Group Projects Class of 2008 Logistics

1. Group Projects Class of 2008 Logistics Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

2. Information Sources Group Project Guidelines http://www.services/students/index.html updates should be completed next week Past Reports and Briefs http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/research/group_projects.asp Brief Template and Example http://www.services/students/index.html 2nd year Presentations Wed April 11, 3pm Double Tree Resort Your 2nd year Peers Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

3. Administration Group Project Committee (06-07) • John Melack, Chair • Christina Tague • Tom Dunne • Roland Geyer • Dave Parker • Corlei Prieto • Staff Group Project Coordinator • Your first point of contact for all matters related to group projects Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

4. Registration Have you sure you have registered? Do this before end of week or you’ll need an approval code 401A (spr) = 3 units 401B (fall) = 4 units 401C (win) = 5 units Note: no longer a 401D Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

5. Meetings Meet at least once/week Students are responsible for scheduling meetings and securing meeting space (not advisors) NEW SYSTEM: Bonsai Room & Visitor Center are designated group project meeting spaces Visitor Center available during business hours Bonsai currently only available during business hours but will be available at all hours as soon as the electronic key pad is installed NEW SYSTEM: Students reserve rooms for group project meetings in these spaces using Corp Time Designate a CT scheduler for the group Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

6. Meetings (cont.) Be good peers… Check availability before scheduling Never schedule on top of an existing reservation Always remove reservations if you won’t be using the room and remove it as soon as you know Staff will not schedule group project meetings in other rooms unless it is a special stakeholder meeting (in this case send email to scheduling@bren) Please use scheduling@bren to reserve any media (i.e. video projectors, conference phone etc) and do so reasonably well in advance Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

7. Money Matters Each group gets $1,300 plus up to $200 for printing Includes all costs including poster and briefs Printing allocations made to individual group members Can “buy” more printing Appoint a financial manager (FM) by Tues 4/10 and inform Mike Best (mbest@bren) via email (group nickname & manager name and email) Mike will arrange meetings with each manager (perhaps groups of managers) and educate them about financial matters Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

8. $$$ FMs should study information about finances in handbook Get to know the Bren School’s Financial Staff Connie Fourqurean (connie) = purchasing Frank Soares (fsoares) = travel and payroll Mike (mbest) = extramural and gift funds, proposals, financial statements, questions, problems, training Each group gets a copy code and a phone authorization code Optional voice mail available for monthly fee Purchase orders must be used if they are acceptable by vendor Otherwise payment is made up front by group member and then original receipt submitted for reimbursement Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

9. External Funds While obtaining additional funding may be desirable, we generally don’t pick projects that can’t be done on the base budget provided by the School or funding promised by the client. At the beginning of the project get funding commitments of clients firmed up (working with advisor and appropriate Bren School staff) You are not encouraged to spend a lot of time trying to raise funds at the expense of doing the project! Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

10. Contracts/Grants Contract/grant = money give to University for a specific deliverable(s) Proposal to funding organization is written (with Mike Best’s coordination) Must be faculty principle investigator (PI); PI ultimately responsible Proposal must have budget, budget justification, clearly articulated deliverables, start and end date Must be approved by the Office of Research before submission (takes at least 1 week) ONLY the Office or Research can accept contract and grant money; you can’t do this on your own! OVERHEAD RATE = 47%!!!! i.e. $100 yields only $53 of real capital Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

11. Gifts are Best!!! Donor writes check to UC Regents stating that it is a gift Can be no deliverables; no signed paperwork; can be general stipulations… “to support research about alien life on Mars” All gifts coordinated by Jennifer Deacon (jennifer@bren) Most federal agencies and many other public agencies can not make gifts Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

12. The Golden Rule If you want the gold, you have to speak with Jennifer first Do not under any circumstances, even if faculty tell you to, talk to anyone about a giving a gift without first talking with Jennifer Deacon!!! Active fundraising by students without Jennifer’s guidance is not appropriate Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

13. Summer Internships If internships promised, identify one group member to be the summer internship coordinator (IC) Decide EARLY who is going to do the internships IC works with Dave Parker for help coordinating internships “Hiring” should be done through the external organization if at all possible If this is not possible, we need to try to get a gift from the organization and dispense to students as a fellowship Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

