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NRSP001: Research Planning Using the Current Research Information System (CRIS)

Statement of Issues and Justification

Prerequisite Criteria: Mission

RELEVANCE

There is a need to provide national support from the non-Federal sector for the continued operation and improvement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Current Research Information System (CRIS). CRIS data covers a wide range of agricultural and related information including agriculture, forestry, natural resources, rural life, human nutrition, food safety, human health and other consumer concerns. Maintaining and enhancing the system will provide substantial direct benefits to research managers, research scientists, and many others accessing the system. There will also be considerable indirect benefits to the general public through increased research efficiency.

The State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES), participating 1890 Land Grant institutions, cooperating Schools of Veterinary Medicine, Schools of Forestry, national research planning committees, administrators and program leaders from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) and other research interests in the public and private sectors, use information from CRIS for many purposes. Some of the primary purposes served include:

- SAES and other Administrators use CRIS data to manage their individual research portfolios and aid in the process of research coordination and project administration.

- SAES and other Administrators use CRIS data to prepare reports reflecting staff effort and expenditures for State legislatures and to address other reporting and program analysis functions.

- CRIS data is used by many SAES Administrators to aid in developing their plan of work submissions required by the Agricultural, Research, Extension and Education Reform Act (AREERA). Data are also used to prepare annual reports for the Plan of Work in which resource commitments are classed among the five USDA goals.

- SAES and other Administrators use CRIS data to provide evidence of research activities and funds devoted to various commodities to State commodity groups.

- Experiment Station Committee on Policy (ESCOP) uses CRIS data to build and justify annual budget requests.

- CSREES managers and program leaders rely on CRIS information to administer national programs, assess the resource distribution within agency goals, determine support for specific target areas, and to assist in administering congressionally mandated programs.

- Scientists use CRIS to identify research related to their area of study and assist in preventing duplication of effort.

All of these activities and many others are currently supported by CRIS. There is a continual need to maintain and further enhance the information gathering function in CRIS, to broaden the scope of information contained in the CRIS database, and to make the information more robust such that timeliness, accuracy, and efficiency are improved in CRIS.

Prerequisite Criteria: How does this NRSP pertain as a national issue?

Rationale: Priority Established by ESCOP/ESS

Rationale: Relevance to stakeholders

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