Completing Your Funded Project
If you are in your final year of funding — year 1 of 1, year 2 of 2, year 3 of 3 — or have received a no-cost extension, your project enters its final stage of communication and reporting.
What Happens in Your Final Year
This applies to year 1 of 1, year 2 of 2, year 3 of 3, and no-cost extension projects. Your work is expected to be shared with the broader small fruits and specialty crop community — with a focus on outcomes and real-world application.
What Is Required
Final year awardees have three distinct requirements. Select each below for full details.
Oral Presentation at the Annual Conference
Final year awardees are required to deliver an oral presentation at the NCSFR Annual Conference.
Presentation Format
- 15 minutes presentation
- 5 minutes Q&A
Presentation Focus
- Research outcomes
- What these outcomes mean for industry
- Real-world application of findings
Important Expectations
- The Principal Investigator (PI) must attend and present in person
- The PI is responsible for purchasing a conference ticket
- Attendance costs are expected to be covered by the grant
Final Report Submission
Final year projects are required to submit a final report in October prior to the Annual Conference.
NCSFR administration will provide submission instructions and a link closer to the due date. Reports are submitted through ARIEL — the platform where your original proposal was managed.
Impact Statement Submission
To complete your final reporting requirements, you must submit an Impact Statement through the funding portal.
Steps to Complete
- Log into the funding portal where your original proposal was submitted
- Navigate to the progress report section
- Complete the "Impact Statement Form"
- Enter your responses directly into the document provided in the portal
- Upload the completed document prior to submission
Why This Matters
Final presentations play a critical role in connecting research outcomes with industry application.
By presenting at the Annual Conference, awardees ensure that findings are shared directly with growers, stakeholders, and fellow researchers — completing the research-to-impact cycle. This is not a formality; it is how NCSFR-funded research reaches the people who can use it.