14. Nicknames • Toyota • Oyster • SantaBarb • SanJoaquin • MLPA2 • Oakwood • Modular • Tijuana Consumers MorrroBay Simple LABasin Wildlife SantaAnita DAP Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

15. Work Stations One computer for each group in Commons http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/services/student/documents/ComputerAssignmentMap.doc Exception: Tijuana and MLPA2 will be in BH 2027 until we create more stations in Commons Obtain keys from Frank Soares Move-in date = April 25 Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

16. Computer Resources Each group must appoint Web Manager (IM) Data Manager (DM) Inform compute team (request@bren) by Tues 4/10 Compute staff will hold a mandatory training meeting for DMs and IMs in the near future Much to learn about computing related to group projects Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

17. Website Each group must create (by end of spring quarter) and maintain a web site: At a minimum the following is required: Names and email of all group members Group email address Names and email of advisor(s) Final project proposal (completed at the end of spring) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

18. Grading Grades IP (In Progress) grade at end of S, F Letter grade at end of project (W 2008) Letter grade replaces previous IP grades B or better required Separate grades often the whole group gets the same grade but this is not required Written Evaluation(s) Advisor is supposed to provide these at the end of the first spring and fall Demand this! Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

19. Evaluation Criteria Understanding of relevant published literature Critical perspective on quality and shortcomings of prior work Understanding of both social and natural science dimensions of the issues Originality of analysis, problem formulation and scope of work Relationships with outside advisors and stakeholders Resourcefulness Punctuality Communication skills Participation Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

20. Final Approval Approval Signature Advisor must approve final report with signature or you can’t be recommended for a MESM degree Signature and grade may be withheld until report is acceptable Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

21. Evaluations Peer Evaluations Evaluations of group members submitted to advisor at the end of S (06), F, W quarters If you don’t identify probs., they can’t be solved Advisor may take these into account in assigning grades Advisor Evaluations End of Project Extremely important that every group member participates and provides thorough and informative feedback Communicate serious mid-project advisor issues to Corlei, anonymously if need be Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

22. Faculty Advisors Monitor progress, provide technical assistance/expertise, and evaluate project and assign grades Project leadership and mgmt and the quality of the final products is YOUR responsibility NOT project managers, more like a consultant Attend a regular meeting Provide advice but generally reactive No two advisors alike Expect variability in engagement, expectations, responsiveness, and feedback May be quite hands off All expect you to take charge Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

23. Faculty Advisors Use them.. but you need to ask…don’t wait for them to come to you Turn around time needs vary but you should NEVER expect under 1 week Schedule initial meeting with advisor NOW and explore how they will interact with you Think about putting it in writing Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

24. External Advisors Groups are expected to obtain the counsel of outside advisors who may have interest in the projects, data, or deliverables You are responsible for identifying them, developing professional relationships with them and maintaining professional contact Interact with them with absolutely the highest standards of professionalism Don’t have a meeting without an agenda Prepare minutes Send thank you notes Meet deadlines and keep promises Never share negativity ACKNOWEDLEGE them frequently, privately and publicly (if they welcome this) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

25. Structure of the Group Democracy vs. efficient organization This is a situation where democracy is overrated Someone needs to be in charge or chaos will rule My advice: designate a project manager!!! Give manager authority to be the ultimate decision-maker (not tyrant) Rotate role? Must designate a financial manager, data manager, and web manager May want to create other roles as well (get advise from 2nd years) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

26. Problems Primary responsibility for problem solving lies with students Avoid complaining; propose solutions It’s possible you’ll have slackers or pseudo-slackers Involve advisor after thorough efforts by the group to solve problems If serious unresolvable problems (this is rare), go to Corlei and/or John; they will involved group project committee if appropriate Written documentation essential if administrative solution ultimately required PS There is an campus ombuds office: http://www.ombuds.ucsb.edu/index.html Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

27. Use of Human Subjects MUST follow very strict procedures and may need to obtain approval from the human subjects committee if human subjects will be used in research This even applies to CONDUCTING SURVEYS!!! Please review the Office of Research site about this: http://www.research.ucsb.edu/compliance/index.sht Process can take a bit of time so don't wait till the last minute to tackl It's potentially a very big deal not to be in compliance Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

