2. UNDERTAKING OPERATIONAL RESEARCH UNDER CONTRACT TO MAF POLICY
The Contracting Process
MAF Policy specifies the issues which need to be researched and calls for expressions of interest from research providers. These expressions of interest are prepared using a standard format.
The expressions of interest are evaluated by a small committee comprised of those people who will use the information in policy advice formulation. A standard evaluation procedure is followed.
Full research proposals are then called for from those researchers judged to have presented the most appropriate expressions of interest. The full bids are subjected to peer review by at least three reviewers using a standard procedure.
Final selection of contractors is based on the quality of the bids, the priority of the research topic and the amount of money available.
Contracts
All research purchased by MAF is undertaken within the terms of a contract. (MAF does not provide funds for research but purchases specified outputs. It has no allocative function, rather, it is a purchasing agent.)
Confidentiality
While a contractor is obliged to seek clearance from MAF before discussing or presenting research data to a third party, usually, MAF will encourage publication of the results. MAF will withhold permission to publish only when the results are of a confidential or commercially sensitive nature.
Intellectual Property
MAF operates on the principle that it owns that which it pays for under the agreement - nothing more, or less.
Research Direction
Objectives specified in contracts can be modified at quarterly intervals subject to mutual agreement. This clause means that, for example, no contractor would be obliged to follow a course of action made redundant by discoveries made subsequent to the writing of the schedule.
Reporting
Provision of information is the essence of the contracts. There is an obligation to provide a brief non-financial report quarterly. This is intended primarily to give contractors the opportunity to high-light progress but is also important for audit purposes.
A final report, which is both comprehensive and timely, is the major obligation of the contractor under the contract. When the research stretches over more than one year a comprehensive annual progress report is required. This report is a summary of the final reports for the research undertaken in the 1995/96 year.
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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