Table of Contents Accessing the System... 3 Create Your Account... 3 Resetting Your Password... 3 Note to Previous Verification System Users... 5 Start New Application... 6 My Projects... 8 Navigation... 9 Multiple Users... 11 Important Information... 12 Project Information... 13 Project People... 15 Executive Summary... 17 Proposed Results... 18 Risk Management Areas and Topics... 22 Audience Emphasis... 23 Statement of Work... 24 Proposal Narrative... 25 Innovative Approach... 26 Key Personnel... 27 Organizational Capacity... 28 Letters of Commitment... 29 Budget Narrative... 30 Priority Commodities... 32 RMA Involvement... 33 Required Documents... 34 Final Checklist... 36 Printing Your Application... 36 Submit Your Application... 37 2 5/23/2018
Accessing the System The website address is http://rvs.umn.edu If you have previously created an account in the Results Verification System (RVS), you may login using your email address and password. Create Your Account If you have not yet created an account in the Results Verification System click Register in the upper right corner of your screen. Enter your email address. Your email address will be used to login to the system and access all of your projects. You may create more than one account, but projects will not be automatically linked between accounts. Enter your name and the rest of your contact information. Enter a password. Passwords must be a minimum of 6 characters in length. Click the Continue button at the bottom of the form. You will be sent a confirmation email that contains a link back into the system. To complete your registration, visit the enclosed link. When your registration has been verified you may login to begin your application. Resetting Your Password If you have forgotten your password, click Forgot Password in the login box. You will be asked to enter your email address. An email containing a link to enable you to reset your password will be sent. This link will be valid for 24 hours, after which you will need to re-initiate this process. 3 5/23/2018
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Note to Previous Verification System Users The project-based access of the previous version of the Results Verification System has been replaced with user-based access. In the new system, upon login, all of your projects will be displayed on the My Projects page, including projects submitted to other funding sources. Multiple users may be given access to your current project by entering their email address. This is explained in detail later in the Project People section. Everyone using the Results Verification System must register once to use the system. The project director must be registered before anyone else can work on a project. 5 5/23/2018
Start New Application To start a new application, click on the Start New Application button in the upper right corner of the screen. The available funding opportunities will be displayed. Select the opportunity to which you want to apply and select Start New Application. You can also view the Request for Applications (RFA) for each funding opportunity and the Proposal Resources available for each opportunity. 6 5/23/2018
Under Start a New Application, enter your project title and the email address of the Project Director. The Project Director must be a registered user in the Results Verification System to proceed. 7 5/23/2018
My Projects All of the projects with which you are associated will be displayed under My Projects. This includes the current Applications on which you are working, currently funded projects, and past projects that have been completed. The Stage column will indicate whether an application is currently being developed (Application stage); or if it has been funded, which report is due next (First Quarterly Report, Final Report, etc.); or if it completed (Final Report with an Approved under the Status column). The Status column indicates when the application or next report is due. If a project is completed, the status will indicate if the final report has been approved. The icons to the right of the Project Name allow you to work on the project application or report. Select the pencil icon to Edit a project or report. 8 5/23/2018
Navigation The Navigation bar at the top of the screen allows you to perform the following functions: Previous/Next: Save My Work: To navigate through the application process, you can click Next Screen or Previous Screen on the navigation bar, or you can select the input section you want to go to from the left menu bar. Whenever you move to the next or previous screen, your input is automatically saved. If you want to manually save your input while working on an individual section, just click Save My Work on the navigation bar. Save & Exit lets you save your application and continue working on it later.this will return you to the My Projects page. Save & Exit will not submit your report. View Word provides one option for sharing your application with team members, etc. prior to submission. View PDF will create a PDF version of your application. Use this option to view how the printed version of your application will display for the reviewers, and to keep a copy for your records. When you have completed your application, click Submit to send it to RMA. Once your application has been submitted, you will no longer be able to make changes to it. Instructions for each section of the application may be accessed by clicking on the tab labeled Instructions located in the upper right portion of the screen. When you click on Instructions, a separate smaller window will open that contains the instructions for the page you are working on, along with a table of contents for every section of the application. 9 5/23/2018
Resources: A number of informative resources have been developed to help you use the Results Verification System, and to understand the concepts of developing results-based applications and projects. A link to Resources is always available on the left menu bar when you are working on your application. 10 5/23/2018
Multiple Users Multiple people may be logged into your application and working on it simultaneously. However, only one person may be working in a particular section at a time. If you see a box that indicates someone else is using the section, be sure they are finished before you proceed. You may continue to work in other sections of your application until they are finished. 11 5/23/2018
Important Information Information contained on this page can save you time and frustration as you work on your application: Remember; do not use your browser s forward and back buttons. If you do, your Application input will not be saved or posted to the online application system s database. This page also lists the contact information for your funding source. 12 5/23/2018