28. Deliverables See Group Project Guidelines for Specific Deadlines and Timeline Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

29. Spring 2007 Draft Project Proposal no later than 5/16 but earlier if requested by advisor Final Project Proposal before proposal review meeting (distribute in advance) Must include a thorough literature review ideally a draft of the background section of final report Proposal Review Meeting before the end of the quarter Peer Evaluations Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

30. Proposal Review Purpose: to gain critical feedback and use this to finalize proposal Groups are responsible for scheduling, organizing, conducting, and documenting Meeting must include: All group members Faculty advisor At least one other Bren faculty member (two is even better) At least two external (i.e. non-Bren) advisors from on or off campus Schedule well in advance Provide proposal at least one week in advance Run as a formal meeting Recommendation: summary memo Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

31. Fall 2007 Progress review meeting (mid-quarter) Report on e group’s progress to your advisors, stakeholders, etc. Purpose is to obtain feedback intended to strengthen their research agenda. Presentation should cover the following • Clearly stated project objectives • Importance of research • Plan for executing research • Expected results • Progress so far Written Progress Report (by end of quarter) NOT a revised version of the spring proposal! Focus on progress and changes since spring and a plan for finalization Peer Evaluations (end of quarter) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

32. Winter 2008 Winter Quarter 2008 (con’t.) Project Defense Middle of quarter Research should be completed and preliminary recommendations and conclusions formulated Scheduled by GPC; everyone invited to come Two independent reviewers arranged to attend 20-25 minute presentation; 15-20 minutes questions Critical evaluation of work must like a thesis defense. Expect probing questions and criticism which will likely result in some revisions to draft report Presentation should not be a glossy overview; it should focus on content, substance and methodology Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

33. Winter 2008 (cont) Final report High quality draft due mid-quarter; expect multiple iterations Due at end of quarter; deadline is FIRM Electronic & hard copy with original signature page to GPC Formatting requirements detailed in guidelines Abstract and acknowledgements for presentation program Brief 4 page summary of highlights with graphics Template on web Electronic copy to GPC & several (50-100) hard copies for distribution Poster (4x3 – 4x6); lamination not required Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

34. Public Presentation Date TBA; Group projects officially end winter quarter so it could be as early as the end of finals week; likely the first week of spring quarter Not the same as defense talk because different audience Don’t “dumb down” but tailor it to a diverse audience more interested in substance and findings and less in details of methods Opportunity to videotaped practice session in advance One presenter (recommended); no more than two All members seated up front as part of panel for questions Everyone wears formal business dress Hint: This does not = flip flops; Dr Suess ties, etc. Approximately 25 minutes including 7 minutes for questions Poster session & reception follows Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

35. What you need to start doing IMMEDIATELY READ the guidelines Develop your group; define group form and function and outline in “management plan” section of proposal Educate yourself about your project Get clients funding commitments firmed up (working with advisor and appropriate Bren staff) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

36. What you need to start doing IMMEDIATELY Educate yourself about your project Collect papers and reports and read about your project You can’t get started and you can’t do a good job if you don’t know the current state of knowledge Don’t have good literature search skills? Review Kendall document http://www2.bren.ucsb.edu/%7Ekendall/finding_articles.htm Contact our librarian, Janet Martorana (martoran@library) She holds office hours every week here at Bren She is REALLY good and helpful Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

37. What’s to be avoided? Vague objectives Scope too broad… or too narrow More often than not this thing gets too big Procrastination and/or uneven work distribution Expect at least 12 hours/week of work Don’t waste spring quarter; BIG MISTAKE No one in charge Poor understanding of “state of knowledge” Unfocused or biased recommendations Poor/unprofessional interactions Not using the Writing Center for tutoring Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

38. Cautions The work belongs to ALL group members Everyone must be listed as authors in all presentations and publications even if you’ve adapted it Make sure references to others work/data/models are thoroughly referenced There may be problems sharing datasets or products with outside clients because of licensing agreements; explore this well in advance with Jason Sometimes the client does not like the results because it is not the answer they wanted Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB