research proposals repository

What is a research repository, and why do you need one?

Last updated

31 January 2024

Reviewed by

Miroslav Damyanov

Without one organized source of truth, research can be left in silos, making it incomplete, redundant, and useless when it comes to gaining actionable insights.

A research repository can act as one cohesive place where teams can collate research in meaningful ways. This helps streamline the research process and ensures the insights gathered make a real difference.

What is a research repository?

A research repository acts as a centralized database where information is gathered, stored, analyzed, and archived in one organized space.

In this single source of truth, raw data, documents, reports, observations, and insights can be viewed, managed, and analyzed. This allows teams to organize raw data into themes, gather actionable insights , and share those insights with key stakeholders.

Ultimately, the research repository can make the research you gain much more valuable to the wider organization.

Why do you need a research repository?

Information gathered through the research process can be disparate, challenging to organize, and difficult to obtain actionable insights from.

Some of the most common challenges researchers face include the following:

Information being collected in silos

No single source of truth

Research being conducted multiple times unnecessarily

No seamless way to share research with the wider team

Reports get lost and go unread

Without a way to store information effectively, it can become disparate and inconclusive, lacking utility. This can lead to research being completed by different teams without new insights being gathered.

A research repository can streamline the information gathered to address those key issues, improve processes, and boost efficiency. Among other things, an effective research repository can:

Optimize processes: it can ensure the process of storing, searching, and sharing information is streamlined and optimized across teams.

Minimize redundant research: when all information is stored in one accessible place for all relevant team members, the chances of research being repeated are significantly reduced.

Boost insights: having one source of truth boosts the chances of being able to properly analyze all the research that has been conducted and draw actionable insights from it.

Provide comprehensive data: there’s less risk of gaps in the data when it can be easily viewed and understood. The overall research is also likely to be more comprehensive.

Increase collaboration: given that information can be more easily shared and understood, there’s a higher likelihood of better collaboration and positive actions across the business.

What to include in a research repository

Including the right things in your research repository from the start can help ensure that it provides maximum benefit for your team.

Here are some of the things that should be included in a research repository:

An overall structure

There are many ways to organize the data you collect. To organize it in a way that’s valuable for your organization, you’ll need an overall structure that aligns with your goals.

You might wish to organize projects by research type, project, department, or when the research was completed. This will help you better understand the research you’re looking at and find it quickly.

Including information about the research—such as authors, titles, keywords, a description, and dates—can make searching through raw data much faster and make the organization process more efficient.

All key data and information

It’s essential to include all of the key data you’ve gathered in the repository, including supplementary materials. This prevents information gaps, and stakeholders can easily stay informed. You’ll need to include the following information, if relevant:

Research and journey maps

Tools and templates (such as discussion guides, email invitations, consent forms, and participant tracking)

Raw data and artifacts (such as videos, CSV files, and transcripts)

Research findings and insights in various formats (including reports, desks, maps, images, and tables)

Version control

It’s important to use a system that has version control. This ensures the changes (including updates and edits) made by various team members can be viewed and reversed if needed.

What makes a good research repository?

The following key elements make up a good research repository that’s useful for your team:

Access: all key stakeholders should be able to access the repository to ensure there’s an effective flow of information.

Actionable insights: a well-organized research repository should help you get from raw data to actionable insights faster.

Effective searchability : searching through large amounts of research can be very time-consuming. To save time, maximize search and discoverability by clearly labeling and indexing information.

Accuracy: the research in the repository must be accurately completed and organized so that it can be acted on with confidence.

Security: when dealing with data, it’s also important to consider security regulations. For example, any personally identifiable information (PII) must be protected. Depending on the information you gather, you may need password protection, encryption, and access control so that only those who need to read the information can access it.

How to create a research repository

Getting started with a research repository doesn’t have to be convoluted or complicated. Taking time at the beginning to set up the repository in an organized way can help keep processes simple further down the line.

The following six steps should simplify the process:

1. Define your goals

Before diving in, consider your organization’s goals. All research should align with these business goals, and they can help inform the repository.

As an example, your goal may be to deeply understand your customers and provide a better customer experience . Setting out this goal will help you decide what information should be collated into your research repository and how it should be organized for maximum benefit.

2. Choose a platform

When choosing a platform, consider the following:

Will it offer a single source of truth?

Is it simple to use

Is it relevant to your project?

Does it align with your business’s goals?

3. Choose an organizational method

To ensure you’ll be able to easily search for the documents, studies, and data you need, choose an organizational method that will speed up this process.

Choosing whether to organize your data by project, date, research type, or customer segment will make a big difference later on.

4. Upload all materials

Once you have chosen the platform and organization method, it’s time to upload all the research materials you have gathered. This also means including supplementary materials and any other information that will provide a clear picture of your customers.

Keep in mind that the repository is a single source of truth. All materials that relate to the project at hand should be included.

5. Tag or label materials

Adding metadata to your materials will help ensure you can easily search for the information you need. While this process can take time (and can be tempting to skip), it will pay off in the long run.

The right labeling will help all team members access the materials they need. It will also prevent redundant research, which wastes valuable time and money.

6. Share insights

For research to be impactful, you’ll need to gather actionable insights. It’s simpler to spot trends, see themes, and recognize patterns when using a repository. These insights can be shared with key stakeholders for data-driven decision-making and positive action within the organization.

Different types of research repositories

There are many different types of research repositories used across organizations. Here are some of them:

Data repositories: these are used to store large datasets to help organizations deeply understand their customers and other information.

Project repositories: data and information related to a specific project may be stored in a project-specific repository. This can help users understand what is and isn’t related to a project.

Government repositories: research funded by governments or public resources may be stored in government repositories. This data is often publicly available to promote transparent information sharing.

Thesis repositories: academic repositories can store information relevant to theses. This allows the information to be made available to the general public.

Institutional repositories: some organizations and institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and other companies, have repositories to store all relevant information related to the organization.

Build your research repository in Dovetail

With Dovetail, building an insights hub is simple. It functions as a single source of truth where research can be gathered, stored, and analyzed in a streamlined way.

1. Get started with Dovetail

Dovetail is a scalable platform that helps your team easily share the insights you gather for positive actions across the business.

2. Assign a project lead

It’s helpful to have a clear project lead to create the repository. This makes it clear who is responsible and avoids duplication.

3. Create a project

To keep track of data, simply create a project. This is where you’ll upload all the necessary information.

You can create projects based on customer segments, specific products, research methods , or when the research was conducted. The project breakdown will relate back to your overall goals and mission.

4. Upload data and information

Now, you’ll need to upload all of the necessary materials. These might include data from customer interviews , sales calls, product feedback , usability testing , and more. You can also upload supplementary information.

5. Create a taxonomy

Create a taxonomy to organize the data effectively by ensuring that each piece of information will be tagged and organized.

When creating a taxonomy, consider your goals and how they relate to your customers. Ensure those tags are relevant and helpful.

6. Tag key themes

Once the taxonomy is created, tag each piece of information to ensure you can easily filter data, group themes, and spot trends and patterns.

With Dovetail, automatic clustering helps quickly sort through large amounts of information to uncover themes and highlight patterns. Sentiment analysis can also help you track positive and negative themes over time.

7. Share insights

With Dovetail, it’s simple to organize data by themes to uncover patterns and share impactful insights. You can share these insights with the wider team and key stakeholders, who can use them to make customer-informed decisions across the organization.

8. Use Dovetail as a source of truth

Use your Dovetail repository as a source of truth for new and historic data to keep data and information in one streamlined and efficient place. This will help you better understand your customers and, ultimately, deliver a better experience for them.

Should you be using a customer insights hub?

Do you want to discover previous research faster?

Do you share your research findings with others?

Do you analyze research data?

Start for free today, add your research, and get to key insights faster

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Open Grants

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Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Moore Foundation

Planning for Open Grants

Each year, researchers and practitioners across disciplines submit thousands of proposals for grants and fellowships. Each proposal represents hours of labor and contains details about research plans, collaborators, biblographies, and past work. To make the funding process more transparent and to share the valuable contents of these proposals, an increasing number of researchers are sharing their grant proposals openly. An open repository of funding proposals will elevate their recognition as scholarly products, improve access for the public and other grant seekers, and bring transparency to this facet of the research process. This site documents efforts toward this goal, including documentation of current planning activities and a prototype database.

News and Updates

2023-07-12 — call for grant proposals written in english and/or portuguese.

see details

2023-04-06 — Call for Community Feedback Experts

2022-09-21 — call for interviewees, 2022-09-14 — report on the advisory group meeting, 2022-01-24 — seeking advisory committee members [application period closed].

With generous funding from IMLS, over the next 18 months we will be undertaking a series of planning activities to explore requirements and feasibility of an open grants repository. Advisors will receive a stipend and will commit to attend one in-person meeting and several virtual meetings through the planning phase.

How to build a research repository: a step-by-step guide to getting started

Research repositories have the potential to be incredibly powerful assets for any research-driven organisation. But when it comes to building one, it can be difficult to know where to start. In this post, we provide some practical tips to define a clear vision and strategy for your repository.

Done right, research repositories have the potential to be incredibly powerful assets for any research-driven organisation. But when it comes to building one, it can be difficult to know where to start.

As a result, we see tons of teams jumping in without clearly defining upfront what they actually hope to achieve with the repository, and ending up disappointed when it doesn't deliver the results.

Aside from being frustrating and demoralising for everyone involved, building an unused repository is a waste of money, time, and opportunity.

So how can you avoid this?

In this post, we provide some practical tips to define a clear vision and strategy for your repository in order to help you maximise your chances of success.

🚀 This post is also available as a free, interactive Miro template that you can use to work through each exercise outlined below - available for download here .

Defining the end goal for your repository

To start, you need to define your vision.

Only by setting a clear vision, can you start to map out the road towards realising it.

Your vision provides something you can hold yourself accountable to - acting as a north star. As you move forward with the development and roll out of your repository, this will help guide you through important decisions like what tool to use, and who to engage with along the way.

The reality is that building a research repository should be approached like any other product - aiming for progress, over perfection with each iteration of the solution.

Starting with a very simple question like "what do we hope to accomplish with our research repository within the first 12 months?" is a great starting point.

You need to be clear on the problems that you’re looking to solve - and the desired outcomes from building your repository - before deciding on the best approach.

Building a repository is an investment, so it’s important to consider not just what you want to achieve in the next few weeks or months, but also in the longer term to ensure your repository is scalable.

Whatever the ultimate goal (or goals), capturing the answer to this question will help you to focus on outcomes over output .

🔎 How to do this in practice…

1. complete some upfront discovery.

In a previous post we discussed how to conduct some upfront discovery to help with understanding today’s biggest challenges when it comes to accessing and leveraging research insights.

⏰ You should aim to complete your upfront discovery within a couple of hours, spending 20-30 mins interviewing each stakeholder (we recommend talking with at least 5 people, both researchers and non-researchers).

2. Prioritise the problems you want to solve

Start by spending some time reviewing the current challenges your team and organisation are facing when it comes to leveraging research and insights.

You can run a simple affinity mapping exercise to highlight the common themes from your discovery and prioritise the top 1-3 problems that you’d like to solve using your repository.

💡 Example challenges might include:

Struggling to understand what research has already been conducted to-date, leading to teams repeating previous research

Looking for better ways to capture and analyse raw data e.g. user interviews

Spending lots of time packaging up research findings for wider stakeholders

Drowning in research reports and artefacts, and in need of a better way to access and leverage existing insights

Lacking engagement in research from key decision makers across the organisation

⏰ You should aim to confirm what you want to focus on solving with your repository within 45-60 mins (based on a group of up to 6 people).

3. Consider what future success looks like

Next you want to take some time to think about what success looks like one year from now, casting your mind to the future and capturing what you’d like to achieve with your repository in this time.

A helpful exercise is to imagine the headline quotes for an internal company-wide newsletter talking about the impact that your new research repository has had across the business.

The ‘ Jobs to be done ’ framework provides a helpful way to format the outputs for this activity, helping you to empathise with what the end users of your repository might expect to experience by way of outcomes.

💡 Example headlines might include:

“When starting a new research project, people are clear on the research that’s already been conducted, so that we’re not repeating previous research” Research Manager

“During a study, we’re able to quickly identify and share the key insights from our user interviews to help increase confidence around what our customers are currently struggling with” Researcher

“Our designers are able to leverage key insights when designing the solution for a new user journey or product feature, helping us to derisk our most critical design decisions” Product Design Director

“Our product roadmap is driven by customer insights, and building new features based on opinion is now a thing of the past” Head of Product

“We’ve been able to use the key research findings from our research team to help us better articulate the benefits of our product and increase the number of new deals” Sales Lead

“Our research is being referenced regularly by C-level leadership at our quarterly townhall meetings, which has helped to raise the profile of our team and the research we’re conducting” Head of Research

Ask yourself what these headlines might read and add these to the front page of a newspaper image.

You then want to discuss each of these headlines across the group and fold these into a concise vision statement for your research repository - something memorable and inspirational that you can work towards achieving.

💡Example vision statements:

‘Our research repository makes it easy for anyone at our company to access the key learnings from our research, so that key decisions across the organisation are driven by insight’

‘Our research repository acts as a single source of truth for all of our research findings, so that we’re able to query all of our existing insights from one central place’

‘Our research repository helps researchers to analyse and synthesise the data captured from user interviews, so that we’re able to accelerate the discovery of actionable insights’

‘Our research repository is used to drive collaborative research across researchers and teams, helping to eliminate data silos, foster innovation and advance knowledge across disciplines’

‘Our research repository empowers people to make a meaningful impact with their research by providing a platform that enables the translation of research findings into remarkable products for our customers’

⏰ You should aim to agree the vision for your repository within 45-60 mins (based on a group of up to 6 people).

Creating a plan to realise your vision

Having a vision alone isn't going to make your repository a success. You also need to establish a set of short-term objectives, which you can use to plan a series of activities to help you make progress towards this.

Focus your thinking around the more immediate future, and what you want to achieve within the first 3 months of building your repository.

Alongside the short-term objectives you’re going to work towards, it’s also important to consider how you’ll measure your progress, so that you can understand what’s working well, and what might require further attention.

Agreeing a set of success metrics is key to holding yourself accountable to making a positive impact with each new iteration. This also helps you to demonstrate progress to others from as early on in the process as possible.

1. Establish 1-3 short term objectives

Take your vision statement and consider the first 1-3 results that you want to achieve within the first 3 months of working towards this.

These objectives need to be realistic and achievable given the 3 month timeframe, so that you’re able to build some momentum and set yourself up for success from the very start of the process.

💡Example objectives:

Improve how insights are defined and captured by the research team

Revisit our existing research to identify what data we want to add to our new research repository

Improve how our research findings are organised, considering how our repository might be utilised by researchers and wider teams

Initial group of champions bought-in and actively using our research repository

Improve the level of engagement with our research from wider teams and stakeholders

Capture your 3 month objectives underneath your vision, leaving space to consider the activities that you need to complete in order to realise each of these.

2. Identify how to achieve each objective

Each activity that you commit to should be something that an individual or small group of people can comfortably achieve within the first 3 months of building your repository.

Come up with some ideas for each objective and then prioritise completing the activities that will result in the biggest impact, with the least effort first.

💡Example activities:

Agree a definition for strategic and tactical insights to help with identifying the previous data that we want to add to our new research repository

Revisit the past 6 months of research and capture the data we want to add to our repository as an initial body of knowledge

Create the first draft taxonomy for our research repository, testing this with a small group of wider stakeholders

Launch the repository with an initial body of knowledge to a group of wider repository champions

Start distributing a regular round up of key insights stored in the repository

You can add your activities to a simple kanban board , ordering your ‘To do’ column with the most impactful tasks up top, and using this to track your progress and make visible who’s working on which tasks throughout the initial build of your repository.

This is something you can come back to a revisit as you move throughout the wider roll out of your repository - adding any new activities into the board and moving these through to ‘Done’ as they’re completed.

⚠️ At this stage it’s also important to call out any risks or dependencies that could derail your progress towards completing each activity, such as capacity, or requiring support from other individuals or teams.

3. Agree how you’ll measure success

Lastly, you’ll need a way to measure success as you work on the activities you’ve associated with each of your short term objectives.

We recommend choosing 1-3 metrics that you can measure and track as you move forward with everything, considering ways to capture and review the data for each of these.

⚠️ Instead of thinking of these metrics as targets, we recommend using them to measure your progress - helping you to identify any activities that aren’t going so well and might require further attention.

💡Example success metrics:

Usage metrics - Number of insights captured, Active users of the repository, Number of searches performed, Number of insights viewed and shared

User feedback - Usability feedback for your repository, User satisfaction ( CSAT ), NPS aka how likely someone is to recommend using your repository

Research impact - Number of stakeholder requests for research, Time spent responding to requests, Level of confidence, Repeatable value of research, Amount of duplicated research, Time spent onboarding new joiners

Wider impact - Mentions of your research (and repository) internally, Links to your research findings from other initiatives e.g. discovery projects, product roadmaps, Customers praising solutions that were fuelled by your research

Think about how often you want to capture and communicate this information to the rest of the team, to help motivate everyone to keep making progress.

By establishing key metrics, you can track your progress and determine whether your repository is achieving its intended goals.

⏰ You should aim to create a measurable action plan for your repository within 60-90 mins (based on a group of up to 6 people). ‍ ‍

🚀 Why not use our free, downloadable Miro template to start putting all of this into action today - available for download here .

To summarise

As with the development of any product, the cost of investing time upfront to ensure you’re building the right thing for your end users, is far lower than the cost of building the wrong thing - repositories are no different!

A well-executed research repository can be an extremely valuable asset for your organisation, but building one requires consideration and planning - and defining a clear vision and strategy upfront will help to maximise your chances of success.

It’s important to not feel pressured to nail every objective that you set in the first few weeks or months. Like any product, the further you progress, the more your strategy will evolve and shift. The most important thing is getting started with the right foundations in place, and starting to drive some real impact.

We hope this practical guide will help you to get started on building an effective research repository for your organisation. Thanks and happy researching!

‍ Work with our team of experts

At Dualo we help teams to define a clear vision and strategy for their research repository as part of the ‘Discover, plan and set goals’ module facilitated by our Dualo Academy team. If you’re interested in learning more about how we work with teams, book a short call with us to discuss how we can support you with the development of your research repository and knowledge management process.

Nick Russell

I'm one of the Co-Founders of Dualo, passionate about research, design, product, and AI. Always open to chatting with others about these topics.

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The content repository: an essential tool to develop winning proposals.

Jun 3, 2021

The Proposal Content Repository_An Essential Tool_1206x627 px

Creating and maintaining a content repository or library of reuse material is a proposal industry best practice, but why is it important? Why should your company or team invest in the development and maintenance of a content repository?

Developing a proposal response is a difficult and often stressful process, especially given the amount of work required within the allotted timeline. Even from an incumbent standpoint, there is barely enough time to respond to a solicitation at the quality level you want.

When developed, organized, and maintained correctly, a repository can save you valuable time within your proposal schedule, reducing the hours spent developing content from scratch or even gleaning content from a previous bid to meet the needs of your current proposal.

A content repository that is up-to-date, easy to use, and easy to navigate is a tremendous help to your proposal development team because they are starting from approved language, information, and data. It ensures the greatest chance of success.

When created and maintained properly, a content repository serves as a vital resource of a competitive, approved response narrative that enables you to develop winning proposals.

In this article, we cover how to create, organize and maintain an effective proposal content library in the following sections:

Centralized Content Repository

Repository organization, content library types, developing repository content, repository maintenance.

A centralized content repository is key to ensuring easy access to content and materials for all appropriate individuals involved. The virtual management platform you decide to use is up to you. Be sure to research the various options—SharePoint, Privia, Box, Dropbox, Google Docs, etc.—to ensure the right fit for your company. Also, take into consideration platforms that potentially integrate with your company systems for additional efficiencies.

Familiarity with the submitted proposal content is certainly helpful when tracking down language for an active bid; however, it can be difficult to remember where you wrote to what months after the deadline. It can be even harder to remember when you supported multiple proposals for months on end. And what happens if you add a new member to your team? These all too common circumstances are where the organization and functionality of your repository come into play.

When organizing your repository, keep in mind the following principles or guidelines:

Folder Structure: Maintain a consistent folder structure and file labeling or classification for intuitive navigation. Avoid “folder inception”—folders within folders within folders. Too many layers of folders can make it difficult to find the information you are looking for.
Summaries and Keyword Lists: Consider adding document summaries and keyword lists within the file descriptions or properties. These additional fields create another level of helpfulness when searching your repository for relevant information. These details can help your team surmise the contents of a document without opening individual files.
Search Feature: It is also important to enable or configure the search feature within the repository to help you or your team easily locate relevant content or information, again without needing to open and read each document.
Separation of Content in Libraries (Boilerplate vs. Past Proposal Submissions): When organizing your repository, also be sure to separate your boilerplate content library from the past proposal submissions library. The separation of these two types of content helps you and your team maintain clean boilerplate content.

These configurations are time-savers that can feel like a lifesaver when working against tight deadlines.

It is a best practice to maintain a list of boilerplate content used on various proposals. This list not only enables you to track the most successful and competitive content based on awards, but it also helps you locate information that has been tailored for a particular type of contract or a specific proposal (e.g., that focused on training aspects vs. traditional IT services). The list is updated after each submission as part of the “close out” process of a proposal.

Repository content is broken into two types of libraries: boilerplate and past proposal submissions.

1. Boilerplate is clean, up-to-date, and factually accurate content. This content does not include any customer specifics, such as names, customer entities, or agencies. Boilerplate content covers sections, processes, and approaches that are considered company standard and are applicable or remain the same no matter the proposal effort.

Clean boilerplate documents can also include placeholders, such as [CUSTOMER NAME] or [AGENCY] or [SUBCONTRACTOR]. BY simply executing a “replace all” for each placeholder, boilerplate content is quickly tailored for an active proposal.

For a boilerplate library, consider separating content into the following categories (as seen in the above graphic):

Certifications and accreditations: both company and key personnel certifications and accreditations, which can serve as features in a proposal
Documented kudos: testimonials or written appreciation from customers demonstrating your company’s or project personnel’s work on a contract
Graphics library: process workflows, introduction/overview graphics, and management processes graphics
Industry-specific forms: pre-populated versions
Management: standard processes and tools
Past Performance: write-ups, descriptions, or references of active or recent projects (include pertinent metrics)
Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) and Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs)
Resumes: separated into leadership (focused on performance for a company) and technical (focused on performance in a role and on a project) categories
Technical: standard processes, systems/solution aspects, and tools
Templates: Resume and Past Performance templates
Transition: standard transition/implementation language
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): standard organization of the team’s work into manageable sections

2. Past proposal submissions are previous proposals your team or company developed and submitted, which are used as additional forms of reference for writers and/or team members developing content for active bids.

Past proposal submissions require more review, tailoring, and editing when repurposing content, which is a time-consuming exercise depending on how relevant the material is to an active proposal. A writer’s familiarity with the material and customer are factors that also help mitigate the time-consuming reuse and tailoring steps. If you are repurposing the content for the same or similar customer, or the writer worked on the previous submission, the ability to reuse the content is easier because the writer will have familiarity with and understanding of the sections. For a past proposal submissions library, considering organizing bids by the following information:

Submission year
Customer/agency
Project/contract name
Bidding entity (depending on the size of your organization)
Win or Loss, as applicable

Within each past proposal submission in your content repository, include the following information:

Final submission documents, including all attachments or supplemental information
Request for Proposal (RFP)/solicitation documents, which help evaluate the relevance of the previous proposal to what you are currently working on without what was being responded to
Feedback from evaluation boards, which help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of the content

Keeping your boilerplate and past proposal submissions libraries separate from one another helps keep content clean and organized. As demonstrated in the example graphic above, the different libraries are categorized and organized based on their content—boilerplate is organized by section or topic, while past proposal submissions are categorized by opportunity information and recency.

The initial content development phase takes a team of individuals and writers to consolidate, sanitize, and distribute content for review and updates.

Depending on the amount of content or backlog, this team can consist of a minimum of two to five individuals. Your team can write, edit, update, and clean boilerplate content between opportunities. If you do not have internal resources to support the development of a content repository or you are working toward an accelerated timeline, consider engaging outside resources or consultants to provide the same support.

Outside resources can focus on the content initiative full time, enabling your team to concentrate on their daily responsibilities. Once the initial content development phase is complete, designate individuals from your internal team to maintain the repository content moving forward.

Boilerplate Content Development

Organization and coordination are vital during boilerplate development. It is important to maintain a content tracking sheet, which lists the content being developed, the team member responsible for the content, the assigned subject matter expert (SME) (if applicable), the estimated return date, as well as content status (e.g., Under Development, Sent to SME, Reviewed, Updated).

Writers or appropriate team members send data calls to the SMEs or operations team for technical input and project-specific details, as well as current data points. Depending on the availability of the SMEs and operations team members, writers may receive better responses and support through meetings or interviews with the SMEs. Once the input from the SMEs has been incorporated, the updated boilerplate content is sent to the appropriate individuals for review. Writers recover the boilerplate review comments and upload the updated version to the appropriate library and folder in the content repository.

Proposal Content Development

The development of content for the past proposal submissions library follows the standard proposal development process. Once a proposal is complete and submitted, the final submission version can be uploaded to the past proposal submissions library and categorized appropriately. As detailed above, be sure to include all solicitation documents associated with the bid. Once released, upload the evaluation board feedback to the associated opportunity folder to help track the performance of your content.

For more information regarding a standard proposal development process, check out this article .

According to Gordan Moore’s law, which is an observation and projection of a historical trend, if you’re not updating your data and competitive intelligence every 18 months, you’re falling behind. His law is used to guide long-term planning and set targets for research and development. Content repository maintenance is a prime example of Moore’s law.

The content in your repository must be properly maintained and regularly updated to remain relevant and enable you to submit competitive proposals.

Based on your chosen repository platform, the available system integrations can support additional efficiencies, including those related to content maintenance. For instance, virtual management sites like SharePoint allow Contract Management Systems to feed tables within the site with the latest high-level project information, such as Points of Contact (POCs), Period of Performance (POP) dates, and current data points. These types of integrations help you keep high-level project information up to date without having to revise it manually in multiple locations or systems.

The integration is also helpful for creating monthly contract reports from a Contract Management System for all the contracts within a set amount of time (e.g., 10 years). This feature allows users to sort the data by customer and contract type to come up with metrics to use in past performance introductions (e.g., Over the last 10 years, we’ve supported [CUSTOMER] on 50+ IT support contracts of similar size, scope, and complexity to [PROJECT NAME] contract).

Repository maintenance is best when performed by a dedicated team, typically proposal team members and/or writers. The maintenance team is comprised of two individuals or more, depending on the size of your organization. The maintenance team members track the information that has been or needs to be updated in the content repository and reach out to the appropriate SMEs or operations team members for assistance updating content.

Boilerplate Maintenance

Repository maintenance is constant. The following content maintenance methods help your team sustain an up-to-date boilerplate library:

Boilerplate Tracking List: As mentioned above, the boilerplate tracking list is a best practice tool that will help you maintain your boilerplate content. By tracking the exact boilerplate used in each proposal, you will be able to identify correlations between certain content and winning proposals. The tracking list will also help you find less successful boilerplate based on the losses and evaluation feedback or debrief from the customer. The feedback received enables your team to update content accordingly for upcoming proposals.
Active Proposal Updates: Updates to company standard language or information may be completed throughout the year, which includes changes to boilerplate content during active proposals. It is important to record and track the boilerplate content changed during a proposal so it can be updated in the boilerplate library.
Annual Review Cycle: Annual reviews of your boilerplate ensure the content aligns with any updates or changes to your company’s standard processes and approaches.
Lessons Learned: Conducting lessons learned helps introduce updates and identifies the language in need of maintenance to sustain accurate and competitive boilerplate content. Lessons learned occur in two places of the opportunity lifecycle:
After Proposal Submission (Internal Lessons Learned): An internal lesson learned session is a small picture/concentrated viewpoint of the content.
Post-Award, Post-Debrief (External Lessons Learned): An external customer-led lessons learned is a big picture view of the proposal and content.

Be sure to build questions into the lessons learned to ensure the quality of content using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The KPIs are gathered from feedback on Color Team Reviews . If there is an issue with a section, you must determine if the boilerplate content or the customized content is the root of the problem.

Being able to determine the initial point of cause enables you to address potential issues in boilerplate content.

Past Proposal Submissions Maintenance

As your library of past proposal submissions grows, the maintenance team will update the content to reflect the most recent proposals, clearly emphasizing the submissions resulting in contract awards. Older submissions will be archived to help highlight the latest content, giving your team the best competitive advantage.

Depending on the size of your organization and the number of proposals your company submits in a year, your team may decide to archive proposals submitted 5 to 10 years prior. Whatever the cutoff, the designated content repository team members will be responsible for archiving older proposals.

Your content repository is only as strong as the information and effort put into it. A repository is not a one-time exercise, but a living resource of competitive intelligence, content, and information. Assigning a team of select individuals to manage and regularly update the content repository will help ensure the success of the initiative and future proposal submissions.

Topics: Proposal Content Management Content Repository Proposal Content Library

Written by Emilie Waickwicz, CF APMP

Emilie Waickwicz is the Director of Professional Services at KSI. In this role, she ensures our services align consistently with the KSI Advantage best practices to meet the needs of our customers. Emilie has 12 years of experience developing proposals and strategic messaging.

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How To Write A Research Proposal

A Straightforward How-To Guide (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2019 (Updated April 2023)

Writing up a strong research proposal for a dissertation or thesis is much like a marriage proposal. It’s a task that calls on you to win somebody over and persuade them that what you’re planning is a great idea. An idea they’re happy to say ‘yes’ to. This means that your dissertation proposal needs to be persuasive , attractive and well-planned. In this post, I’ll show you how to write a winning dissertation proposal, from scratch.

Before you start:

– Understand exactly what a research proposal is – Ask yourself these 4 questions

The 5 essential ingredients:

The title/topic
The introduction chapter
The scope/delimitations
Preliminary literature review
Design/ methodology
Practical considerations and risks

What Is A Research Proposal?

The research proposal is literally that: a written document that communicates what you propose to research, in a concise format. It’s where you put all that stuff that’s spinning around in your head down on to paper, in a logical, convincing fashion.

Convincing is the keyword here, as your research proposal needs to convince the assessor that your research is clearly articulated (i.e., a clear research question) , worth doing (i.e., is unique and valuable enough to justify the effort), and doable within the restrictions you’ll face (time limits, budget, skill limits, etc.). If your proposal does not address these three criteria, your research won’t be approved, no matter how “exciting” the research idea might be.

PS – if you’re completely new to proposal writing, we’ve got a detailed walkthrough video covering two successful research proposals here .

Free Webinar: How To Write A Research Proposal

How do I know I’m ready?

Before starting the writing process, you need to ask yourself 4 important questions . If you can’t answer them succinctly and confidently, you’re not ready – you need to go back and think more deeply about your dissertation topic .

You should be able to answer the following 4 questions before starting your dissertation or thesis research proposal:

WHAT is my main research question? (the topic)
WHO cares and why is this important? (the justification)
WHAT data would I need to answer this question, and how will I analyse it? (the research design)
HOW will I manage the completion of this research, within the given timelines? (project and risk management)

If you can’t answer these questions clearly and concisely, you’re not yet ready to write your research proposal – revisit our post on choosing a topic .

If you can, that’s great – it’s time to start writing up your dissertation proposal. Next, I’ll discuss what needs to go into your research proposal, and how to structure it all into an intuitive, convincing document with a linear narrative.

The 5 Essential Ingredients

Research proposals can vary in style between institutions and disciplines, but here I’ll share with you a handy 5-section structure you can use. These 5 sections directly address the core questions we spoke about earlier, ensuring that you present a convincing proposal. If your institution already provides a proposal template, there will likely be substantial overlap with this, so you’ll still get value from reading on.

For each section discussed below, make sure you use headers and sub-headers (ideally, numbered headers) to help the reader navigate through your document, and to support them when they need to revisit a previous section. Don’t just present an endless wall of text, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph…

Top Tip: Use MS Word Styles to format headings. This will allow you to be clear about whether a sub-heading is level 2, 3, or 4. Additionally, you can view your document in ‘outline view’ which will show you only your headings. This makes it much easier to check your structure, shift things around and make decisions about where a section needs to sit. You can also generate a 100% accurate table of contents using Word’s automatic functionality.

Ingredient #1 – Topic/Title Header

Your research proposal’s title should be your main research question in its simplest form, possibly with a sub-heading providing basic details on the specifics of the study. For example:

“Compliance with equality legislation in the charity sector: a study of the ‘reasonable adjustments’ made in three London care homes”

As you can see, this title provides a clear indication of what the research is about, in broad terms. It paints a high-level picture for the first-time reader, which gives them a taste of what to expect. Always aim for a clear, concise title . Don’t feel the need to capture every detail of your research in your title – your proposal will fill in the gaps.

Need a helping hand?

Ingredient #2 – Introduction

In this section of your research proposal, you’ll expand on what you’ve communicated in the title, by providing a few paragraphs which offer more detail about your research topic. Importantly, the focus here is the topic – what will you research and why is that worth researching? This is not the place to discuss methodology, practicalities, etc. – you’ll do that later.

You should cover the following:

An overview of the broad area you’ll be researching – introduce the reader to key concepts and language
An explanation of the specific (narrower) area you’ll be focusing, and why you’ll be focusing there
Your research aims and objectives
Your research question (s) and sub-questions (if applicable)

Importantly, you should aim to use short sentences and plain language – don’t babble on with extensive jargon, acronyms and complex language. Assume that the reader is an intelligent layman – not a subject area specialist (even if they are). Remember that the best writing is writing that can be easily understood and digested. Keep it simple.

The introduction section serves to expand on the research topic – what will you study and why is that worth dedicating time and effort to?

Note that some universities may want some extra bits and pieces in your introduction section. For example, personal development objectives, a structural outline, etc. Check your brief to see if there are any other details they expect in your proposal, and make sure you find a place for these.

Ingredient #3 – Scope

Next, you’ll need to specify what the scope of your research will be – this is also known as the delimitations . In other words, you need to make it clear what you will be covering and, more importantly, what you won’t be covering in your research. Simply put, this is about ring fencing your research topic so that you have a laser-sharp focus.

All too often, students feel the need to go broad and try to address as many issues as possible, in the interest of producing comprehensive research. Whilst this is admirable, it’s a mistake. By tightly refining your scope, you’ll enable yourself to go deep with your research, which is what you need to earn good marks. If your scope is too broad, you’re likely going to land up with superficial research (which won’t earn marks), so don’t be afraid to narrow things down.

Ingredient #4 – Literature Review

In this section of your research proposal, you need to provide a (relatively) brief discussion of the existing literature. Naturally, this will not be as comprehensive as the literature review in your actual dissertation, but it will lay the foundation for that. In fact, if you put in the effort at this stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when it’s time to write your actual literature review chapter.

There are a few things you need to achieve in this section:

Demonstrate that you’ve done your reading and are familiar with the current state of the research in your topic area.
Show that there’s a clear gap for your specific research – i.e., show that your topic is sufficiently unique and will add value to the existing research.
Show how the existing research has shaped your thinking regarding research design . For example, you might use scales or questionnaires from previous studies.

When you write up your literature review, keep these three objectives front of mind, especially number two (revealing the gap in the literature), so that your literature review has a clear purpose and direction . Everything you write should be contributing towards one (or more) of these objectives in some way. If it doesn’t, you need to ask yourself whether it’s truly needed.

Top Tip: Don’t fall into the trap of just describing the main pieces of literature, for example, “A says this, B says that, C also says that…” and so on. Merely describing the literature provides no value. Instead, you need to synthesise it, and use it to address the three objectives above.

If you put in the effort at the proposal stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when its time to write your actual literature review chapter.

Ingredient #5 – Research Methodology

Now that you’ve clearly explained both your intended research topic (in the introduction) and the existing research it will draw on (in the literature review section), it’s time to get practical and explain exactly how you’ll be carrying out your own research. In other words, your research methodology.

In this section, you’ll need to answer two critical questions :

How will you design your research? I.e., what research methodology will you adopt, what will your sample be, how will you collect data, etc.
Why have you chosen this design? I.e., why does this approach suit your specific research aims, objectives and questions?

In other words, this is not just about explaining WHAT you’ll be doing, it’s also about explaining WHY. In fact, the justification is the most important part , because that justification is how you demonstrate a good understanding of research design (which is what assessors want to see).

Some essential design choices you need to cover in your research proposal include:

Your intended research philosophy (e.g., positivism, interpretivism or pragmatism )
What methodological approach you’ll be taking (e.g., qualitative , quantitative or mixed )
The details of your sample (e.g., sample size, who they are, who they represent, etc.)
What data you plan to collect (i.e. data about what, in what form?)
How you plan to collect it (e.g., surveys , interviews , focus groups, etc.)
How you plan to analyse it (e.g., regression analysis, thematic analysis , etc.)
Ethical adherence (i.e., does this research satisfy all ethical requirements of your institution, or does it need further approval?)

This list is not exhaustive – these are just some core attributes of research design. Check with your institution what level of detail they expect. The “ research onion ” by Saunders et al (2009) provides a good summary of the various design choices you ultimately need to make – you can read more about that here .

Don’t forget the practicalities…

In addition to the technical aspects, you will need to address the practical side of the project. In other words, you need to explain what resources you’ll need (e.g., time, money, access to equipment or software, etc.) and how you intend to secure these resources. You need to show that your project is feasible, so any “make or break” type resources need to already be secured. The success or failure of your project cannot depend on some resource which you’re not yet sure you have access to.

Another part of the practicalities discussion is project and risk management . In other words, you need to show that you have a clear project plan to tackle your research with. Some key questions to address:

What are the timelines for each phase of your project?
Are the time allocations reasonable?
What happens if something takes longer than anticipated (risk management)?
What happens if you don’t get the response rate you expect?

A good way to demonstrate that you’ve thought this through is to include a Gantt chart and a risk register (in the appendix if word count is a problem). With these two tools, you can show that you’ve got a clear, feasible plan, and you’ve thought about and accounted for the potential risks.

Tip – Be honest about the potential difficulties – but show that you are anticipating solutions and workarounds. This is much more impressive to an assessor than an unrealistically optimistic proposal which does not anticipate any challenges whatsoever.

Final Touches: Read And Simplify

The final step is to edit and proofread your proposal – very carefully. It sounds obvious, but all too often poor editing and proofreading ruin a good proposal. Nothing is more off-putting for an assessor than a poorly edited, typo-strewn document. It sends the message that you either do not pay attention to detail, or just don’t care. Neither of these are good messages. Put the effort into editing and proofreading your proposal (or pay someone to do it for you) – it will pay dividends.

When you’re editing, watch out for ‘academese’. Many students can speak simply, passionately and clearly about their dissertation topic – but become incomprehensible the moment they turn the laptop on. You are not required to write in any kind of special, formal, complex language when you write academic work. Sure, there may be technical terms, jargon specific to your discipline, shorthand terms and so on. But, apart from those, keep your written language very close to natural spoken language – just as you would speak in the classroom. Imagine that you are explaining your project plans to your classmates or a family member. Remember, write for the intelligent layman, not the subject matter experts. Plain-language, concise writing is what wins hearts and minds – and marks!

Let’s Recap: Research Proposal 101

And there you have it – how to write your dissertation or thesis research proposal, from the title page to the final proof. Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways:

The purpose of the research proposal is to convince – therefore, you need to make a clear, concise argument of why your research is both worth doing and doable.
Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research before you put pen to paper.
Title – provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms
Introduction – explains what you’ll be researching in more detail
Scope – explains the boundaries of your research
Literature review – explains how your research fits into the existing research and why it’s unique and valuable
Research methodology – explains and justifies how you will carry out your own research

Hopefully, this post has helped you better understand how to write up a winning research proposal. If you enjoyed it, be sure to check out the rest of the Grad Coach Blog . If your university doesn’t provide any template for your proposal, you might want to try out our free research proposal template .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

30 Comments

Thank you so much for the valuable insight that you have given, especially on the research proposal. That is what I have managed to cover. I still need to go back to the other parts as I got disturbed while still listening to Derek’s audio on you-tube. I am inspired. I will definitely continue with Grad-coach guidance on You-tube.

Thanks for the kind words :). All the best with your proposal.

First of all, thanks a lot for making such a wonderful presentation. The video was really useful and gave me a very clear insight of how a research proposal has to be written. I shall try implementing these ideas in my RP.

Once again, I thank you for this content.

I found reading your outline on writing research proposal very beneficial. I wish there was a way of submitting my draft proposal to you guys for critiquing before I submit to the institution.

Hi Bonginkosi

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, we do provide a review service. The best starting point is to have a chat with one of our coaches here: https://gradcoach.com/book/new/ .

Hello team GRADCOACH, may God bless you so much. I was totally green in research. Am so happy for your free superb tutorials and resources. Once again thank you so much Derek and his team.

You’re welcome, Erick. Good luck with your research proposal 🙂

thank you for the information. its precise and on point.

Really a remarkable piece of writing and great source of guidance for the researchers. GOD BLESS YOU for your guidance. Regards

Thanks so much for your guidance. It is easy and comprehensive the way you explain the steps for a winning research proposal.

Thank you guys so much for the rich post. I enjoyed and learn from every word in it. My problem now is how to get into your platform wherein I can always seek help on things related to my research work ? Secondly, I wish to find out if there is a way I can send my tentative proposal to you guys for examination before I take to my supervisor Once again thanks very much for the insights

Thanks for your kind words, Desire.

If you are based in a country where Grad Coach’s paid services are available, you can book a consultation by clicking the “Book” button in the top right.

Best of luck with your studies.

May God bless you team for the wonderful work you are doing,

If I have a topic, Can I submit it to you so that you can draft a proposal for me?? As I am expecting to go for masters degree in the near future.

Thanks for your comment. We definitely cannot draft a proposal for you, as that would constitute academic misconduct. The proposal needs to be your own work. We can coach you through the process, but it needs to be your own work and your own writing.

Best of luck with your research!

I found a lot of many essential concepts from your material. it is real a road map to write a research proposal. so thanks a lot. If there is any update material on your hand on MBA please forward to me.

GradCoach is a professional website that presents support and helps for MBA student like me through the useful online information on the page and with my 1-on-1 online coaching with the amazing and professional PhD Kerryen.

Thank you Kerryen so much for the support and help 🙂

I really recommend dealing with such a reliable services provider like Gradcoah and a coach like Kerryen.

Hi, Am happy for your service and effort to help students and researchers, Please, i have been given an assignment on research for strategic development, the task one is to formulate a research proposal to support the strategic development of a business area, my issue here is how to go about it, especially the topic or title and introduction. Please, i would like to know if you could help me and how much is the charge.

This content is practical, valuable, and just great!

Thank you very much!

Hi Derek, Thank you for the valuable presentation. It is very helpful especially for beginners like me. I am just starting my PhD.

This is quite instructive and research proposal made simple. Can I have a research proposal template?

Great! Thanks for rescuing me, because I had no former knowledge in this topic. But with this piece of information, I am now secured. Thank you once more.

I enjoyed listening to your video on how to write a proposal. I think I will be able to write a winning proposal with your advice. I wish you were to be my supervisor.

Dear Derek Jansen,

Thank you for your great content. I couldn’t learn these topics in MBA, but now I learned from GradCoach. Really appreciate your efforts….

From Afghanistan!

I have got very essential inputs for startup of my dissertation proposal. Well organized properly communicated with video presentation. Thank you for the presentation.

Wow, this is absolutely amazing guys. Thank you so much for the fruitful presentation, you’ve made my research much easier.

this helps me a lot. thank you all so much for impacting in us. may god richly bless you all

How I wish I’d learn about Grad Coach earlier. I’ve been stumbling around writing and rewriting! Now I have concise clear directions on how to put this thing together. Thank you!

Fantastic!! Thank You for this very concise yet comprehensive guidance.

Even if I am poor in English I would like to thank you very much.

Thank you very much, this is very insightful.

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Stanford Research Development Office

Guidance for Writing Proposal Sections

Created: 10/06/22

Updated: 08/19/24

More resources will be added as we continue to develop this page. (Most recent content update: July 2, 2024)

The following proposal sections, listed in alphabetical order, are commonly required by a variety of funders. For each, we have provided resources to assist in preparing content; some have been developed by RDO, while others are curated from trusted internal and external sources.

The resources below are intended to be a starting point. Solicitations will often specify unique requirements for each of these sections. Always check the requirements from your specific agency and call.

Biographical Sketches

These documents provide evidence of an individual's qualifications for the role played in a proposed project and are generally requested in specific formats based on sponsor. For most STEM sponsors, RDO recommends using SciEnCV for generating and saving your biosketch as it will be easier to update and the interface allows reformatting for use in proposals for different sponsors.

Start here : Stanford ORA Biosketch Resource Page - Stanford resource with links to NSF and NIH biosketch guidance as well as SciEnCV resources
SciEnCV - a tool for assembling biographical information for federal sponsors that can easily be ported into multiple sponsor formats. It is quickly becoming an accepted (and often required) biosketch format for many sponsors including NIH, NSF, and DOE
NSF SciEnCV FAQs and Guide - start here if you need help setting up your SciEnCV account or run into questions along the way

Broader Impacts

Broader Impacts requirements generally ask for the answer to the question "how does your research benefit society?" This term and requirement are commonly associated with NSF, but other agencies can also have similar requirements. The resources below help to describe the breadth of what broader impacts can be as well as give advice on how to develop a vision and craft a compelling story about the broader impacts of your work.

Stanford Grant Writing Academy Broader Impacts Resources - Among other information, includes a short video explaining NSF's BI requirement and suggestions on crafting a strong BI element for your proposal
Stanford Office of Education and STEM Outreach - A part of the Office of Community Engagement, ESO serves as a nexus connecting Stanford faculty, students, and postdocs with youth, schoolteachers, nonprofit organizations, and the broader community with the goals of increasing engagement, participation, equity and inclusion in STEM fields
ARIS Broader Impacts Toolkit - resources from the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society designed to assist proposal teams as they develop broader impact projects

Budget and Budget Justifications

Budgets are an integral part of proposals that have a direct effect on how monies can be used, are tracked, and are audited in the post award period.

Start here : Stanford ORA Budget Resource Page - find templates and helpful links and information including California's partial sales and use tax exemption for research and development equipment
Stanford VPDoR Rates page - tables, policies, and information on F&A rates, fringe benefit rates, and others

Conflicts of Interest

Often sponsors require a list of collaborators and other affiliates in a form that allows the agency to ensure that no conflicts exist in the process of selecting reviewers or to check for PI conflict of interest in various areas. These can be in the form of "COA", "Collaborator", "COI" or other documents. Be sure to check and follow your sponsor's guidelines for these documents; many provide their own specific required templates.

Stanford Global Engagement Review Program coordinates input from multiple offices that advise on various aspects of foreign engagements to assess risks related to undue foreign influence, research security, and integrity

Data Management Plans

Many funding agencies will require a data management plan (DMP) as part of a proposal. The DMP describes the types of data you expect to collect, how they will be managed, and how access and preservation will be accomplished over time.

Start here : Stanford Libraries has a Resource Page with information about DMPs including access to an Online Data Management Plan Tool for creating a ready-to-use plan for your proposal
DMP Self Assessment Questionnaire (Stanford Libraries)
Stanford Libraries Data Management Services assists researchers with data preservation and access and has other data tools and services available
Lane Medical Library NIH DMSP Checklist
Stanford University IT data Storage Recommendations
DOE suggested elements for a DMP
NASA DMP guidance
NEH guidelines for digital humanities
NIH DMS Plan policy (new guidelines effective January 25, 2023)
NIH Sample Plans for different contexts
NSF DMP requirements (also includes links to directorate-specific guidances)
NSF FAQs for public access
RDO has prepared a guide to creating NSF Data Management Plans (current guide reflects NSF PAPPG 23-1; to be updated after PAPPG 24-1 goes into effect May 20, 2024)
Effective practices for making research data discoverable and citable (NSF Dear Colleague Letter, March 2022)

Diversity Plans

Sponsors sometimes require demonstration that a project team will make specific efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. These requirements vary by sponsor and it is important to understand the level at which the activities are to take place. For example, does the sponsor want to see activities that are community-focused or targeted to the researchers and staff you will have on the project? In any case, a strong diversity plan also includes evaluation strategies and metrics for success.

Stanford RDO's thought starter for DOE PIER Plan
Stanford SoM PDO template for NIH PEDP
DOE CBP: Community Benefits Plans (page includes links to templates)
DOE PIER: Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research Plans
DOE DEI Informational Resources
NIH PEDP: Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives

Evaluation Plans

Often addressed in multiple sections of a proposal, evaluation plans are an important component of understanding whether a project or strategy is effective and successful. Developing robust evaluation plans at the proposal stage can demonstrate to the reviewers and funders that you have thought about what "success" means and how you will be certain you will achieve it or adjust practices to course correct along the way. These are commonly requested for educational activities, outreach plans, workforce development strategies, and management plans.

American Evaluation Association Find an Evaluator Tool - a directory that can be searched by location, area of expertise, or name

Institutional Support

Funding agencies may request that cost sharing, details on facilities, equipment, and other resources available to the proposal team, and other forms of institutional support be included with proposals. The scope and format of these requirements will depend on the specific funding opportunity or call. RDO recommends starting early in your proposal development process and working in collaboration with department or school leadership to identify and request appropriate institutional support for your proposal.

RDO's Thought Starter: Stanford Institutional Support for Large, Strategic Grant Proposals - a list of support that may be appropriate for large, strategic proposals that are beyond the usual scale for a given discipline. Contains notes on how to start the conversations necessary to secure different types of institutional support, relevant policies set by the University, and other factors to consider.

Management Plans

Management plans are common elements of large collaborative or center grants. This section is intended to demonstrate to reviewers how teams will work together to accomplish the various goals of a project. Some plans also require detailed administrative information as well as plans for evaluation of project activities (see section on Evaluation Plans above).

Start here : RDO Management Plan Guidelines - six common topics for consideration when devising a management plan for STEM center grants
RDO resources for collaboration and team science
DOE's EFRC Good Management Practices - while it originated from a specific DOE program, this document contains excellent advice that is generalizable to other research center management strategies

Postdoctoral Mentoring Plans

Postdoctoral mentoring plans (PMPs) are often required in STEM-focused proposals where a postdoctoral researcher's involvement is indicated. These serve as roadmaps for both mentor and mentee to navigate the key aspects of mentorship and professional development of postdocs. It's best to avoid using a boilerplate approach and instead tailor the Plan to the specific program you are proposing, institution you are with, and/or postdoc(s) to be mentored.

Start here : RDO's Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan Guidelines - an NSF-focused document with prompts and suggestions for writing an effective PMP that is also useful in thinking of strategies to fulfill PMP requirements for other sponsors. Note: Proposals due or submitted on or after May 20, 2024 will be required to submit a Mentoring Plan applicable to both graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, in lieu of the prior Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan requirement. Please see NSF PAPPG 24-1 for details.
National Postdoc Association Institutional Guide to Postdoc Mentorship - includes specific guidance on PMPs as well as links to resources on mentorship

Sponsors sometimes request information on protocols and plans related to safety in various context including in the laboratory, at field sites, or any off-campus work environment. The university has policies and procedures related to these topics which can be found in addition to other resources linked below.

Start here : Stanford EH&S website - central website for Stanford safety services and support which also includes information on training, standard operating procedures, and many safety related resources for the campus community
Stanford ORA template for NSF Plans for Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-campus Research - an NSF-focused document with instructions, applicable University policy information, and fillable fields for PIs to complete their project-specific information

An official website of the United States government

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Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS. A lock ( Lock Locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Public Access banner with a blue background, then to the right is an open box with light peering out the top with image icons of people popping out

NSF Public Access Initiative

Illustration of an open book with text above it that reads "Year of Open Science".

NSF releases NSF Public Access Plan 2.0: Ensuring Open, Immediate and Equitable Access to National Science Foundation Funded Research

2024: A Future of Open Science!

NSF has issued a request for information in the the Federal Register on the equity aspects of the NSF Public Access Plan 2.0. Ensuring Open, Immediate and Equitable Access to National Science Foundation Funded Research (nsf23104) NSF - National Science Foundation . Here is a direct link to the Survey Monkey where input may be provided. The survey closes on January 19, 2024 . Please spread the word and encourage stakeholders to fill out this questionnaire on public access and equity.

Following the announcement from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, NSF is excited to partner with agencies across the federal government to support open science . If you would like to celebrate this Year of Open Science with us, please check out the following pages for general and NSF-branded virtual backgrounds and more!

In 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) mandated that agencies undertake new plans to ensure that by 2025 peer-reviewed publications and associated data arising from federally funded research be made immediately and freely available upon date of publication.

NSF is now responding to this new mandate and will be actively engaging with the research communities served by NSF to inform and learn from them about the policies and practices as they are deployed to comply with these new mandates.

The U.S. National Science Foundation's Public Access Initiative ensures the outputs of NSF-funded scientific research are made publicly available to the greatest extent, with the fewest constraints possible and consistent with law.

This page highlights the efforts of NSF's Public Access Initiative, which include:

Maintaining the NSF Public Access Repository, where NSF-supported publications and other research products are openly available to the public.

Funding projects that advance the understanding of, provide resources for, and/or encourage practices toward enhancing public access.

Coordinating agency activities regarding public access. 

NSF funding for public access projects

Public access at NSF: Past, present and future

How can public access advance equity and learning?

Monday, july 17, 2023 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. est.

NSF and AAAS co-hosted a webinar “How can public access advance equity and learning?" designed to solicit input and ideas on equity considerations associated with federal agencies’ public access plans. For the first time, attendees heard from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and multiple federal agencies--NASA, NIH, DOE and NSF--on their public access plans in one setting while they addressed the scientific community’s concerns. The agenda also included a panel moderated by AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh during which academics, leaders and researchers discussed how the plans could affect the communities they represent.

Watch the recording, and access the slide presentation, speaker bios and other resources here: https://www.aaas.org/events/how-can-public-access-advance-equity-and-learning .

Welcome and Introduction

The Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan, Ph.D., Director, U.S. National Science Foundation (video message)

Overview of OSTP Public Access Guidance and Federal Agency Plans

Maryam Zaringhalam, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Public Access and Research Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Steven Crawford, Ph.D., Senior Program Executive for Data and Computing, Science Mission Directorate, NASA
Jessica Tucker, Ph.D., Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Science Policy, National Institutes of Health
Brian Hitson, Director, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy
Martin Halbert, Ph.D., Science Advisor for Public Access, U.S. National Science Foundation

Panel Discussion: Impact of Policies on Scientific Community

Moderator : Sudip Parikh, Ph.D., AAAS CEO and Executive Publisher, Science Family of Journals

Willie E. May, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Economic Development, Morgan State University | President-elect, AAAS
Philip Rosenthal, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene | Professor, Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Vanessa Sansone, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Higher Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Sam Zhang, Ph.D. candidate in Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder

Equity Aspirations

Alan Tomkins, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Social and Economic Sciences Division, Directorate on Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences, U.S. National Science Foundation, stood in for Charles Barber, Ph.D., Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, U.S. National Science

Audience Q&A

As background, in August 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) called upon federal agencies to update their public access policies to make publications resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without embargo on their free and public release. Agency public access plans must be complete and published by Dec. 31, 2024, and go into effect no later than one year after publication. Over the past several months, federal agencies have issued draft public access plans and are soliciting input on implementation. NSF Public Access Plan 2.0: Ensuring Open, Immediate, and Equitable Access to National Science Foundation Funded Research

Webinar "How can public access advance equity and learning?" with AAAS and NSF

Webinars to help inform public access implementation

With a newly updated Public Access Plan, NSF's Public Access and Open Science Working Group has launched a Listen and Learn Series to help inform its implementation plan. Researchers and grant administrations are encouraged to register for upcoming webinars and/or watch past sessions :

Friday, May 5 from 1 to 2 p.m. for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Technology, Innovation and Partnerships communities. Watch the webinar now .

Friday, June 2 from 1 to 2 p.m. for Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences and STEM Education communities. Watch the webinar now .

Friday, June 16 from 1 to 2 p.m. for the Geosciences and Biological Sciences communities. Watch the webinar now.

Thursday, June 29 from 1 to 2 p.m. for the Engineering and Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering communities. Watch the webinar now.

Visit NSF’s public access website for more information. And stay tuned for an upcoming request for information in the coming weeks and an afternoon webinar on June 30, co-sponsored by NSF and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, focusing on equity and early-career researchers. Updated public access policies are a centerpiece of the White House-led Year of Open Science. Visit https://open.science.gov to learn more and to get involved!

This public webcast in November 2022 provided an opportunity for NSF communities to raise issues of concern and ask questions of working group leaders involved in crafting public access policy updates. Stay tuned for similar opportunities to weigh in on implementation in the coming months.

NSF's public access policy

Public access requirements

NSF policy ensures that research outputs from NSF awards are publicly accessible. NSF awardees can find NSF's public access requirements in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide in the sections on Copyright and Publication/Dissemination of Grant Materials. For additional context regarding public access at NSF, please see the Public Access Plan published in March 2015 .

FAQ: NSF's public access policies

Data management plans

Soon to be called data management and sharing plans, data management plans are an integral part of project proposals. Researchers are required to include data management plans in their proposals to NSF. Data management requirements and plans specific to directorates, offices, divisions, programs or other NSF units are found in program solicitations or in the links below.

Directorate and division guidance

Biological Sciences (BIO)
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)
Engineering (ENG)
Geosciences (GEO)
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS): — Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) — Division of Chemistry (CHE) — Division of Materials Research (DMR) — Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) — Division of Physics (PHY)
Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
STEM Education (EDU)
Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP)- follow guidance in PAPPG

Program-specific guidance

Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)

Questions concerning NSF policies should be directed to the NSF Policy Office .

Depositing NSF-funded research publications

NSF maintains a publicly available repository of peer-reviewed publications: the NSF Public Access Repository. NSF awardees must deposit all peer-reviewed publications and juried conference papers into the NSF Public Access Repository from awards resulting from proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 25, 2016.

Learn more about the NSF Public Access Repository

The repository continues to grow year by year and will continue to be enhanced with new features in future versions. The current pilot allows researchers to add dataset metadata (in addition to peer-reviewed papers and conference papers) as a research product type, following deposition of that dataset in a disciplinary or generalist data repository. At this time, researchers are not required to submit datasets to NSF's Public Access Repository.

Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable Open Science Research Coordination Networks (FAIROS RCN)

Geosciences open science ecosystem (geo ose), pathways to enable open-source ecosystems (pose), campus cyberinfrastructure (cc*), advanced computing systems & services: adapting to the rapid evolution of science and engineering research 2.0, nsf convergence accelerator, supporting open polar research software.

To propose a public access project, email [email protected] for more information.

Projects funded by NSF's Public Access Initiative

FAIROS RCN

NSF is funding a cohort of 10, three-year, multi-institutional projects to start in 2023 to build and enhance national coordination among researchers and other stakeholders to advance findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable, or FAIR, data principles and open-science practices. These are the inaugural awards of NSF’s FAIROS RCN (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable, Open-Science Research Coordination Networks) open-science program and represent a pooled investment of over $12.5 million in open science from all NSF directorates, supporting 28 NSF awards.

Big Data Innovation Hubs

NSF's Public Access Initiative has also been the home for the NSF Big Data Innovation Hubs, or BD Hubs , program — a national program to foster best practices in using big data for research.

See a list of all BD Hubs awards

All Awarded Projects

The NSF Public Access Initiative funds research projects that advance the understanding of public access and open science.

See a list of what the Public Access Initiative has funded

Public access at NSF: Past, present and future

In response to the 2013 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy memorandum on Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research . (colloquially referred to as the Holdren memo), NSF developed its Public Access Plan (NSF 15-52) , setting forth a bold, new agency effort to ensure that the outputs of NSF-funded research would be made publicly accessible.

A 2016 Special Report on NSF’s Public Access Plan provides insights into the NSF Public Access Initiative's genesis.

timeline for new 2025 public access requirements outlining from 2022 to 2025

In August 2022, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Acting Director Alondra Nelson released a memo that calls for ensuring free, immediate and equitable access to federally funded research upon publication. Answering the White House’s call for more scientific openness, NSF is updating its Public Access Plan to meet government-wide requirements. In 2024, NSF will publish Public Access Plan 2.0 to enable immediate access to publications and underlying data. NSF will enforce these new policies no later than January 2025. An update to the Public Access Plan focusing on researcher affiliations and funding and persistent digital identifiers for researchers, research products and awards will be published in 2026, for implementation by January 2027.

Watch this page in the coming months as we update our policies to comply with this new guidance.

ORSD’s Proposal Toolkit

The Office of Research Strategy and Development’s Proposal Toolkit is a new PIN-protected online tool for investigators to find important information meant to support proposal development and funding strategies. Examples of information to be found on the website include sample letters of support and other non-disciplinary grant templates, NIH paylines and research priorities, as well as HSPH-specific policies and processes. Faculty, research scientists, and post-docs can access curated lists of funding opportunities, links to funding search engines, and other resources to help in finding funding and developing proposals.

Resources available in the toolkit include:

Institutional Info
Funding Opportunities
Proposal Development Resources
NIH Resources
Proposal Repository
Research Computing

Need more help?

Learn about which offices to go to for questions relating to proposal support, funding, faculty development, and more in the graphic below.

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How for-profit medicine is harming health care

A tradition of mentoring

Promising HIV treatment

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October 3, 2022. OATD is dealing with a number of misbehaved crawlers and robots, and is currently taking some steps to minimize their impact on the system. This may require you to click through some security screen. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Recent Additions

See all of this week’s new additions.

About OATD.org

OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 7,213,579 theses and dissertations.

About OATD (our FAQ) .

Visual OATD.org

We’re happy to present several data visualizations to give an overall sense of the OATD.org collection by county of publication, language, and field of study.

You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses:

Google Scholar
NDLTD , the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not.
Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published electronically or in print, and mostly available for purchase. Access to PQDT may be limited; consult your local library for access information.

Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

Table of Contents

How To Write a Research Proposal

Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:

1. Title and Abstract

Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research.
Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal.

2. Introduction:

Provide an introduction to your research topic, highlighting its significance and relevance.
Clearly state the research problem or question you aim to address.
Discuss the background and context of the study, including previous research in the field.

3. Research Objectives

Outline the specific objectives or aims of your research. These objectives should be clear, achievable, and aligned with the research problem.

4. Literature Review:

Conduct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
Summarize key findings, identify gaps, and highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge.

5. Methodology:

Describe the research design and methodology you plan to employ to address your research objectives.
Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques you will use.
Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate and suitable for your research.

6. Timeline:

Create a timeline or schedule that outlines the major milestones and activities of your research project.
Break down the research process into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each task.

7. Resources:

Identify the resources needed for your research, such as access to specific databases, equipment, or funding.
Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources to carry out your research effectively.

8. Ethical Considerations:

Discuss any ethical issues that may arise during your research and explain how you plan to address them.
If your research involves human subjects, explain how you will ensure their informed consent and privacy.

9. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

Clearly state the expected outcomes or results of your research.
Highlight the potential impact and significance of your research in advancing knowledge or addressing practical issues.

10. References:

Provide a list of all the references cited in your proposal, following a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

11. Appendices:

Include any additional supporting materials, such as survey questionnaires, interview guides, or data analysis plans.

Research Proposal Format

The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:

1. Title Page:

Include the title of your research proposal, your name, your affiliation or institution, and the date.

2. Abstract:

Provide a brief summary of your research proposal, highlighting the research problem, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.

3. Introduction:

Introduce the research topic and provide background information.
State the research problem or question you aim to address.
Explain the significance and relevance of the research.
Review relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
Summarize key findings and identify gaps in the existing knowledge.
Explain how your research will contribute to filling those gaps.

