Download the Project Submission Form and Guidelines (project_form-v20220128; version 1/2022)
The form is relatively concise and includes the following questions; in this on-line version of the guidelines, each entry gives detailed information on that particular question:
- Project Title
- Task Group Chair
- Task Group Members
- Objective and Rationale
- Description
- Intended Outputs
- Intended Stakeholders
- Dissemination Plan
- Time Frame
- Milestones
- Budget
- Criteria for Retrospective Evaluation of Outcomes and their Impact
- Relevant IUPAC Bodies
- Suggested Referees
In addition to the brief introduction given below, Frequently Asked Questions on Project Submission and Approval Process are also available. An annotated proposal (earlier proposal form) reviewed by the Analytical Chemistry Division is available as example (download PDF).
Introduction
IUPAC has long been recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other critically evaluated data. Projects sponsored by IUPAC should address one of these aspects of chemistry or one or more of the goals listed in the IUPAC Strategic Plan.
Any individual or group can submit a project, with or without current affiliation with an IUPAC body. Projects can be submitted at any time. After completion, the Project Submission Form should be returned to the IUPAC Secretariat – as an e-mail attachment at [email protected], not to any other person or body in IUPAC. The Secretariat will initiate the review process, and communicate with the relevant IUPAC Body(ies).
While there is no set schedule for the evaluation process, it is usually not expected to take more than four months. Decisions will be taken during the course of the year as projects are submitted and the necessary information has been gathered. Frequently Asked Questions on Project Submission and Approval Process are also available.
Guidelines
Short descriptive title of project. If applicable, specify Series Title.
Name and affiliation of person(s) who will be coordinator for the project.
Names and affiliation of the task group members who have committed themselves and agreed to work on the project.
In a few sentences (<100 words total) describe the rationale for the project, the objective(s) and the intended outcome(s). This statement should identify the benefits to the applicable chemistry community and the strategic value to IUPAC.
The description should be relatively brief (approx. 250 words) and should enable the reader to understand the methods (compilation, review, critical evaluation, consultation) used in the project. The description must make clear why the project should be carried out under the auspices of IUPAC.
The description should include a clear statement of (a) any previous or concurrent work done on the proposed project, including conferences or workshops; (b) any previous, concurrent or planned interactions with bodies outside IUPAC that are relevant to the project.
If it is considered necessary to provide additional background information and supporting documentation to permit proper evaluation of the proposal, this should be given on a separate sheet. For help in deciding what information to include, please consult the Advice for Project Reviewers.
This form is to be used for Project proposals only, which may include Workshops, but not Conferences or Symposia. IUPAC has another program that provides modest Financial Support for Conferences (FSC) in Scientifically Emerging Regions or on New Directions in Chemistry.
Is the final product of the project a recommendation or report to be published in Pure and Applied Chemistry, in another journal or a book, as a workshop or conference proceeding, a set of instructional materials, a web page?
If a book (or editing of a book or chapter) is planned, please be clear about the status of the proposal with the intended publisher. Note that any publication contract or agreement must be made available to the Executive Director during the project review process. If a publisher has been approached, and a draft agreement developed, this should be included in the review packet. Technical Reports and Recommendations resulting from IUPAC Projects should be published in Pure and Applied Chemistry. The procedure is described in “Procedures for publications of IUPAC technical reports and recommendations”, available online as at <https://iupac.org/what-we-do/recommendations/procedure-for-publication/>.
For books, once the contract has been signed by the Executive Director and Secretary General, and before the final editing of an IUPAC-sponsored book, the manuscript must be reviewed by the ICTNS to establish conformity with IUPAC standards of terminology and nomenclature.
The Bureau has established a procedure to allow publication in other journals in exceptional circumstances where it can be demonstrated by the Task Group and the Division or Standing Committee that publication in another journal is in the best interests of IUPAC. Approval for such an exception should be requested by the Division President or Standing Committee Chair from the Secretary General. This request should explain why publication in another journal would be preferable to publication in Pure and Applied Chemistry.
IUPAC activities might also involve the generation, compilation, and/or analysis of scientific data and programming code. CPCDS, the IUPAC Committee on Publications and Cheminformatics Data Standards, has outlined suggested procedures for managing data-related activities. Activities related to broader dissemination of data need to be planned and implemented in conjunction with CPCDS. Project teams need to consider how data are managed throughout the project as well as the downstream needs for broader use of the data, including computer applications. The Project Task Group will be responsible for ensuring that all activities and outputs are fully documented and deposited with IUPAC, under the direction of CPCDS. CPCDS can provide project-level consultation, guidance, templates, checklists, and other support as appropriate. More details, including specific information on the expected Data Management Plan, is outlined in the Information for Task Group Chairs available online as at <https://iupac.org/projects/information-for-task-group-chairs/>.
It is important that your proposal clearly identifies the interest groups and stakeholders that will benefit from the project outcomes. In so doing it should also establish the need for the proposed project outcomes and identify the benefits to the stakeholders. The reviewers will look for strong links between the Dissemination Plan (next section) and the stakeholders who will benefit from the outcomes.