Project Information You can edit the Project Title that you entered under Start New Application in the Project Information section. For the Risk Management Education Partnerships Program, select the delivery state(s) from the drop down menu. The RMA Region(s) where the project will be delivered will be selected based on your delivery state choice. For Targeted States Program, select the state in which the project will be delivered. The appropriate RMA Region will automatically be selected once you have entered the state. Enter the mailing address for the project. In addition, enter the mailing address for the Financial Contact who is authorized to sign contracts and commit financial resources for your organization. 13 5/23/2018
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Project People Project Director The designated Project Director must be registered in the system before other people associated with the project can access the application system. Co-Project Director You have the option of entering one or more Co-Project Directors. To add a Co-Project Director click on Add New and enter the appropriate email address. The individual must first create an account in the Results Verification System. Project Contact You have the option of entering a Project Contact. The Project Contact is usually the person entering the application, if he/she is someone other than the Project Director. The individual must first create an account in the Results Verification System. Project Access User You may give additional people access to your application. Before you give them access, the individual must first create an account in the Results Verification System. They will then have full access to your application. If you wish to allow someone to review your application without giving them the option to edit, you may click View PDF, save a copy of the application and email it to them. 15 5/23/2018
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Executive Summary The Executive Summary is an overview of the project. In 200 words, describe the basics of your project. Discuss the topics the project will cover, the audience, the delivery location and delivery methods (i.e. training workshops, etc.), expected impacts and results of the work completed. This should be the final section you write as it wraps your entire project into a condensed version and allows you to quickly describe your project to someone who doesn t know the details. 17 5/23/2018
Proposed Results This section will lead you through a series of steps and questions that will help you identify the anticipated risk management improvement for the producers. For each proposed risk management result, you will be asked to identify the risk area, risk management topic, the producer action, and the number of producers you anticipate will achieve that action. You will also be asked to identify verification/performance measures for each of the proposed results. If you are uncertain about what defines agricultural risk, Introduction to Risk Management is an excellent source document that will help you understand the five risk categories associated with farm and ranch businesses (production, marketing, financial, legal, and human). Proposed Result Identify what you anticipate farmers and ranchers will learn, achieve, or apply as a result of participating in your project. At the end of your program delivery, the proposed risk management results should put producers in a better position to manage risk in order to improve their farm or ranch economic viability. This will be the single most important factor the reviewers consider when deciding whether a project is funded. (Word Limit per result: 25) 18 5/23/2018
Risk Area and Topic The verification system organizes topics by risk area. For each proposed result first select a risk area, and then choose a corresponding topic from the list provided (see list at end of this section). Producer Action Producer actions describe what program participants will do relative to the specific proposed result. There are five levels of producer actions which are listed in order of increasing producer engagement. Understand - learn, increase awareness, identify Analyze - evaluate, investigate, assess, review, consider, explore Develop - write, conduct, obtain, create Decide - commit to, indicate, choose Implement - adopt, establish, incorporate, initiate, use You may have several producer actions for a component of your program. For example, a proposed result may be that producers will understand how to write a marketing plan with the producer action being Understand. You may have a second proposed result that producers will write a marketing plan with the producer action being Develop. Finally, you may have a third result that producers will implement their marketing plan with the producer result being Implement. When Measured Enter when you expect to evaluate how many producers accomplished each proposed result. This needs to be entered as a specific date during the project implementation. Estimated Number Enter the estimated number of producers you expect to achieve the proposed result. This estimated number may vary based upon the level of producer engagement required. How Will You Verify Enter the method and/or tool that you will use to verify (measure) how many participants were able to accomplish the proposed risk management results you listed in this section. 19 5/23/2018
To enter a new Proposed Result, click on Add New Item. The screen below will open, allowing you to enter or edit proposed results. 20 5/23/2018
Re-Order Results The order in which the Proposed Results are presented can be changed by clicking the icon on the left side and dragging a given result to its desired location. Edit Result Click on the pencil icon to edit a proposed result. Delete Result Click on the red X to delete a proposed result. 21 5/23/2018
Risk Management Areas and Topics This section of the application asks you to identify a Risk Area and a Risk Management Topic for each Proposed Result from the following list: Production o Economic risks of new technologies o Crop Insurance products o Product and enterprise diversification o Transition to new production systems o Water use decisions o Erosion control measures o Good farming practices o Wildlife management o Forest management o Range management Marketing o Analysis of market fundamentals o Cash and futures pricing tools o Marketing plans and strategies o Branded, certified or identity preserved marketing o Direct marketing o Contract production o Organic marketing and prices Financial o Agri-tourism o Alternative energy investments o Asset management including leasing and renting o Business and strategic planning o Cost of production and financial benchmarking o Economics of input decisions o Financial records and analysis o Returns to alternative energy investments o Value-added enterprises Legal o Contracts and leases o Environmental regulations o Food safety liability o Labor regulations o Personal and business liability Human o Employee management and communication o Health, stress, and well being o Interpersonal, family and business relationships o Labor supply, recruitment, and retention o Transition and estate planning o Farm Safety 22 5/23/2018