5. Research Objectives:

Clearly state the specific objectives or aims of your research.
Ensure that the objectives are clear, focused, and aligned with the research problem.

6. Methodology:

Describe the research design and methodology you plan to use.
Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques.
Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate for your research.

7. Timeline:

8. Resources:

Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources effectively.

9. Ethical Considerations:

If applicable, explain how you will ensure informed consent and protect the privacy of research participants.

10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

11. References:

12. Appendices:

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a template for a research proposal:

1. Introduction:

2. Literature Review:

3. Research Objectives:

4. Methodology:

5. Timeline:

6. Resources:

7. Ethical Considerations:

8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

9. References:

10. Appendices:

Research Proposal Sample

Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study

1. Introduction

Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this research are as follows:

To compare student learning outcomes between online and traditional face-to-face education.
To examine the factors influencing student engagement in online learning environments.
To assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods employed in online education.
To identify challenges and opportunities associated with online education and suggest recommendations for improvement.

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Design

This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:

3.2 Participants

The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.

3.3 Data Collection

The research will employ the following data collection methods:

Quantitative: Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure students’ learning outcomes. Data on student demographics and academic performance will also be collected from university records.
Qualitative: Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be conducted with students to gather their perceptions and experiences regarding online education.

3.4 Data Analysis

Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.

4. Ethical Considerations

The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Significance and Expected Outcomes

This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.

6. Timeline

The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.

The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.

8. Conclusion

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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HLS Dissertations, Theses, and JD Papers

S.j.d. dissertations, ll.m. papers, ll.m. theses, j.d. papers, submitting your paper to an online collection, other sources for student papers beyond harvard, getting help, introduction.

This is a guide to finding Harvard Law School (“HLS”) student-authored works held by the Library and in online collections. This guide covers HLS S.J.D Dissertations, LL.M. papers, J.D. third-year papers, seminar papers, and prize papers.

There have been changes in the HLS degree requirements for written work. The library’s collection practices and catalog descriptions for these works has varied. Please note that there are gaps in the library’s collection and for J.D. papers, few of these works are being collected any longer.

If we have an S.J.D. dissertation or LL.M. thesis, we have two copies. One is kept in the general collection and one in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. If we have a J.D. paper, we have only one copy, kept in the Red Set. Red Set copies are last resort copies available only by advance appointment in Historical and Special Collections .

Some papers have not been processed by library staff. If HOLLIS indicates a paper is “ordered-received” please use this form to have library processing completed.

The HLS Doctor of Juridical Science (“S.J.D.”) program began in 1910. The library collection of these works is not comprehensive. Exceptions are usually due to scholars’ requests to withhold Library deposit.

HLS S.J.D. Dissertations in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic or faculty advisor, or limit by date, click Add a New Line.
Hein’s Legal Theses and Dissertations Microfiche Mic K556.H45x Drawers 947-949 This microfiche set includes legal theses and dissertations from HLS and other premier law schools. It currently includes about 300 HLS dissertations and theses.
Hein's Legal Theses and Dissertations Contents List This content list is in order by school only, not by date, subject or author. It references microfiche numbers within the set housed in the Microforms room on the entry level of the library, drawers 947-949. The fiche are a different color for each institution.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses @ Harvard University (Harvard login) Copy this search syntax: dg(S.J.D.) You will find about 130 SJD Dissertations dated from 1972 to 2004. They are not available in full text.
DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, DASH is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. There are currently about 600 HLS student papers included. Unfortunately it is not possible to search by type of paper or degree awarded.

The Master of Laws (“LL.M.”) degree has been awarded since 1923. Originally, the degree required completion of a major research paper, akin to a thesis. Since 1993, most students have the option of writing the LL.M. "short paper." This is a 25-page (or longer) paper advised by a faculty supervisor or completed in conjunction with a seminar. Fewer LL.M. candidates continue to write the more extensive "long-paper." LL.M. candidates holding J.D.s from the U.S. must write the long paper.

HLS Written Work Requirements for LL.M. Degree The current explanation of the LL.M. written work requirement for the master of laws.

The library generally holds HLS LL.M. long papers and short papers. In recent years, we require author release in order to do so. In HOLLIS, no distinction is made between types of written work created in satisfaction of the LL.M. degree; all are described as LL.M. thesis. Though we describe them as thesis, the law school refers to them solely as papers or in earlier years, essays. HOLLIS records indicate the number of pages, so at the record level, it is possible to distinguish long papers.

HLS LL.M. Papers in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

Note that beginning with papers from the 2023-24 academic year, papers will be available in digital format only. The workflow for this new process is underway.

HLS LL.M. Papers are sometimes available in DASH and Hein's Legal Dissertations and Theses. See descriptions above .

The HLS J.D. written work requirement has changed over time. The degree formerly required a substantial research paper comparable in scope to a law review article written under faculty supervision, the "third year paper." Since 2008, J.D. students have the option of using two shorter works instead.

Of all those written, the library holds relatively few third-year papers. They were not actively collected but accepted by submission from faculty advisors who deemed a paper worthy of institutional retention. The papers are described in HOLLIS as third year papers, seminar papers, and student papers. Sometimes this distinction was valid, but not always. The faculty deposit tradition more or less ended in 2006, though the possibility of deposit still exists.

J.D. Written Work Requirement
Faculty Deposit of Student Papers with the Library

HLS Third Year Papers in HOLLIS

To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

HLS Student Papers Some third-year papers and LL.M. papers were described in HOLLIS simply as student papers. To refine these search results, click "Add a New Line" and add topic, faculty advisor, or course title.
HLS Seminar Papers Note that these include legal research pathfinders produced for the Advanced Legal Research course when taught by Virginia Wise.

Prize Papers

HLS has many endowed prizes for student papers and essays. There are currently 16 different writing prizes. See this complete descriptive list with links to lists of winners from 2009 to present. Note that there is not always a winner each year for each award. Prize winners are announced each year in the commencement pamphlet.

The Library has not specifically collected prize papers over the years but has added copies when possible. The HOLLIS record for the paper will usually indicate its status as a prize paper. The most recent prize paper was added to the collection in 2006.

Addison Brown Prize Animal Law & Policy Program Writing Prize Victor Brudney Prize Davis Polk Legal Profession Paper Prize Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize Yong K. Kim ’95 Memorial Prize Islamic Legal Studies Program Prize on Islamic Law Laylin Prize LGBTQ Writing Prize Mancini Prize Irving Oberman Memorial Awards John M. Olin Prize in Law and Economics Project on the Foundations of Private Law Prize Sidney I. Roberts Prize Fund Klemens von Klemperer Prize Stephen L. Werner Prize

Harvard Law School Prize Essays (1850-1868) A historical collection of handwritten prize essays covering the range of topics covered at that time. See this finding aid for a collection description.

The following information about online repositories is not a recommendation or endorsement to participate.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses HLS is not an institutional participant to this collection. If you are interested in submitting your work, refer to these instructions and note that there is a fee required, which varies depending on the format of submission.
EBSCO Open Dissertations Relatively new, this is an open repository of metadata for dissertations. It is an outgrowth of the index American Doctoral Dissertations. The aim is to cover 1933 to present and, for modern works, to link to full text available in institutional repositories. Harvard is not one of the institutional participants.
DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard

Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, this is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. See more information about the project.

Some HLS students have submitted their degree paper to DASH. If you would like to submit your paper, you may use this authorization form or contact June Casey , Librarian for Open Access Initiatives and Scholarly Communication at Harvard Law School.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (Harvard Login) Covers dissertations and masters' theses from North American graduate schools and many worldwide. Provides full text for many since the 1990s and has descriptive data for older works.
NDLTD Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog Worldwide in scope, NDLTD contains millions of records of electronic theses and dissertations from the early 1900s to the present.
Law Commons of the Digital Commons Network The Law Commons has dissertations and theses, as well as many other types of scholarly research such as book chapters and conference proceedings. They aim to collect free, full-text scholarly work from hundreds of academic institutions worldwide.
EBSCO Open Dissertations Doctoral dissertations from many institutions. Free, open repository.
Dissertations from Center for Research Libraries Dissertations found in this resource are available to the Harvard University Community through Interlibrary Loan.
British Library EThOS Dissertation source from the British Library listing doctoral theses awarded in the UK. Some available for immediate download and some others may be requested for scanning.
BASE from Bielefeld University Library Index of the open repositoris of most academic institutions. Includes many types of documents including doctoral and masters theses.

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Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

International African Institute

Accessing IAI publications in Africa
Guidelines for authors
Database of African Publishers
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Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation
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African Repositories
IAI Lectures

African Digital Research Repositories

African Digital Research Repositories & Database of African Publishers Pamphlet . View the pamphlet

Institutional and subject repositories are an increasingly significant component in the provision of academic publication and information resources. They are being developed throughout the world as a consequence of the availability of scholarly resources in digital formats, and in response to Open Access policies and mandates. For further background and a view on the development and outlook for repositories with reference to Africa/African studies, see additional article .

The following list of known repositories within the African continent has been compiled by the International African Institute as a service to African studies research and scholarship in line with our remit to promote the dissemination of knowledge from and on Africa. It is unlikely to be comprehensive and will be regularly reviewed and updated.

Known repositories are listed by country, ordered alphabetically. The list, based on our own research, has drawn on information made available by the African Studies Centre, Leiden , including its ‘ Connecting Africa ’ project, a gateway to African research information and materials produced worldwide (and particularly useful for consulting material in European university repositories). We have also drawn quite extensively on data from OpenDOAR and roar.eprints.org , authoritative directories of Open Access repositories.

We would be glad for feedback, and to hear about or from any institutional repositories that have been inadvertently omitted, or about new or developing resources, or with proposals for further collaborations in this endeavour. Email, Stephanie Kitchen, Managing Editor, International African Institute, sk111(at)soas.ac.uk

The International African Institute in collaboration with AfricarXiv present an interactive map of African digital research literature repositories . This drew from IAI’s earlier work from 2016 onwards to identify and list Africa-based institutional repositories that focused on identifying repositories based in African university libraries.

The interactive map extends the work of the IAI to include organizational, governmental and international repositories. It also maps the interactions between research repositories. In this dataset, we focus on institutional repositories for scholarly works.

Entrepôts de recherche numériques africains Les entrepôts institutionnels et spécialisés jouent un rôle croissant dans la fourniture de ressources de publication et de documentation spécialisées. Il s’en crée partout dans le monde en conséquence de la disponibilité des ressources savantes en formats numériques, et en réponse aux politiques et mandats du libre accès. Pour plus d’informations générales et pour en savoir plus sur les perspectives des entrepôts concernant l’Afrique et les études africaines, nous vous invitons à lire un article supplémentaire . L’Institut africain international (IAI) a compilé ci-dessous une liste des entrepôts connus sur le continent africain afin de servir la recherche en études africaines, conformément à sa mission de promouvoir la dissémination de la connaissance émanant d’Afrique et sur l’Afrique. Cette liste ne saurait prétendre être exhaustive et nous nous attacherons à la mettre à jour régulièrement. Les entrepôts connus sont répertoriés par pays en ordre alphabétique. Issue de notre propre recherche, cette liste s’appuie sur des informations mises à disposition par le Centre d’études africaines de Leiden , y compris son projet « Connecting Africa » , une passerelle de données et de documents de recherche africaine produits à travers le monde (et notamment utile pour consulter le contenu des entrepôts de données des universités européennes). Nous nous sommes également fortement appuyés sur les données de l’OpenDOAR et de l’ http://roar.eprints.org/ , les répertoires d’archives ouvertes réputés. La liste que nous publions ici est une ressource préliminaire qui a vocation de consolider les entrepôts connus présents en Afrique. Ce site ne permet pas de faire des recherches sur tous les entrepôts. Pour l’heure, les chercheurs intéressés devront donc consulter les différents entrepôts universitaires en suivant les liens disponibles. Nous envisageons d’inscrire ce service dans un projet futur plus large devant permettre une consultation plus sophistiquée des entrepôts existants, ainsi que la numérisation et la publication en ligne des thèses de doctorat et de master du continent africain, largement reconnus pour représenter une ressource essentielle pour la recherche et l’échange de savoirs. N’hésitez pas à nous faire part de vos remarques et à nous faire savoir si nous avons omis des entrepôts institutionnels par inadvertance, mais également à porter à notre connaissance l’existence de ressources nouvelles ou en cours d’élaboration ou à nous soumettre des propositions de collaboration dans ce domaine. Contactez-nous par e-mail en adressant un message à Stephanie Kitchen, Directrice de la rédaction, Institut Africain International, sk111(at)soas.ac.uk

Please click on each country to expand the list of repositories

AfricaArXiv Preprints

African Education Research Database

Bouira University Digital Space

Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables Bibliothèque virtuelle des Energies Renouvelables Centre de Recherche Scientifique et Technique en Soudage et Contrôle CSC Digital Library

CERIST Cerist Digital Library

CRTI Digital Library Centre de Recherche en Technologies Industrielles (CRTI)

Dspace University Hassiba Benbouali of Chlef - Algeria

Université Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen Depot institutionnel de l'Universite Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen UABT

Université El-Hadj Lakhdar Batna Bibliothèque Centrale

Université d'Algers Bibliothèque universitaire

Université Mhamed Bougara Boumerdes (UMBB) Archives ouvertes de l'Université M'hamed Bougara Boumerdes , http://dlibrary.univ-boumerdes.dz:8080/jspui/

University of Algiers Bibliothèque Virtuelle de l'université d'Alger

University of Biskra, Algeria University of Biskra Theses Repository

University Ferhat Abbas Sétif 1 Repository

Mohamed-Cherif Messaadia University - Souk Ahras Center of Academic Publications

Centro de Documentação Tchiweka (CDT)/ Tchiweka Archive, Associação Tchiweka de Documentação/Tchiweka Research Association

Development Workshop Angola Online Library

University of Botswana University of Botswana Research, Innovation and Scholarship Archive (UBRISA)

Botho University Institutional Repository

Burkina Faso

Bibliothèque numérique du CAMES

Thèses de l'Université de Ouagadougou 1

Université Polytechnique de Bobo-Dioulasso

University of Burundi library Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Burundi / University of Burundi Institutional Repository

CamPuce (association for the promotion of science and humanities in African countries) http://eprints.campuce.org/

Ministerio do Ensino Superior Ciencia e Inovacao Portal do Conhecimento

Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde Biblioteca Digital da Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde

Côte d'Ivoire

Bibliothèque Virtuelle de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique de Côte d'Ivoire

Agricultural Research Centre

American University in Cairo (الجامعة الاميركية في القاهرة) AUC Digital Archive and Research Repository

Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library

Bibliotheca Alexandrina (مكتبة الإسكندري) Digital Assets Repository (DAR)

Future University FUE Digital Repository

Menoufia University Scholarly Publication Repository Portal

MUST Digital Archive and Research Repository / Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza (MUST)

Addis Ababa University AAU-ETD (Addis Ababa University Libraries Electronic Thesis and Dissertations Database)

Economic Commission for Africa ECA repository

African Union Common Repository

National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia (NADRE) https://nadreweb.ethernet.edu.et https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et

Debre Berhan University repository

Haramaya University repository

St. Mary's University

Ashesi Institutional Repository

Association of African Universities Database of African Theses and Dissertations

University of Ghana Digital Collections

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Repository, http://dspace.knust.edu.gh/

University for Development Studies UDS Institutional Repository

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa Digital Repository

Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa Africa Thesis Bank

Daystar University Institutional Repository

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology Dedan Kimathi University of Technology Digital Repository

Egerton University Institutional Repository

Embu University C. Repository

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Mahider repository

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) JKUAT Digital Repository

JOOUST Repository

KarUSpace Karatina University

KARI e-repository

KCA Academic Commons

KeMU Institutional Repository Kaya Methodist University

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University Institutional Repository

Kisii University Repository

KIM Repository

Maasai Mara University Institutional Repository

Machakos University Digital Repository

Moi University Moi University Institutional Repository

Mount Kenya University Institutional Repository

Murang'a University of Technology Institutional Repository

MUT INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY Murang’a University

Pwani University Institutional Repository

Riara University Digital Repository

Rift Valley Institute Sudan Open Archive (SOA)

