(Development Research Center of China Geological Survey, Beijing, 100037)
First, the status of American state geological mapping plan in the national cooperative geological mapping plan.
1992, the president of the United States signed the National Geological Surveying and Mapping Law (Public Law 102-285) and formally implemented the National Cooperative Geological Surveying and Mapping Program (NCGMP). Since its promulgation, the bill has been reauthorized twice, most recently in 1999 106 Congress. The law recognizes that geological maps are the basic data for almost all applications and basic earth science surveys. The national cooperative geological mapping plan mainly includes three parts: the federally funded mapping project (FEDMAP); Fund-supported projects in cooperation with the National Geological Survey (national map); Geological Mapping Teaching Project (ED-MAP) supported by matching funds from universities.
The main goal of the national geological mapping plan of the United States is to establish the geological framework of some areas, which are of vital importance to the economic, social and scientific interests of the States. National geologists should seek the opinions of the National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee, which is representative in many aspects, and determine the priority areas of surveying and mapping work on this basis. These priority areas should be based on the national demand for geological map information in the following two areas: areas that need to solve multiple problems or areas that need to solve a convincing single problem; Areas that need to solve key earth science problems through mapping. The choice of priority areas has nothing to do with previous agreements with the US government.
Two, the national geological surveying and mapping project application
Every year, the US Geological Survey issues the Notice of National Geological Mapping Subprogram in the National Cooperative Geological Mapping Plan (equivalent to the project guide of China), which specifies the time limit for submitting the application, the format of the application (see the annex) and other relevant matters needing attention.
Taking fiscal year 2004 as an example, the US Geological Survey issued a project announcement on August 22, 2003, requiring that the application be submitted before June 6, 2003. In fiscal year 2004, each state accepted only one project application. Project applications may include several geological mapping projects, and may include mapping and/or digitization projects. In addition, all projects can be new surveying and mapping projects if the countries concerned think it appropriate. A project can contain one or more map sheets of a specific area. Each project should be: ① clearly defined and fully justified; ② Organize work around convincing problems or drawing areas; ③ Indicate the intention of the federal/state to contribute in the proportion of 1: 1. It is helpful to attach an icon or index diagram to represent the project area. Although the geological mapping project may take many years to complete, it still needs to submit a brand-new application form for formal evaluation every year. The STATEMAP review team will make recommendations on the level of funds applied for the whole project. If not fully funded, the applicant can choose to submit a revised work plan and budget to the STATEMAP project coordinator, which only covers the proposed funded projects. Otherwise, the applicant can refuse to participate in the program.
According to the National Geological Mapping Law (Public Law 106— 148), only the National Geological Survey is eligible to apply for the project of "National Cooperative Geological Mapping Plan" STATEMAP. Because many state geological surveys are composed of state university systems, these universities can submit project applications on behalf of the state geological survey. The State Geological Survey must invite the National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee to hold a meeting once a year to demonstrate the funding qualification. The Committee shall make recommendations to the National Geological Survey on the priority areas of geological surveying and mapping in this state. The approval letter from the director of the National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee must be submitted together with the application for project establishment. The letter should briefly explain the model procedures adopted (see the annex for the format of the project application).
Third, the project application evaluation
The application for the STATEMAP project will be reviewed by a peer review panel consisting of eight members. Five of them are state geologists elected by the American Association of State Geologists, and the other three are USGS geologists, including the coordinator of the STATEMAP project, who is the leader of the review team and is responsible for selecting the other two USGS members. The state geologist is the host of the meeting, while the geologist of USGS provides regional knowledge about USGS plan to avoid duplication of geological mapping work.
All project applications will be considered according to the following criteria: each reviewer will fill in a scoring form for each project application being reviewed, and the scoring form will become part of the official meeting minutes at the end of the review team meeting. In order to avoid conflicts of interest, team members are not allowed to vote on the application of the National Geological Survey or national institutions, and any team member should withdraw when other team members discuss the national application.
1. National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee (10)
(1) Is the committee broad and balanced?
(2) Is there a letter from the chairman of the committee?
(3) Does the letter explain the priority areas of surveying and mapping in this state and the process of determining the priority areas?
(4) Have the names and units of the members of the Committee been published?
2. The purpose of geological mapping (15)
(1) Does the National Geological Survey have a medium-and long-term plan?
(2) How close is the project application and plan?
(3) Does the proposed mapping meet the needs of society and customers?
(4) Does the proposed surveying and mapping meet the objectives of the National Geological Surveying and Mapping Law?
3 technical quality of the project application (40 points)
(1) Is there a clear statement of scientific objectives?
(2) Whether the writing is appropriate and whether the content is consistent with the information in the budget?
(3) Is the attached drawing clear and the explanation clear?
(4) Are the deliverables of each project listed?
(5) Does the project application emphasize the importance and novelty?
4. Clarity and rationality of budget (15)
(1) Are the federal and state funds for each project shared according to the ratio of 1: 1?