Audience Emphasis Check the producer audiences your project will intentionally target. If your project will place particular emphasis on risk management strategies, education, and outreach specifically targeted toward one of these audience groups, then check the primary audience to whom you will be delivering. You may check up to 5 primary audience groups. It is not the number (volume) of audiences that we are interested in, rather we want to know the primary audiences that will participate in your program. For instance, if your project focuses on beginning farmers who are primarily organic, specialty crop producers you would then check 3 boxes: Beginning producers, Organic producers, and Specialty Crop producers. 23 5/23/2018
Statement of Work The Statement of Work section outlines the tasks or activities required to develop and deliver the project. The Statement of Work should be the logical progression of task s that will lead your target audience to achieve the project s proposed results. Enter the tasks required to implement your project. To add a new task, enter: What Project Team Does Describe the steps that your project team and partners will take in designing and delivering the proposed project. This might include activities that involve the development of program curriculum, promoting the program, conducting of workshops, or administering follow up evaluations. RMA s Role RMA must be substantially involved in the project. Describe what RMA s role will be for relevant tasks. RMA involvement may include assembling, reviewing, and approving educational materials or the promotional plan, collaborating with the delivery of education, or conducting program evaluations. Who is Responsible Describe which team members, organizations, or partners are responsible for each project task. Estimated Number For tasks that involve participants enter the number of producers you anticipate will complete the task. Date Completed Enter the anticipated date by which each task will be completed. 24 5/23/2018
Proposal Narrative You have provided much of the information needed to describe your project in the previous sections. The project narrative lets you provide additional information that you think will help the project reviewers better understand your application. The proposal narrative allows you to describe why the work is important, who will benefit from the work and any additional explanation of the expected results entered under Proposed Results that you want to communicate. The narrative should discuss specific crop insurance education and risk management training to be developed for use with producers. It should identify the location and number of meetings that will be held, and reasonably estimate the number of producers that will attend each session or meeting and whether they will be reached through: Direct face-to-face educational activities with an explanation of how the number was determined Other means such as direct mailings, website, etc., with an explanation of how the number was determined You should also estimate the number of training hours per participant with an explanation of how the number was determined. Provide an estimated cost per producer with an explanation of how the cost was determined. The narrative should also discuss how the project will be evaluate and measure the results of the education and training delivered to producers. 25 5/23/2018
Innovative Approach Use this section to explain how your project uses experimentation and innovation to reach producers and/or provide them with innovative training, materials, or tools; and how this innovation is tied into RMA s project results and priorities. Describe how the proposed project builds upon your previous award; collaborates with other RME projects; uses the existing knowledge base, materials, and /or RME tools available; or alternatively, how this is a totally unique and innovative project from those previously funded. You can search the previously funded RMA projects database at: RMAResults.AgRisk.umn.edu 26 5/23/2018
Key Personnel Identify the key people who will have primary responsibility for the leadership of this project, whether from your organization or not, who will actively participate in the development, delivery, and management of the project. Include each team member s 1) name, 2) organization, 3) email address, 4) phone number, and 5) a description of their individual role within the project. 27 5/23/2018
Organizational Capacity Describe your organization s capacity to deliver the proposed project. Provide enough information to assure RMA that you have the ability, in terms of personnel, experience, knowledge, skills, time, and resources to develop and deliver the project. If you need to add additional resources to implement this project, describe what resources you will add and how you will acquire them. 28 5/23/2018
Letters of Commitment (Formerly Partnering Plan) Identify all project partners and collaborators. For each person, include their 1) name, 2) organization, 3) email address, 4) phone number, 5) a description of their individual role within the project and what specific skills, knowledge or experience they bring to the project, 6) a PDF Letter of Commitment, 7) whether this person or organization will be a sub-award of the project and 8) if they are a sub-award, the budgeted amount of the subaward. All partners working on the project must submit a Letter of Commitment which clearly states that the partner will work on the project, if awarded, as well as describing their role and responsibilities. Letters must be dated within 45 days of the submission. Please note, you will be required to submit the Letter of Commitment as a PDF attachment to any partners you add to the Letters of Commitment section. Without adding the PDF, you will be unable to save this partner. The letters will then be available to view both here and will display following required documents in the submitted application. 29 5/23/2018