Rongo University Repository

South Eastern Kenya University South Eastern Kenya University Digital Repository

Strathmore University (SU) SU Digital Repository

St. Paul's University Institutional Repository

Tangaza University College Digital Repository

Technical University of Kenya Tukenya Institutional Repository

Technical University of Mombasa Institutional Repository

Management Univesity of Africa Management University of Africa Repository

United States International University - Africa USIU - Africa Digital Repository

University of Nairobi University of Nairobi Digital Repository

National University of Lesotho Institutional Repository (NULIR)

AgriSearch Repository

Libyan International Medical University

University of Tripoli Digital Repository

Archives Africa (National Archives of Madagascar)

Université Mohammed V - Rabat Dépôt Institutionnel - SIJIL

Institut Marocain de l'Information Scientifique et Technique (IMIST) Toubkal: Le Catalogue National des Thèses et Mémoires Otrohati: Le Catalogue Marocain des Thèses En Cours

Eduardo Mondlane University, Biblioteca Digital

Repositório Científico de Moçambique (SABER)

Polytechnic of Namibia Ounongo Repository

University of Namibia UNAM Scholarly Repository

Afe Babalola University Repository

Ahmadu Bello University ABU Zaria Research Publications

Ahmadu Bello University Institutional Digital Repository

American University of Nigeria (AUN) Digital Repository

University of Benin

Covenant University Covenant University Electronic Theses and Dissertation Repository

Covenant University Repository

Elizade University EUSpace

Federal University Oye-Ekiti Institutional Repository

Landmark University Landmark University Repository

National Repository of Nigeria

Repository of the Central Bank of Nigeria

Theses & Dissertations

University of Ibadan University of Ibadan Institutional Repository

University of Jos University of Jos Institutional Repository

University of Lagos University of Lagos Institutional Repository

University of Nigeria Nsukka Open Resources

University of Port Harcourt repository

University of Rwanda Digital Repository

African Institute for Economic Development and Planning IDEP Document Server

CODESRIA Theses and Dissertations Catalogue

La recherche à l’UCAD

Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Bibliothèque Numérique Université Cheikh Anta DIOP

Mémoires de l'Ecole polytechnique de Thiès

Mémoires de fin d'études de l’ I.N.S.E.P.S (Institut National Supérieur de l’Education Populaire et du Sport) du Sénégal

Nouvelles Editions Numériques Africaines (NENA)

Thèses et mémoires de l'Ecole Inter-Etats des Sciences et Médécine Vétérinaires

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) resource unit SLURC publications

South Africa

Africa Portal (collaborative project between the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA))

African Journal Archive

ASSAf (Academy of Science of South Africa) Scientific Electronic Library Online - South Africa (SciELO - South Africa)

Cape Peninsula University of Technology Digital Knowledge at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Central University of Technology CUT Institutional Repository

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) CSIR Research Space

Durban University of Technology (DUT) DUT Institutional Repository

National ETD Portal South African Theses and Dissertations

National Research Foundation South Africa Data Archive

Nelson Mandela University Institutional Repository

North-West University North-West University Institutional Repository (Boloka)

Sabinet African Archives

Rhodes University RU Theses and Dissertations University Archive Collections

Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) OpenSALDRU

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository

SUNeTD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)

Tshwane University of Technology TUT Digital Open Repository

University of Cape Town OpenUCT

UCT Computer Science Research Document Archive (UCT CS Archive)

UCT Law Space

University of Fort Hare University of Fort Hare Institutional Repository

University of Johannesburg (UJ) UJDigispace

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA)

University of KwaZulu-Natal repository

ResearchSpace@UKZN

University of Limpopo University of Limpopo repository

University of Pretoria (UP) University of Pretoria Electronic Theses and Dissertations (UPeTD)

University of South Africa (Unisa) UnisaIR (Unisa Institutional Repository) See also: unisair.wordpress.com

University of the Free State KovsieScholar, https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/

University of the Free State ETD

University of the Western Cape AHERO (African Higher Education Research Online)

University of the Western Cape Research Repository (UWC Research Repository)

UPSpace (UPSpace at the University of Pretoria)

UWC Theses and Dissertations

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg WIReDSpace (Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE) Add See also: libguides.wits.ac.za/WIREDSPACE

University of Zululand UZSpace (University of Zululand Repository)

Vaal University of Technology VUT DigiResearch

ZivaHub (Digital Library Services at the University of Cape Town) zivahub.uct.ac.za/ www.re3data.org/repository/r3d100012633

AlMughtaribeen University Repository

Al Neelain University Repository

Digital Repository of Red Sea University

Nile College Repositor y

Open University of Sudan Repository

Shendi University Repository

Sudan University of Science and Technology Dspace at SUST University

University of Khartoum University of Khartoum Digital Repository (KhartoumSpace)

Nile Valley University Digital Repository

West Kordufan University Repository

East African Community Repository

Ifakara Health Institute Digital Library of the Tanzania Health Community (e-Health)

Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Health Sciences (MUHAS) MUHAS Institutional Repository

Mzumbe University Digital Research Repository

Nelson Mandela-African Insitution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) NM-AIST Repository

Open University of Tanzania Digital Library of Open University of Tanzania

Sokoine University of Agriculture Sokoine University of Agriculture Institutional Repository

SUZA REPOSITORY

Tazania Climate Change Information Repository (TaCCIR) Tanzania Climate Change Information Repository

Tanzania Commission for Aids (TACAIDS) TACAIDS Digital Repository

University of Dar es Salaam University of Dar es Salaam repository

University of Dodoma Institutional Repository

Université Virtuelle de Tunis (UVT) UVT e-doc

AOUT (Tunisian University Open Archive)

Busitema University Open Access Digital Repository

Clarke International University Repository

Kampala International University Institutional Repository (KIUIR)

Muni University Institutional Repository (Muni-IR)

Makerere University Makerere University Institutional Repository (Mak IR)

Kabale University Institutional Digital Repository

Kyambogo University Institutional Repository

Nkumba University Repository

Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture RUFORUM Institutional Repository

Uganda Christian University Digital Institutional Repository

Uganda Martyrs University Repository

University of Zambia University of Zambia Repository

African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Virtual Library on Capacity Development

Bindura University of Science Education Institutional Repository

Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUTIR) Chinhoyi University of Technology Institutional Repository (CUTIR)

IR@LSU - Lupane State University Institutional Repository (Bulawayo) Institutional Repository, established in 2016, which archives all digital research output produced by Lupane State University community members.

Midlands State University Midlands State University Repository

National University of Science and Technology (NUST) NuSpace Institutional Repository

NuStone Digital Library (including theses and disserations)

University of Zimbabwe University of Zimbabwe Institutional Repository

Virtual Library on Capacity Development - African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)

Zimbabwe Open University ZOU SPACE : Institutional Repository

No known repositories in the following African countries:

Benin Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Brazzaville Democratic Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Gabon Gambia Guinea Guinea Bissau Liberia Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Niger Seychelles Somalia South Sudan Swaziland Togo

Links in this section

African Digital Research Repositories, update July 2019
Expert Advisory Panel
Why African digital repositories for storing research writings are so important by Robert Molteno, trustee board member of the IAI

Interactive map of African digital research literature repositories

African Digital Research Repositories: Survey Report

Digital Research Repositories - article published in Realising Research (ACU publication) by Stephanie Kitchen

Digital Repositories - Making Africa's Intelligentsia Visible? by Robert Molteno

Open Science in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, Perspectives Justin Segbedji Ahinon and Jo Havemann

External links

The African University Press

Full datasets (including downloadable data on repositories at African universities)

Interview with Francois van Schalkwyk , co-author of the report ‘The African University Press’

'Le libre accès vu d’Afrique francophone subsaharienne' (Open access seen from francophone Sub-Saharan Africa)

Directory of Data Repositories in Africa (DODRIA)

Barriers and Enablers to Open Access Repository (OAR) Development and Management in African HLIs: Research from the LIBSENSE OAR Workshops in the UA, WACREN and ASREN Regions. Pamela Abbott, Kokui Appiah and Omo Oaiya

“Open access electronic resources play a part in today’s research ecosystem, and African repositories are part of this” Interview with Stephanie Kitchen, of the International African Institute

Prepare & Submit Proposals

Prepare, submit and check status of proposals

Letters of Intent and Proposals
Demo Site: Prepare Proposals
Check Proposal Status

Reviews, Panels & Meetings

Panels, Ad Hoc Reviews, Advisory Committees, Committees of Visitors, Site Visits, and Subcommittees

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NSF Award Highlights

Explore Scholarly publications in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR)
Search awards going back to 1994

UMU Dissertations

UMU Theses, Dissertations and Research Reports

Welcome to Uganda Martyrs University Dissertations Repository (UMU DR). UMU RD is a collection of dissertations research project reports………………………………..

Communities in DSpace

Select a community to browse its collections.

The Independent magazine Uganda offers the latest Ugandan News, Cutting edge opinions & Analysis of Home and International Political, Business News.

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Performance appraisal systems and tutors performance in primary teachers’ colleges; A case of greater Masaka

An investigation into the socio-economic challenges faced by teenage mothers; case study: otuboi sub-county kalaki kaberamaido district , assessing the effects of rural-urban migration on sustainable development in urban centres; a case study of nyamitanga division, mbarara municipality , analysis of community perception of education and pupils’ academic achievement in selected primary schools in oyam district, uganda , the effect of information technology on the performance of commercial banks in uganda: a case study of centenary bank, kayabwe branch .

Nomenclature
Open access
Published: 16 August 2024

Synopsis of proposals on fungal nomenclature: a review of the proposals concerning Chapter F of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants submitted to the XII International Mycological Congress, 2024

Tom W. May 1 , 2 &
Konstanze Bensch 2 , 3

IMA Fungus volume 15 , Article number: 26 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

64 Accesses

Metrics details

A commentary is provided on the seven formally published proposals to modify the provisions of Chapter F of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp) that will be dealt with by the Fungal Nomenclature Session (FNS) of the 12th International Mycological Congress (IMC12) in August 2024. The proposals deal with: fungi whose morph-names have the same epithet; the listing of synonyms under entries for protected names in the Code Appendices; the processes of protection and rejection; the use of DNA sequences as nomenclatural types; the use of genomes as nomenclatural types; and the designation of fungi known only from DNA sequences. Information is also provided on the composition and role of the Fungal Nomenclature Bureau, the operation of the FNS and the pre-Congress Guiding vote.

Introduction

Chapter F is the portion of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICNafp) that contains provisions that solely relate to organisms treated as fungi. The procedures for amending Chapter F are set out in the Shenzhen ICNafp (Turland et al. 2018 ). Proposals to amend Chapter F are dealt with by the Fungal Nomenclature Session (FNS) of an International Mycological Congress (IMC). A call for such proposals was published in 2020 (May 2020 ). A set of proposals to amend Chapter F to be considered at IMC12 was published recently (May & Hawksworth 2024 ). This Synopsis presents those proposals along with a commentary, following the established practice for proposals presented to an International Botanical Congress (IBC) (Turland and Wiersema 2024 ). This Synopsis has been prepared in our capacities as the appointed Secretary (TWM) and Deputy Secretary (KB) for the upcoming Fungal Nomenclature Session in Maastricht ( see below ).

Fungal nomenclature session

The proposals discussed below will be formally considered at the Fungal Nomenclature Session (FNS) of the XII International Mycological Congress to be held on Thursday 15 August 2024 in Hall 6 of MECC Maastricht, The Netherlands. All persons registered for at least that day of the Congress are eligible to attend and vote in the FNS. Each person eligible to attend has one vote, and there are no institutional votes.

Procedures for the FNS are set out in Provision 8 of Division III of the Shenzhen Code (Turland et al. 2018 ). These procedures include: a qualified majority (60%) is required for accepting proposals and for referring items to the Editorial Committee; while a 50% majority is required for accepting an amendment to a proposal, for choosing between two alternative proposals, and for establishing and referring items to a Special-purpose Committee (SPC). Proposals solely concerning examples are automatically referred to the Editorial Committee. Changes to the wording of particular proposals may be moved as amendments during the FNS, either as a friendly amendment [when accepted by the original proposer(s)] or otherwise when introduced by an eligible attendee of the FNS and seconded by five other eligible attendees.

The FNS may authorize one or more Special-purpose Committees, with a specific mandate, to be appointed by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi in consultation with the General Committee, that report back to the FNS of the next IMC. Examples of previous Special-purpose Committees are the Special Subcommittee on Governance of the Code with Respect to Fungi, appointed following the Melbourne IBC, that produced proposals to amend the Code that were ultimately adopted at the Shenzhen IBC (May 2016 ; Hawksworth et al. 2017 ) and the Special-purpose Committee on Names of Fungi with the Same Epithet that will report to IMC12 (Mitchell et al. 2024 ).

For the Code , an Editorial Committee is elected by the Nomenclature Section of an IBC, and that Committee finalizes the Code arising from that Congress. After the last IMC, a separate “San Juan Chapter F ” was published (May et al. 2019 ) prepared by an ad hoc “Editorial Committee - Chapter F ”. A formal proposal to amend Division III of the Code to formalise an “Editorial Committee for Fungi” has been submitted for consideration by the IBC Nomenclature Section (May et al. 2023 ). If that proposal is accepted, an Editorial Committee for Fungi will be appointed at the IMC12 FNS.

Because the IBC Nomenclature Section will be meeting in July 2024 (in Madrid), shortly before the IMC, it is not expected that there will be a need for a separate publication of Chapter F resulting from any decisions of the IMC Nomenclature Session. Any revisions to Chapter F arising from the IMC12 FNS will be passed on to the Editorial Committee who prepares the Madrid Code , which is expected to appear in 2025.

Fungal nomenclature bureau

The Fungal Nomenclature Bureau (FNB) of an International Mycological Congress is responsible for running the FNS and the pre-Congress Guiding vote. The FNB consists of the Chair, up to five Deputy Chairs, Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Recorder. These roles in the FNB are the equivalent of the President, Vice-president, Rapporteur-général, Vice-rapporteur and Recorder in the Bureau of Nomenclature of an International Botanical Congress. The roles are approved by various combinations of the preceding International Mycological Congress (May et al. 2018 ), the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (May & Lendemer 2023 ), the General Committee (Wilson 2024 ) and the organizing committee for the International Mycological Congress — see Division III Provision 8 of the Code for details. The officers of the FNB for IMC12 are: Amy Rossman (Corvallis, USA; Chair), Tom May (Melbourne, Australia; Secretary), Konstanze Bensch (Utrecht, The Netherlands; Deputy Secretary) and Jos Houbraken (Utrecht, The Netherlands; Recorder). David Hawksworth (United Kingdom) was appointed as Emeritus Deputy Chair at IMC11 and remains in that position.

The Deputy Secretaries will be appointed by the FNB closer to the Congress. Further details on the election and duties of members of the FNB can be found in Hawksworth et al. ( 2017 ). In his role as Rapporteur-général for the Madrid IBC, Nicholas Turland (Berlin, Germany) has kindly agreed to an invitation from the International Mycological Association to attend the Fungal Nomenclature Session in Maastricht as an observer.

As Secretary and Deputy-Secretary of the FNB, we provide here a Synopsis of the proposals, as background for the pre-Congress guiding vote and for the deliberation of the FNS of IMC12. The Synopsis is not intended as a vehicle for the personal opinions of the secretaries, but rather is an opportunity to draw together all the proposals and examine technical aspects such as clarity of wording, ramifications for other articles, and unexpected consequences, as well as indicate opinions of relevant international committees.

The seven formal proposals to amend Chapter F have been submitted for publication in IMA Fungus (May & Hawksworth 2024 ). In case the article with the bundle of proposals does not appear on-line prior to the commencement of the Guiding vote, a pre-publication version is available on the IMA website at: < https://www.ima-mycology.org/index.php/formal-proposals >.

