research areas you wish to work
on, and the project objectives of which your research is best
suited. For the numbers describing CRIS Research areas please
see the CRIS web site at: http://cristel.csrees.usda.gov/star/manualvi.pdf.
After your chair has signed off on the Appendix E return it to the Agricultural Research Center (ARC), 403 Hulbert Hall, PO Box 646240 Pullman, WA 99164-6240, in order for the ARC Director Ralph Cavalieri and/or Extension Director Linda Kirk Fox to sign off on it. This signature allows mulitstate funds to be released in your behalf if you are the one traveling to the mulitstate project. We will forward this electronically to NIMSS which sends it to your AA for whichever project you have chosen. If at any time you would like information or help for this process, please call us at 509-335-4563, or contact Ellen Yeates in the ARC.
If
you want to go to an annual meeting...
The
AA or the host for the annual meeting of your Multistate Research
project will put out official notification of the annual meeting in the NIMSS system. A portion of the Hatch and Smith Lever funds we receive from USDA/CSREES
must be used to support Multistate Research work and travel. For
travelers with Extension appointments, Extension covers travel
expenses porportioned to the FTE percentage of the appointment of the traveler. Both Hatch
and Extension travel funds are finite.
ARC and WSU Extension approval for Multistate travel will be based on the following considerations:
- Maintaining a current ARC project: To receive any funding from the ARC, all CRIS forms for new ARC proposals or progress reports for current ARC projects must be completed at the time of application for Multistate travel funding.
- The Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and WSU Extension will fund one faculty member per approved Hatch Multistate project, National Research Support Project (NRSP), Coordinating Committee (CC), Development Committee (DC), or Education/Extension and Research Activity Committee (ERA) for travel to an authorized annual meeting per year.
Guidelines...
Keeping track of reimbursements to your Research and/or Extension
accounts after the travel has become more cumbersome because
of accountability procedures. Consequently, these guidelines
should be used by travelers, departments chairs, and station
directors.
- The meeting must be authorized by the administrative advisor of the project or committee on the web-based National Information Management Support System (NIMSS) before travel requests will be considered. A simple email announcement of the meeting will not suffice as the authorization.
- Travel funds provided by the ARC or WSU Extension under this program will be limited to $1200 per trip. If the traveler holds a split appointment in the ARC and Extension, funding will be split according to the traveler’s appointment percentages. If the traveler holds a split appointment between ARC and Academic Programs in CAHNRS, the ARC will pay for the travel. In all cases, the total travel funding for airfare, food, lodging, and incidentals as allowed by WSU travel guidelines will be limited to $1200. Funding for authorized travel under this program that exceeds the $1200 provided by ARC and/or Extension must come from other appropriate sources such as authorized travel funds already written into grants or other department funds.
- Travel to and from the annual meeting must be by the least expensive mode of travel unless prior approval has been received. For example, if airfare to a meeting is $300 and a rental car charge would be $500, we would pay for the airfare or reimburse $300 of the rental car charge. We expect reservations to be economical. Please note that when traveling outside the country or domestically, U.S. carriers must be used per USDA requirements.
- In order to have airfare reimbursed it must be charged to an approved ARC Multistate project and/or/the multistate Extension budget. One way to ensure this is to have the travel agent call Ellen Yeates (eyeates@wsu.edu)at ARC and she will see that the airfare is put on the Multistate CTA. The other way is to use your WSU corporate card and have the airfare included on your TEV. Before ARC can authorize our account for your airfare, we must have (a) The authorization memo from your Administrative Advisor recognized on the web-based NIMSS system and (b) A copy of your TA signed by the department chair in our office. A faxed copy is sufficient.
- Approval is generally given to stay in the lodging facility where the meeting is being held to achieve maximum benefit of having a business interaction with the other travelers on the project or committee.
- Quite often Multistate meetings are in conjunction with other professional meetings. This is one of the benefits of participating on a Multistate project or ERA committee because we can reimburse travel to and from the authorized meeting and its associated expenses. The traveler, therefore only incurs the per diem and registration expenses of the professional meeting.
- All budget and expense paperwork must be processed through ARC administration. Reimbursement of expenses may be delayed, partially reimbursed, or denied if paperwork is not submitted through the ARC office for payment. Ellen Yeates (eyeates@wsu.edu) is the designated contact for Multistate Travel and also has access to Informed Filer, for those of you with electronic submission of Travel Expenditure Vouchers (TEV). The TEV must be processed through ARC, not the Business and Finance Office (BFO).
If an exception is requested, approval must be made by ARC/Extension administration in writing, preferably by email.
Exceptions to this policy must be reviewed and approved in writing by the Director of the ARC; and if an Extension appointment is involved, by the Director or Associate Director of WSU Extension.
In addition to the above requirements, when an exception is requested, the following will also be considered: Productivity associated with the Multistate Project or Committee:
Please list any publications the traveler has authored within the past three years or grants the traveler has received within the past three years as a result of the affiliation with the Multistate research project, coordinating committee, or ERA committee to which the travel funding is requested. Attach this information to your Travel Authority (TA).
Your
associated CRIS project...
With a Multistate Research project a CRIS project will be associated
with it. To initiate this, use the same procedures used on the Initiating ARC Project web
page or contact Ellen Yeates here in the ARC office at 335-4563.
Multistate Support Links:
National Information Management Support System is designed to hold all the multistate project or committee information. It is a searchable database without even having to login.
Current Research Infomation System is designed to do a search before you begin your ARC project.
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