Budget Narrative Enter the total cost for the project. Tables can be imported into the budget narrative, but they import better from Word than from Excel. If you develop tables in Excel, you may want to import them into Word, and then into your application. The budget narrative should explain in detail each expense category listed on the SF 424-A Budget form. The budget narrative must provide enough detail for reviewers to easily understand how costs were determined and how they relate to the tasks listed in the Statement of Work. There must be a relationship between work planned and performed to the costs incurred. A sample budget narrative is available in Resources. For each expense category, provide sufficient details so anyone reading the narrative will be able to understand how the total cost for the category was determined. For example: Personnel: List the personnel who will work on the project, their annual salary, the FTE s they will commit to the project, and the net salary that will be charged to the project. Also discuss how the key positions relate to the specific program activities or results. Fringe Benefits: For each person working on the project, indicate the percent of time or FTE they will commit to working on the project, their fringe benefits rate, and the resulting fringe benefit amount that will be paid by the project. Travel: Describe the purpose of and justification for travel required for your program and how it relates to your statement of work. To the best of your ability, for each workshop or event; enter the number of people that will travel to the workshop; the airfare or mileage necessary for each person to travel to the meeting, the expected hotel and meal expenses, and any other miscellaneous travel expenses. Provide as much detail as possible. If you know names of the individuals who will be presenting and the location of both the workshops and their workplace, specifically providing their mileage or airfare will be advantageous. Keep in mind that travel for consultants should be shown in the contracts category along with the consultant s fee. Other expense categories: Provide as much detail as necessary to fully justify expenses under the supplies, contractual, or other categories. Provide justification for supply items and relate them to specific program objectives. Break out these expenses per workshop or conference as necessary as they may be designed for different topics or audiences. Indirect charges: Indirect costs are limited to ten (10) percent of the total direct cost of the cooperative partnership agreement. When preparing budgets, applicants should limit their requests for recovery of indirect costs to the lesser of their institution s official negotiated indirect cost rate or 10 percent of the total direct costs. 30 5/23/2018
The budget narrative must also include the estimated cost per producer participant. 31 5/23/2018
Priority Commodities This section only applies to the Risk Management Education Partnerships Program. It is not part of the Targeted States Program application. List the priority commodities that are produced by the target audiences of this project. There are three types of commodities that are defined as priority commodities: 1. Commodities that are not covered by catastrophic crop insurance and are used for food or fiber (except livestock). Examples of this category include floriculture, ornamental nursery, Christmas trees, turf grass sod, industrial crops and aquaculture. 2. Specialty crops. This group may or may not be covered under a Federal crop insurance plan. Examples of this group are fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, syrups and honey. 3. Underserved commodities are commodities that are either covered by a Federal crop insurance plan, but participation is below the national average; or there is inadequate crop insurance coverage. This group includes livestock and forages. 32 5/23/2018
RMA Involvement If your project is funded by RMA, there must be substantial involvement by RMA during the performance of the project. List what tasks will be completed by RMA. RMA Involvement may include: Identifying, assembling, reviewing and approving risk management educational materials Collaboration in reviewing and approving promotional plans and materials Collaboration on the delivery of producer education Reviewing and conducting an evaluation of the results participants achieve due to participating in the project 33 5/23/2018
Required Documents Several documents are required to complete your application. These documents need to be uploaded as PDF files. The required forms are available as editable PDF files on the Resources page. Download the blank forms, fill them out, and save them on your computer. Then upload them to your online application. Required documents include: A completed OMB Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance A completed OMB Standard Form 424-A, Budget Information A completed OMB Standard Form 424-B, Assurances, Non-constructive Programs. A completed and signed OMB Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities A completed and signed AD-1049, Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Current and Pending Report Letters of Commitment (Upload in the Letters of Commitment section) 34 5/23/2018
To upload a Required Document, click on Add New Item. A window will open allowing you to select the document type. From the drop down menu, select the type of document. Click on Choose File to find the appropriate document on your computer. As you add new documents, you will see a note saying that the document has been uploaded. If the document hasn t been uploaded, you will see Attachment is missing in its place. You can download free software on the Tutorial and Application Resources page if you don t have the ability to create PDF files for the letters of commitment. 35 5/23/2018
Final Checklist The Final Checklist provides the date that your application is due, and identifies any information that is missing in your application if it is not complete. If this section has anything listed as missing, you will be unable to submit your application. You must submit your application by the submission deadline. Printing Your Application Click on the View PDF button on the navigation bar to print a PDF version of your application. You should print a copy of the application for your records before you submit it. This gives you an opportunity to review how it will display for reviewers and will also give you a paper trail if there are any questions regarding your submission. 36 5/23/2018
Submit Your Application To submit your application, you must have all of the required sections completed. If you have not, you will not be able to submit your application. Click Final Checklist to view any incomplete sections. Until you submit your application, you can save it and return to work on it as often as necessary. Upon submission, you will no longer be able to return to edit your application. Once you have completed your application, click Submit to submit your Application to RMA. When you submit your application, you will receive an email confirmation. 37 5/23/2018