Guiding vote

A pre-Congress Guiding vote will take place subsequent to the publication of this Synopsis, until 2 August 2024 as a non-binding but nevertheless indicative assessment for the FNS on the published proposals. Any proposal that has a "No" vote that is equal to or greater than 75 % in the Guiding vote is automatically rejected by the FNS, unless a proposal to discuss it is moved by a registered attendee of the FNS and seconded by five other registered attendees.

Details on the operation of the Guiding vote for the San Juan IMC were provided by May & Miller ( 2018 ). Participation in the Guiding vote is open to authors of proposals, members of the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi, and members of a range of organizations as set out in Division III of the Code , specifically the International Mycological Association and its Member Mycological Organizations along with additional organisation as approved by the FNB.

Organisations whose members are eligible to participate in the Guiding vote are listed on the IMA website < http://www.ima-mycology.org/nomenclature/guiding-vote >. Results of the Guiding vote will be available on the IMA website prior to the IMC at the same link.

It is recommended to read this Synopsis in parallel with the original proposals (May & Hawksworth 2024 ) before completing the Guiding vote. A pre-publication version of the bundled set of proposals is available on the IMA website at: < https://www.ima-mycology.org/index.php/formal-proposals >.

Options on the Guiding vote, for each proposal will be: No , Yes , Special-purpose Committee , Editorial Committee , and Abstain . A “Yes” vote only implies approval in principle of the proposal, not necessarily of its exact wording. An “Editorial Committee” vote (unless otherwise indicated) instructs the ad hoc Editorial Committee - Chapter F to consider inclusion in the Code of material in the proposal, but does not require it to do so.

Opinions of committees

The proposals to amend Chapter F of the Code were submitted to the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF) and the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF) for their opinion, with the options Yes – No – Abstain. In the NCF 14 out of the 15 members voted and in the ICTF, 13 of the 20 members voted. Percentages are of the members voting. A given committee is stated to support a proposal when the "Yes" vote is 50 % or more.

Proposals to conserve, protect or reject and requests for binding decisions

It is important to note that proposals to conserve, protect or reject names or to suppress works and requests for binding decisions (such as on confusability of names) are submitted to the General Committee (GC) for examination by the relevant Specialist Nomenclature Committee, which for fungi is the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF). The means of submitting proposals and requests to the GC is via publication in the journal Taxon , except for lists for protection or rejection, prepared by working groups established under Art. F.2 or F.7, which are published in IMA Fungus . The most recent reports of the NCF were published in Taxon (May 2024a , 2024b ; May & Lendemer 2023 ) and reports of the GC appear in Taxon . The proposals and requests dealt with by the NCF (and ultimately the GC) are not part of the business of the FNS .

Proposals to amend Chapter F of the code

This Synopsis repeats the exact wording of the proposed changes to Chapter F (May & Hawksworth 2024 ). The authors specific to the proposal are included in square brackets. Numbering of articles and recommendations and the quoted text follows the Shenzhen ICNafp (Turland et al. 2018 ) and the San Juan Chapter F (May et al. 2018 ). When existing articles are quoted, new text is in bold , deleted text is in strikethrough . Entirely new Articles, Notes and Recommendations are all in bold . Proposals below relate to Articles (Art.), Recommendations (Rec.) and Examples (Ex.) of the Code . The sequence of presentation of proposals below follows the numbering sequence of existing Articles in Chapter F , with material related to two newly proposed sections of Chapter F presented at the end as Sections X and Y. Should one or more proposals be accepted, material in Chapter F will be renumbered as appropriate.

Art. F.2.1 – concerning the listing of synonyms in entries for protected names in the Appendices to the Code and clarifying the process of protection

Prop. F-003 [May] Amend Art. F.2.1 as follows and add a new Note (new text in bold, deleted text in strikethrough)

“ F.2.1. In the interest of nomenclatural stability, for organisms treated as fungi, lists of names proposed for protection may be submitted to the General Committee, which will refer them to the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (see Div. III Prov. 2.2, 7.9, and 7.10) for examination by subcommittees may be established by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (see Div. III Prov. 7.2) in consultation with the General Committee and appropriate international bodies for the purpose of preparing lists of names proposed for protection and/or rejection (see Art. F.7.1) for submission to the General Committee (see Div. III Prov. 2.2, 7.9, and 7.10) . Protected names on these lists, which become part of the Appendices of the Code (see App. IIA, III, and IV) once reviewed and approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi and the General Committee (see Art. 14.15 and Rec. 14A.1), are to be listed with their types and are treated as conserved against any competing listed or unlisted synonyms or homonyms (including sanctioned names), although conservation under Art. 14 overrides this protection. The lists of protected names remain open for revision through the procedures described in this Article (see also Art. F.7.1) .”

“Note 1 . Names in lists of names proposed for protection may be proposed with or without the listing of synonyms.”

Secretaries' comments There are two aspects to this proposal. The first is to alter the wording to more clearly explain the process of establishing subcommittees [which in practice have been joint NCF/ICTF (International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi) Working Groups] and preparing, reviewing and approving the lists. The mechanics of the process are not being altered but the suggested amendments provide a useful clarification of the existing processes when lists of names are protected under Art. F.2.1.

The second aspect of the proposal is to remove the listing of synonyms from protected names that are entered into the Code Appendices. This change is sensible because the list of synonyms for any given protected name is not static but may change over time (due to changes in taxonomy). It is not the function of the Code Appendices to provide a full synonymy for each name, but rather to record those names for which formal nomenclatural action (such as conservation, rejection or protection) has been carried out. Synonyms can be determined from taxonomic publications and databases. The proposed change to remove the listing of synonyms for protected names will reduce the workload when relevant Appendices are prepared. We recommend that, should this proposal be successful, the synonyms of protected names currently listed in the Code Appendices be removed.

The NCF strongly supports Prop. F-003, with a 100 % Yes vote (14 – 0 – 0), as does the ICTF, with a 92% Yes vote (12 – 0 – 1).

Art. F.5 Note 3 - clarifying that a proposal to conserve a name with a conserved type does not require citation of a typification identifier

Prop. F-002 [May, Parra, Thines & Lendemer] Amend Article F.5 Note 3

“F.5.4. For purposes of priority (Art. 9.19, 9.20, and 10.5), designation of a type, on or after 1 January 2019, of the name of an organism treated as a fungus under this Code (Pre. 8), is achieved only if an identifier issued for the type designation by a recognized repository (Art. F.5.3) is cited.

Note 3. Art. F.5.4 applies only to the designation of lectotypes (and their equivalents under Art. 10), neotypes, and epitypes; it does not apply to the designation of a holotype when publishing the name of a new taxon, for which see Art. F.5.2 , nor does it apply to proposing a conserved type when publishing a proposal to conserve a name (Art. 14.9) .”

Secretaries' comments The proposal provides a useful clarification that a typification identifier is not needed when publishing a conservation proposal with a conserved type. It does not introduce any new procedure but merely points out something that is current practice.

The NCF strongly supports Prop. F-002, with a 100 % Yes vote (14 – 0 – 0), as does the ICTF, with a 92% Yes vote (12 – 0 – 1).

Art. F.5.5 – concerning the designation of fungal organisms only known from DNA sequence data

Prop. F-007 [Hawksworth, Kirk & Lücking] Insert a new Recommendation and Example

“Recommendation F.5n. Identifiers can be issued by a recognized repository for sequence-based designations where there is no specimen or illustration available to serve as a nomenclatural type, but when released after effective publication such designations should have “nom. seq.” (nomen sequentium) appended to indicate that the designations are not validly published.

Ex. X. The designation Hawksworthiomyces sequentia de Beer & al. (in Fungal Biology 120: 1332. 2016) was assigned the identifier MB815690, but as it lacks a Code-compliant type it is to be referred to as H. sequentia de Beer & al. nom. seq. or H. sequentia nom. seq., but not as H. sequentia. The designation can become available for use upon valid publication (Art. 32-45) with a Code-compliant type.”

Secretaries' comments This proposal introduces a recommendation to be considered for inclusion in Chapter F should any proposals related to allow DNA sequences as types for fungi (see Prop. F-005 and F-006 below) not be successful.

We note that there is nothing to prevent authors of names based on DNA sequences alone (that are consequently currently invalid) from utilising informal devices such as “nom. seq.” but that standardising such devices has merit.

To date, very few names (strictly designations, as names based solely on DNA sequences are not valid) fall under this proposal — less than ten that we are aware of. At large scale, the issuing of identifiers for numerous non-valid names may be problematic for repository curators.

The proposal argues that unless the interim solution of “nom. seq.” is adopted there is a danger that some parallel breakaway system could develop outside of the Code . We note that UNITE (Abarenkov et al. 2023 ) already assigns unique and versioned digital identifiers to taxon concepts based on DNA sequences alone, such as the “species hypotheses” (SHs) at species level. While UNITE does not use binomials for undescribed species known only from DNA sequences, it provides a robust mechanism of generating identifiers at scale in terms of coping with large numbers of SHs based on DNA sequences alone. UNITE is not in competition with Code -compliant names but can be considered to provide a complementary system to the set of formally registered binomial names.

Within the NCF there were mixed opinions on Prop. F-007 (5 – 9 – 0), with a 64% No vote. Within the ICTF there was support for the proposal, with a 54% Yes vote (7 – 4 – 2).

Art. F.7.1 - clarifying the processes of rejection

Prop. F-004 [May] Amend Art. F.7.1

“ F.7.1. In the interest of nomenclatural stability, for organisms treated as fungi, lists of names proposed for rejection may be submitted to the General Committee, which will refer them to the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (see Div. III Prov. 2.2, 7.9, and 7.10) for examination by subcommittees may be established by that the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (see Div. III Prov. 7.2) in consultation with the General Committee and appropriate international bodies for the purpose of preparing lists of names proposed for protection (see Art. F.2.1) and/or rejection for submission to the General Committee (see Div. III Prov. 2.2, 7.9, and 7.10) . Rejected n ames on these lists, which become part of the Appendices of the Code once reviewed and approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi and the General Committee (see Art. 56.3 and Rec. 56A.1), are to be treated as rejected under Art. 56.1, except that they may become eligible for use by conservation under Art. 14 (see also Art. F.2.1) .”

Secretaries' comments The proposed wording changes parallel those proposed for Art. F.2.1 above. There is no alteration to the application of the Article. The changes, as with those proposed for Art. F.2.1, provide a useful clarification of the existing processes when lists of names are rejected under Art. F.7.1.

The NCF strongly supports Prop. F-004, with a 100 % Yes vote (14 – 0 – 0), as does the ICTF, with a 92% Yes vote (12 – 0 – 1).

Art. F.8 - enabling the same epithet to be retained for different morphs of the same fungus

Prop. F-001 [Hawksworth, de Hoog, McNeill & Wingfield] Insert a new provision in Art. F.8

“F.8.2. If, prior to 1 January 2013, an author publishing a new species name for the morph of a fungus that had an earlier name typified by a different morph adopted the specific epithet of the name of the previously described morph, the newly published name is to be treated as a new combination and not the name of a new taxon with a different type. Designations such as “sp. nov.” and ascriptions excluding the earlier name are to be treated as formal errors requiring correction.”

Secretaries' comments This proposal addresses an issue that arose with the change in the Melbourne Code that removed dual nomenclature that allowed the separate naming of different morph states (asexual and sexual) of non-lichen-forming Ascomycota and Basidiomycota .

So-called “names with same epithets” exist where an earlier name applied to one morph state has a corresponding later name that applies to another morph, that uses the same epithet. Should there be heterotypic synonyms described between the publication of the two names with the same epithet, when the current name of the taxon is in a genus the name of which has been used for the later-described morph name, the earlier morph name cannot be transferred to the relevant genus (otherwise a homonym would be created). Thus, the epithet of the heterotypic synonym has to be taken up, potentially (although not in all cases) displacing an established name for a fungus of importance.

We note that Ex. 2 under Art. F.8 indicates that some later names with the same epithet that prior to 2012 were treated as new names (even though there were introduced as new combinations) are, under the current Code , treated again as new combinations. Therefore, this proposal deals specifically with cases where the later name with the same epithet was not introduced as a new combination.

The same proposal was made to the Nomenclature Section of IBC XIX in Shenzhen. It was not approved, but a Special-purpose Committee was set up to examine the issue, initially reporting to IBC XX and then, through action at the IMC11 Nomenclature Session (and consultation with the General Committee), reporting to IMC12 in Maastricht (May et al. 2018 ). The Special-purpose Committee on Names of Fungi with the Same Epithet has submitted its final report (Mitchell et al. 2024 ).

A question within the SPC concerned the number of cases to which this proposal would apply, should it be approved. Cases appear to number in the many hundreds, but the SPC found that it was not possible to document all cases, as links between morph states are not systematically recorded in the global nomenclatural databases. Nor was it possible to provide a list of all cases where it would be advantageous to apply Prop. F-001. Some specific cases are mentioned in Mitchell et al. ( 2024 ) and in the background to the proposal.

The members of the Special-purpose Committee were split on actions in relation to this proposal. As reported by Mitchell et al. ( 2024 ): “In the end, the Committee could not reach a consensus. Some members supported the proposed change as a common-sense fix to a problem created by an unfortunate historical practice, which was subsequently formalized. Other members favored employing already-existing methods for protection or conservation of these names (perhaps with additional streamlining), feeling the proposed change to be unnecessarily drastic for the scale of the problem.”

We note that under this proposal the original type of the second name (whatever morph, asexual or sexual) will cease to have any nomenclatural status. It simply becomes a specimen cited in connection with a new combination. It could only be used as an epitype if the original name was demonstrably ambiguous (Art. 9.9), and the original type of the second name possessed characters that would contribute to removing such ambiguity.

A technical aspect that should be considered is how to keep track of the nomenclatural action of changing the status of a new name to a new combination. Already, when nomenclatural novelties (such as new names and new combinations) and new typifications (such as lectotypifications) are published, it is mandatory for fungi that an identifier is cited (Art. F.5.1 and F.5.4). At least, it could be useful to include a recommendation that the “conversion” of a new name to a new combination, as allowed for in this proposal, be registered through citation of an identifier issued by a registered repository.

A majority (60% of five voting) of the Special-purpose Committee members were in favour of using a list of protected names to deal with the issue — with a proposed turnaround time for approval of less than a year. In relation to time frames, it is relevant that proposals to conserve, reject or protect names take effect “once approved by the General Committee after study by the specialist committee for the taxonomic group concerned” (Art 14.15). Over the last decade there have been long delays between the time of publication of proposals relevant to fungi and publication of the decisions of the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi. However, recent efforts by the NCF are reducing the backlog and the time between publication of NCF reports and publication of reports of the General Committee (GC) is also reducing. GC Report 30 (Wilson 2024 ) that appeared in April dealt with proposals in NCF Report 23 (May 2024a ) that appeared in January.

A final vote on the issue within the Special-purpose Committee (seven members voting) was 3 for and 4 against the proposal (i.e. 57% No). Within the NCF there were also mixed opinions on Prop. F-001 (6 – 8 – 0), with a 57% No vote. However, there was support for the proposal within the ICTF, with a 69% Yes vote (9 – 3 – 1).

Section X (new) - concerning DNA sequences as types

Prop. F-005 [Hibbett, Nilsson, Groenewald, Hallen-Adams, Lendemer, Phukhamsakda, Rosling, Thines & May] Introduce a new Section X in Chapter F “DNA sequences as types”, with new articles and notes

“ F.X.1. For organisms treated as fungi, on or after 1 January 2026, the holotype (Art. 9.1) may be a DNA sequence (see Art. F.X.2) if, and only if, preservation of a physical specimen or isolation and maintenance of a pure culture (preserved in a metabolically inactive state) is technically unfeasible.”

“ Note x. For the purposes of Art. F.X.1, preservation is regarded as technically unfeasible if, and only if, physical specimens or pure cultures cannot reasonably be obtained using technologies available at the time of publication. Preservation is not considered unfeasible if a specimen or pure culture could not be obtained merely for reasons of inconvenience, lack of access or facilities, or if a specimen or culture was lost or otherwise not collected or isolated when it could have been.”