(2) Does the budget clearly show the name, salary standard and tenure of each employee in each project?
(3) Are the staff sufficient to achieve the proposed objectives?
(4) Are all site expenses, daily necessities and other expenses properly itemized?
(5) Are all categories classified as indirect costs?
(6) Is there a clear difference between contract employees and registered personnel of the National Geological Survey?
5. Products under previous contracts (20 points)
(1) Are all deliverables submitted on time?
(2) What is the quality of the deliverables?
Four. Budget and fund payment
The budget of the US National Geological Survey project includes the following items.
1. Salaries and wages
List names, positions and rates of return. The salaries of student assistants (including undergraduates and postgraduates) are the expenses payable in this plan. This should also include the people actually involved in the drawing project. In most cases, the salary/hourly salary of senior managers is included in the recurrent (indirect) part of the budget. The hourly wages of personnel related to digitization, auditing and map making (for public documents) can be paid from here. If senior managers do some practical work, they should explain their tasks. If project staff outside the State Geological Survey receive funds from other sources in the state, they should also be included (see the explanation of cost sharing below). The budget table should list everyone's total hourly salary, remuneration rate, position or responsibility. If the contract employee is employed in another category in the budget, it should also indicate the total hourly wage, compensation rate, position and position.
2. fringe benefits
Put forward your suggested rate/total amount. If the rate has passed the audit, a copy of the audit agreement or the name of the audit institution shall be submitted.
3. Field expenditure
Briefly list the estimated travel expenses (i.e. number of people, travel days, daily rate, mileage rate, air ticket fee, transportation fee and any other travel expenses).
Please note: The STATEMAP expert group has decided that the travel expenses for joining professional associations should not be included in this expenditure.
4. Other direct cost categories that need to be listed.
(1) daily necessities. List the expenses of office and laboratory daily necessities, including base maps, aerial photos, rock slices and other office and laboratory daily necessities.
(2) equipment. The federal state map fund may not be used to purchase computer hardware, software or other real estate, but it may be used to purchase software website licenses when necessary.
(3) drilling. Need to explain the drilling cost.
(4) The cost of map digitization.
(5) Agreed services. Determine the contractor (individual or company) to be selected and put forward the standards that contractors should have or choose according to.
(6) printing. The state shall not use the federal state map fund to print multi-color or high-quality black-and-white geological maps produced in this plan, nor shall such printing expenses be used as supporting expenses of the federal fund.
(7) Daily computer maintenance contract costs and computer time costs are not payable costs (these costs should be included in indirect costs). If you want to outsource the digitization of the map, you should confirm it here. Any special expenses should be explained and the reasons should be indicated.
5. Total direct costs
The sum of the above four items.
6. Indirect losses
List the suggested rates and amounts. The project application must be accompanied by an agreed indirect cost rate agreement. It should be noted that indirect costs can only be applied to those direct cost items that can be paid according to the agreed rate agreement. Usually, the direct cost of subcontracting is either excluded from the indirect cost, or a maximum limit is set for the subcontracting cost that can be included in the indirect cost.
Important note: The National Geological Surveying and Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999 (Public Law106-148) stipulates that the indirect expenses, service or plan management expenses (equivalent value) paid by the recipients of USGS and STATEMAP grants shall not exceed1of federal funds. The total amount is the sum of items 5 and 6.
Regardless of the indirect cost rate agreed between the state and the federal government, the state must declare that the total direct cost is shared by 50:50, and the federal indirect cost does not exceed 18%. At most, 18% of the country's total direct cost can be regarded as the country's contribution to the country's indirect cost. States with an indirect tax rate agreed with the Federation higher than 18% do not need to use a higher tax rate to provide additional state contributions. If a state chooses (or requires) to list a ratio exceeding 18% on the state indirect cost line, the result will be that the total state budget exceeds the total federal budget.
USGS adopts the payment management system (PMS) of HHS Ministry of Health and Manpower to provide electronic invoices and payments for project undertakers. Project undertakers can use PMS to establish accounts. For each grant or cooperation agreement, a sub-account will be set up for the grantee to withdraw funds from the sub-account.
Verb (short for verb) submits results.
The STATEMAP plan can accept two types of geological map products. One is a newly developed geological mapping product, and the other is a digital mapping product. The expected result of the digital mapping project is a digital geological map with the scale of 1:65438+ 10,000, which will eventually be included in the national database and the national geological map database. The following situations will be taken as special cases: 1. The scale base map of 1:65438+ million is generally unavailable, for example, in Alaska; Second, the National Cartographic Advisory Committee has approved another scale. The newly developed geological mapping should be mainly carried out at the scale of 1:24000 or 1:25000, which is most useful for managers to make decisions. In some big states, 1:65438+ million may be the most suitable scale. If the basemap cannot be provided at these scales, it will be regarded as an exception.