A good dissemination plan is a vital part of the project. The plan identifies how the project outcomes will be disseminated to the intended science community/stakeholders. For example, will the selected publication vehicles, proposed workshops or conference presentations, enable a significant impact on the target group(s)? In the case of nomenclature recommendations (including terminology, symbols, and units), how will these be made known to practitioners or to the intended audience? What plans have been made to promote international consensus?
For projects generating data and/or code, a Data Management Plan must be developed, in consultation with CPCDS, before final approval will be granted. The plan must address information on the outputs, formats, access, provenance, and support. More details are available in the Information for Task Group Chairs available online as at <https://iupac.org/projects/information-for-task-group-chairs/>.
Indicate the planned start and completion dates of the project. The anticipated duration of many IUPAC projects is two to three years. Longer term projects should be broken into phases. Each phase should have clearly defined and measurable outcomes. Projects need not to conform to the IUPAC biennial budget cycle, i.e. a project can begin at any time in one biennium and end in another.
Interim milestones, such as presentation of interim or final outcomes to a Conference or Workshop, completion of first drafts of a report, and indicative dates of task group meetings should be given. The intended location and duration of Task Group meetings should also be stated as this will have a bearing on the assessment of your proposed budget.
Major milestones such as target dates for completion of the final draft by the Task Group, assessment of external reviews of the draft, and submission of the final document should also be indicated.
Upon acceptance of the project, the milestones will be reviewed and a specific timeline for progress reports will be agreed on with the responsible Division or Standing Committee. The Task Group Chair should plan to report progress at least once a year.
The budget should justify all planned expenditure (from all sources) over the lifetime of the project. Costs for dissemination of the results should be included. These costs might include holding a workshop (See note at the end for definition of workshop) or special symposium at a Conference to publicize the results of the project.
Travel expenses include total costs for attending meetings of the task group, according to the rules governing IUPAC expenses (Apex airfare, IUPAC per diem according to location). Because funds are limited, every effort should be made to utilize electronic communications in lieu of meetings of the task group. In view of the modern means of electronic communication, overhead expenses are expected to be minimal. However, in some cases, costs for meeting facilities, software development, and technical assistance might be accepted. To rationalize costs, Task Groups will often meet in conjunction with a Conference which most might be attending. Note that Project funds must not be used to pay Conference Registrations, nor to facilitate attendance at a Conference. (An exception could be the attendance at a Conference by one member to make a project-based presentation on behalf of the Task Group.)
When the Task Group is seeking or has already received funding by other organizations and is approaching IUPAC for additional funding, these other organizations should be identified.
Please note that IUPAC projects cannot be original research projects and the cost of new research work cannot be a part of the project costs. In specific and well-documented cases, support for a workshop might be acceptable.
Criteria for Retrospective Evaluation
How should the success of the project be measured and when? This will be evaluated with respect to the measurable impact of the outcomes on the identified stakeholders/interest groups. Another criterion might be: have the Recommendations been adopted by journals as part of their instructions for authors? For digital standards, have the specifications been adopted by databases or software tools?
How long after completion should it be possible to evaluate the impact of the project, and by what method(s)?
Suggested Division(s) and/or Standing Committee(s) that should review this proposal and the final document (outputs), and will monitor progress of this project.
Please suggest the names (and provide address, affiliation and e-mail) of at least three external referees who can be asked by the IUPAC Secretariat to evaluate the project. These referees are in addition to those from the lead Division/Standing Committee or from supporting Divisions/Standing Committees. Referees should be experts in the field, and in general be chosen so as to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR TASK GROUP CHAIRS
Upon project approval, the Task Group Chair is responsible for the implementation of the project and, subject to approval by the Division Committee, for changes in the membership of the Task Group. He/she decides how the budget will be spent. Progress toward the stated goals is to be reported periodically to the monitoring body. The project will be evaluated retrospectively according to established criteria.
Details including Accountability, Budget, Outcomes, Dissemination, Retrospective Evaluation, Helpful Documents – Claim Forms & other refs, and additional matters can be found at https://iupac.org/projects/information-for-task-group-chairs/.
Definitions of Conference and Workshop
The following definitions are used as guides in evaluating proposals for projects.
Conference – a scientific meeting in which most participants take only a passive part in the program. Active participation is limited to the relatively few participants who present lectures or posters, chair sessions or ask questions.
Note that project funding is not intended to provide financial assistance to conferences or editing of proceedings of conferences. Under special circumstances, however, financial support for dissemination of the results of a conference may be provided. As an example, the conference may have addressed matters of global importance that result in important resolutions or other results.
IUPAC has another program to support Conferences on New Directions in Chemistry or in Scientifically Emerging Regions
Workshop – a scientific meeting in which all participants are expected to take an active part in the program. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- formulation of ideas and initial plans for projects on specific topics;
- development of recommendations or reports on specific topics;
- critical review of recommendations or reports on specific topics;
- professional development courses involving hands-on experience in new instrumental, computational or evaluation techniques.
A workshop as a part of a project can cover different aspects, such as: project initiation, recruiting of task group members, draft report and consideration of public comments, presentation and dissemination of results. It is however expected that electronic communication will be used as much as possible in various steps of development of a project. Further, IUPAC will not fund a Workshop for the purpose of planning a project.