“ F.X.2 . For organisms treated as fungi, in order to be validly published (see also Art. 39.2) a name of a new taxon introduced with a DNA sequence as a holotype (Art. F.X.1) must be accompanied by both (1) citation of an identifier issued for the holotype sequence by a recognized online repository (see Art. F.X.5(a) and App. X) and (2) a diagnosis that compares informative portions of the holotype sequence against comparable sequences of inferred phylogenetic relatives. The citation in (1) and the specification in (2) must be in English.”

“ F.X.3. For organisms treated as fungi that have a DNA sequence as a holotype (Art. F.X.1), an epitype (Art. 9.9) may be a DNA sequence. In order to effectively designate an epitype that is a DNA sequence, the identifier issued for the epitype sequence by a recognized online repository (Art. F.X.5(a) and App. X) must be cited, and (b) a diagnosis that compares informative portions of the epitype sequence against comparable sequences of inferred phylogenetic relatives must be provided.”

“ F.X.4. In order to be validly published with a DNA sequence as type (see Art. F.X.1), in addition to meeting the requirements of Art. F.X.2 a name must (a) be published in an approved journal (see App. Y, Art. F.X.5(b)) and (b) be accompanied in the protologue by (1) a statement as to why it is believed that the taxon is new and unnamed, and (2) an explanation of why it was not feasible for a type specimen to be isolated, cultured, or otherwise prepared.”

“ F.X.5. The Nomenclature Committee for Fungi in consultation with the General Committee, after seeking advice from relevant specialist committees and international societies, has the power to (a) appoint one or more localized or decentralized, open and accessible electronic repositories to issue the identifiers required by Art. F.X.2 and F.X.3 (see App. X), (b) ratify a list of approved journals for valid publication of names with DNA sequences as types (see App. Y), and (c) cancel or alter such appointments or ratifications at its discretion.”

“F.X.6. The responsibility of (a) maintaining a list of approved repositories for storing sequences and issuing sequence identifiers (Art. F.X.5(a)), and ( b ) maintaining a list of approved journals for valid publication of names with DNA sequences as types (Art. F.X.4(a) and F.X.5(b)) rests with the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (Div. III Prov. 7.1(g)).”

Secretaries' comments Much has been written on the pros and cons of introducing types that are DNA sequences (e.g. Thines et al. 2018 ; Zamora et al. 2018 ; Lücking et al. 2021 ; Nilsson et al. 2023 ).

Formal proposals to allow DNA sequences as types that were made to the Shenzhen IBC and to the San Juan IMC were not successful.

The topic has been the subject of two Special-purpose Committees – the first (considering the issue in relation to all organisms covered by the Code ) reporting to the Madrid IBC and the second (considering the issue only in relation to fungi) reporting to the Maastricht IMC. The Madrid SPC has published a discussion paper (Thiele et al. 2023a ) and a final report (Lehtonen & Thiele 2023 ) and two sets of proposals arose from their discussions, one of which treated DNA sequences as types (Thiele et al. 2023b ). The discussions of the Maastricht SPC have resulted in two sets of proposals, under consideration here (F-005 and F-006). A report has not yet been published from the Maastricht SPC.

Prop. F-005 modifies the set of proposals made by Thiele et al. ( 2023b ), to be considered at the Madrid IBC. The Thiele et al. ( 2023b ) proposals are worded to apply to all organisms covered by the Code in circumstances where it is not feasible to preserve a type that is a specimen (or a culture stored metabolically inactive). The Thiele et al. ( 2023b ) proposals had a very high “No” vote in the recent Guiding vote in relation to proposals for IBC XX (Turland et al. 2024 ) and will not be considered at IBC unless there is a proposal to reintroduce them (that has at least five seconders).

For those in support of DNA sequences as types, proposal F-005 offers a straightforward mechanism to do so. A DNA sequence that is lodged in an approved repository may be cited as the type specimen of a new species that is diagnosed on the characters of that sequence in comparison to “inferred phylogenetic relatives”. The proposal is an evolution from Prop. F-005 as put forward at the San Juan IMC, which allowed for species of fungi to be based on DNA sequences in any circumstances, whereas the current Prop. F-005 restricts DNA sequences as types to situations where it is not feasible to preserve a specimen (or metabolically inactive culture).

Nothing in the current Code prevents the publication of new species in self-published non-peer-reviewed publications. Consequently, there is a well-founded concern that a large number of new species based solely on DNA could be published by simply mining sequence repositories and creating phylogenetic trees (without necessarily having appropriate taxon sampling) and diagnoses in a semi-automated process. For this reason, this proposal includes a control on the taxonomic practice by mandating that new species based solely on DNA be published only in one or more specified journals that must be on a list of approved journals.

It is widely accepted that there is no single DNA marker that unambiguously separates all fungi at species level. In a circumstance where the DNA sequence chosen as a marker is inappropriate, the peer-review process of the specified journals is the control mechanism built into the proposal.

We note that for Prop. F-005 and F-006, the current requirements for citation of an identifier when introducing nomenclatural novelties (Art. F.5.1) would remain in force. Should either proposal be successful, cross references to Art. 5.1 should be added for clarity.

Prop. F-005 includes the option of epitypifying a name based on a DNA sequence as a type (the proposed Art. F.X.3). According to the proposal, only a name already based on a DNA sequence can be epitypified by a DNA sequence. There does not seem to be much practical use for epitypification of this nature as the only way that a name based on DNA alone could be shown to be “demonstrably ambiguous” (as required for epitypification under Art. 9.9) would be availability of longer sequences that contain the DNA marker used as type but have increased resolution in other portions that reveal cryptic species. In the FNS, we suggest that the Article on epitypification is pulled out from the proposal and voted on separately, after the main part of the proposal is considered.

Within the NCF there was low support for Prop. F-005 (2 – 11 – 1), with a 79% No vote. Within the ICTF, the Yes vote was 38% and the No vote was 54% (5 – 7 – 1).

Section Y (new) - concerning genomic sequences as types

Prop. F-006 [Thines, Cai, Wijayawardene, Phukhamsakda & Miller] Introduce a new Section Y in Chapter F “Genomic sequences as types”, with the following new articles, recommendations and notes

“ F.Y.1. For organisms treated as fungi, on or after 1 January 2026, the holotype or epitype (Art. 9.1, 9.9, 9.21, 40.5) may also be an effectively published genomic sequence (see Art. F Y.4, F Y.5) if it is technically unfeasible to preserve a specimen or pure culture preserved in a metabolically inactive state that would show the features attributed to the taxon by the author of the name or if there are technical difficulties that prevent preservation of a specimen in a way suitable for later analyses.”

“ Note 1. For the purposes of Art. F Y.1, preservation of a physical type for later use is technically unfeasible if there is no preservation method available that conserves diagnostic features or would allow for later nucleic acid extraction and sequence analyses with technologies available at the time of publication.”

“ F.Y.2. For organisms treated as fungi, in order to be validly published as required by Art. 38.1, 38.2, 39.1, and 39.2 a name of a new taxon for which the type is a genomic sequence does not require a separate Latin or English diagnosis or description, or a reference to a previously and effectively published Latin or English description or diagnosis (see Art. 38.13). Instead of a description or diagnosis, a statement of why it is believed that the taxon is unnamed and an explanation of why a type specimen could not be isolated, cultured, or otherwise prepared must be provided.”

“ Note 2. For the purposes of Art. 38.1, a genomic sequence designated as the type is itself treated as a description.

Recommendation 1. If several related species are described based on a genomic sequence as the type, authors should add a diagnosis by listing diagnostic positions in a pairwise or multiple alignment with the appropriate coordinates (e.g. Kruse & al. in IMA Fungus 9(1): 49–73, Table 2, Fig. 6, 2018).”

“ F.Y.3. The genomic sequence type is to be deposited in a recognized repository (App. Y) and must not be changed (but see Art. F.Y.5) and the unique identifier issued by the repository is to be cited when a name is introduced based on that sequence. In order to effect typification, the citation of the identifier issued for the genomic sequence type by a recognized repository (App. Y) is sufficient.”

“ F.Y.4. To be permissible as a type, a genomic sequence must belong to the nuclear genome of an organism treated as a fungus.”

“ F.Y.5. A genomic sequence permissible as a type must be derived from a single sample, consist of 1 to 10,000 sequence parts (contigs) that collectively constitute the genomic sequence, and contain at least one continuous genomic sequence fragment larger than 200 kb. If later analyses establish that the genomic sequence type contains sequence data not belonging to the same species, nothospecies, or infraspecific taxon, the name remains typified by the largest genomic sequence fragment and all other sequence fragments unequivocally identifiable as belonging to the same taxon.”

“ Note 4 . A continuous sequence means a sequence without interspersed unidentified nucleotides (“Ns”) in case of assembled sequences. In case of single reads, the average read quality must exceed a Phred score of 20.”

“ F.Y.6. The Nomenclature Committee for Fungi, in consultation with the General Committee, after seeking advice from relevant specialist committees and international societies as appropriate, appoints one or more open and accessible electronic repositories to issue the identifiers required by Art. F.Y.3 (see App. Z), and may cancel such appointments if the appropriate standards to issue identifiers in line with the requirements of Art F.Y.3 are not met. The Nomenclature Committee for Fungi has the responsibility to maintain a list of approved repositories.”

Secretaries' comments Some aspects of this proposal mirror the wording of Prop. 005. Key differences are: (1) the requirement for the type to be an assembled nuclear genome rather than a DNA sequence, (2) treating the genome sequence itself as the description (but not requiring a description to be published), (3) recommending (rather than mandating) a diagnosis, (4) no provision for approved journals, and (5) epitypification with a genome only type allowed (for all names, not just those based on genomes as types).

In essence, the proposal allows for the straightforward description of a new species of fungus from an assembled nuclear genome where it is not feasible to preserve a specimen or pure culture stored metabolically inactive.

There is technical detail in the proposed Art F.Y.5, such as the minimum size for “at least one continuous genomic sequence fragment” and the read quality measure (“Phred score”). There are also technical specifications in the proposed Recommendation 1 which mentions “pairwise or multiple alignment”. If the Article is accepted, such technical terms will need to be defined in the Glossary.

In reference to the technical specifications, the proposal argues that “the introduction of a stability-promoting quality threshold is not alien to the ICNafp”. However, the examples of standards provided (such as “full and direct” citation of a basionym) are not comparable to the technical standards proposed (such as Phred scores and sequence length). The requirement for such standards is understandable but we consider that such technical detail does not belong in the Code , which concerns nomenclature not taxonomy. We note that for a description or diagnosis based on a conventional type there is no specification in the Code about the particular characters to be recorded, the methods by which these should be examined (such as in which mountants), the number of individuals to be measured, or the reference works to be utilized (such as specific colour charts).

As discussed in the Synopsis of proposals for the San Juan IMC (May & Redhead 2018 ), the responsibility for development of taxonomic standards for types that are genomic sequences could be placed with external bodies. Such a mechanism for determining standards would also deal with the issue that standards for genomes may well change as technology advances. There are examples of existing provisions of the Code that reference external bodies, such as the recognized repositories that issue identifiers for nomenclatural novelties of fungi (Art. F.5) and the “appropriate international bodies” that are involved in the setup of working groups that prepare lists for protection (Art. F.2.1). Another means of ensuring adherence to taxonomic standards is post-publication approval of names by a working group designated in the Code .

Within the NCF there was low support for Prop. F-006 (2 – 11 – 1), with a 79% No vote. In contrast, within the ICTF there was support for the proposal, with a 62% Yes vote (8 – 5 – 0).

Procedures and further proposals

Procedures during the FNS are laid out in the Shenzhen Code . At the commencement of the Maastricht FNS, there will be a motion to accept the Shenzhen Code and the San Juan Chapter F the basis for discussion. An agenda covering the order of proceedings will be made available via the IMA website and included in the IMC on-line program. The Fungal Nomenclature Session will be scheduled in three blocks on Thursday 15 August. 10:30–12:30 (Nomenclature A), 12:45–13:45 (Nomenclature – Special session on DNA sequences as types) and 14:30–16:30 (Nomenclature B). The special session on DNA sequences as types is scheduled at that time to avoid a clash with any other symposia to facilitate voting by all those who wish to participate. The formal votes on Prop. F-005, F-006 and F-007 will be scheduled for the special session on DNA sequences as types.

Proposals not covered in this Synopsis may be introduced "from the floor" during the FNS, once proposed by a registered attendee of the FNS and seconded by five other registered attendees. It is important to note that during the five-day Nomenclature Section of an IBC, proposals "from the floor" have not been treated as merely "any other business" at the end of the Section, but traditionally have been introduced when important issues have not been addressed by the deadline for publishing proposals prior to the Congress, or when proposals accepted earlier in the week are realized to have unintended consequences that need rectifying. At the Shenzhen Congress, motions from the floor were ruled as having to be submitted by the penultimate day of the Nomenclature Section.

We request that any further proposals that contain significant material are submitted to the Secretaries prior to the commencement of the IMC (i.e. by Friday 9 August 2024), to allow time for such proposals to be made available to participants in the FNS. Any further proposals submitted by that time will be added to the IMA website < https://www.ima-mycology.org/index.php/formal-proposals >. We provide advance notice here that at the commencement of the FNS we will table a motion that new “proposals from the floor” must have been provided to the Secretaries before the commencement of the Session (in a digital format). Should that motion be approved, during the Session it will be permissible to move a motion from the floor to deal with material already on the agenda, but not to introduce new material.

During the Fungal Nomenclature Session, there will be time to debate the merits or otherwise of proposals and it is often the case that minor amendments are made during the course of such a debate. However, any significant changes to the proposals included in this Synopsis should be provided to the Secretaries well in advance of the FNS, to allow for due examination of consequences and interactions with other provisions.

Opportunity to refine proposals concerning DNA sequences or genomes as types

We note that during the IMC there is a symposium sponsored by the ICTF on “DNA sequences as type equivalent - where to next?” to be held on Monday 12 August, 16:30–18:30. Given the complexity of Prop. F-005 and Prop. F-006, which both contain multiple paragraphs, this symposium provides an opportunity for mycologists to examine and discuss the proposals. If there are significant modifications to the proposals that would make them more likely to be supported, this is the time to finalise such modifications, as there will be limited time during the Fungal Nomenclature Session to make such modifications.

Index of proposals

F-001. Enable the same epithet to be retained for different morphs of the same fungus. Insert a new provision in Art.F.8 .

F-002. Clarify that a proposal to conserve a name with a conserved type does not require citation of a typification identifier. Amend Art. F.5 Note 3 .

F-003 . Remove the listing of synonyms from entries for protected names in the Appendices to the code and clarify the process of protection. Amend Art. F.2.1 .

F-004 . Clarify the processes of rejection. Amend Art. F.7.1 .

F-005 . Allow the naming of fungi from DNA sequences as types. Introduce a new Section X in Chapter F “DNA sequences as types”, with new Articles and Notes.

F-006 . Allow genomic sequences to serve as types of names of organisms treated as fungi. Introduce a new Section Y in Chapter F for “Genomic sequences as types”, with new Articles and Notes.

F-007 . Add a Recommendation on the designation of fungal organisms only known from DNA sequence data. Insert a new Recommendation and Example under Art. F.5.5 .

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to David Hawksworth for helpful feedback on the Synopsis and to Nicholas Turland and John Wiersema for providing instructive comments on the proposals in their roles as Rapporteur-général and Vice-rapporteur for the XX International Botanical Congress.

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May, T.W., Bensch, K. Synopsis of proposals on fungal nomenclature: a review of the proposals concerning Chapter F of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants submitted to the XII International Mycological Congress, 2024. IMA Fungus 15 , 26 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-024-00151-y

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The Climate Change Programme under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) is dedicated to tackling the complex issues posed by climate change through a variety of initiatives. These initiatives include Climate Change Science and Adaptation, Climate Modeling, Coastal Vulnerabilities, Himalayan Ecosystem, Glaciology, Human Capacity Building, Institutional Capacity Building, Vulnerabilities and Risks Assessment, Research & Development in thematic areas of Climate Change, Innovation and Technique Development, Sector-Specific Adaptation like Water, Agriculture, Health, Biodiversity and Ecosystems etc. As part of these efforts, DST is seeking proposals focused on Urban Climate Research and Extreme Events, acknowledging the specific and urgent climate challenges faced by India's urban areas.

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