Geological map is defined as a map depicting the geographical distribution of bedrock or surface geological materials and structures on the earth's surface, and the published base map used by it shows basic information such as topography, hydrology, features and cadastre. Digital geological map can also contain various point data in specific places to form a three-dimensional database. Geological maps are generally accompanied by legends, descriptions, code names of units on the maps, profiles and various other information.
At the end of the one-year funding period, the color print (or black and white print, if it is intended to be published in black and white) of each geological map that should be delivered should be mailed to the coordinator of the STATEMAP project. In order to facilitate filing, the drawings should be folded to the appropriate size, so that they can be put into a standard-sized envelope. However, these drawings are under review and are not final products. The final released map (as a public document or a formal series) should be mailed to the coordinator of the STATEMAP project as soon as possible after being released to the public.
The US Geological Survey has strict requirements for state geological surveying and mapping products, and the submitted results should conform to the policies and standards of relevant institutions on product approval and publication, and conform to the relevant policies of the US Geological Survey. In the project guide, some specific details of the results expression are clearly defined, such as data format, related files, file naming convention, coordinate system, base map, metadata, readme files, browsing maps, plotting files, product files and supporting files. Attachment:
Format of project application (application)
Please arrange your project application in the following format. Following this format can ensure that each project application contains all the necessary information and gets a fair evaluation (if you attach an envelope letter-this is not necessary-please provide only one copy and don't bind it with other materials).
All project application forms shall include the following documents and be summarized in the listed order (from top to bottom).
1. standard form (SF)424, federal grant application form. The person who signs SF-424 in column 18 must have the right to instruct the state government to comply with the authorization terms. Standard Form 424B, Non-construction Plan Guarantee.
2. Proof of applying for federal funding.
3. Agree on the rate agreement.
4. Letter from the Chairman of the National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee. Please attach the names, units and specialties of the members of the Committee. The letter should discuss the process of long-term planning and priority setting, and attach the date of the Committee meeting and the list of participants.
5.5 Application Summary. State map project.
6. Technical text of the project application. This text should not exceed 30 pages, the font size should not be less than 10, and the margin should be 1 inch. Please remember that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the judging panel has a lot of application forms to read. This part of the application form is not good for you if it exceeds 30 pages. The text shall include the following contents:
(1) location and geological background. The text should be accompanied by a clear and readable map (indicating the scale) to show the location of each project area. Remember, the jury is not as familiar with the geography of your state as you are.
(2) The purpose and basis of the project. This part should answer several simple but important questions. Why do you want this mapping? Who is your client? What benefits will society get from this mapping? If geological maps drawn in nearby areas are used by local or national institutions for decision-making, it is best to report these impacts. This part should avoid cliches and exaggerations.
(3) Implementation countermeasures of geological mapping. This essay should emphasize the problems in your long-term surveying and mapping plan that may affect this work, or problems related to seemingly expensive work such as drilling or helicopter support. If a project is part of a multi-year work, explain what work will be completed each year.
(4) Preliminary results and preliminary work. If you have done this work, especially the work funded by STATEMAP, it will be helpful to make a brief summary of its findings or achievements.
(5) Deliver geological map. You should provide a detailed geological map list and deliver it at the end of the one-year funding period. If a project takes more than one year to complete, an intermediate map must still be submitted at the end of the funding year to show meaningful progress. When submitting the drawings at the end of the funding year, it should be recognized that these drawings may be under review and are not the final result.
(6) Project participants. Determine the chief researcher first, and then list other auxiliary positions (such as geologist, field assistant, cartographer or editor). Each position should provide the shortest resume, indicating whether you work in your bureau or in other units.
7. Preface. The preface should explain the long-term geological mapping plan of this state and why this project application is consistent with this plan. It should outline the project objectives and scientific problems to be solved in a very concise way. A picture showing how your long-term planning relates to population growth, traffic corridors or other social needs may be very useful. This part of the project application should be short and clear.
8. Budget tables (one for project application and one for each project). These attachments are just a format guide. You can create your own budget table in the same format, and set more columns for what you need. For each project, the amount provided by the State Geological Survey must be equal to or greater than the amount required by the US Geological Survey, and must come from federal sources. Use your common sense to decide how many to list. If this is a big expense or accounts for a large proportion of your project application, the review team will ask for some details.
9. Publish the map. Please attach one or more published geological maps if the State Geological Survey has accepted the advance state map funding. These maps will be shown to the review team during the review so that they can better evaluate the quality and scope of the products funded by STATEMAP. Only one copy is provided for each published map.
10. Directory index. Please list all the maps and reports published last year, all or part of which were funded by this plan. These publications and metadata should be included in the national geological map database.
Brief introduction of the author
[1] Shi Junfa, director and researcher of the Information Office of the Development Research Center of China Geological Survey.
[2] Jin Qinghua, Development Research Center of China Geological Survey, internship researcher.
[3] Li Youzhi, deputy director and associate researcher of Information Office of Development Research Center of China Geological Survey.