Project Ranking Criteria

The Board will consider the criteria listed below when developing recommendations for the Science Transfer Program.

Fishery agency and commission programs – Ideal projects will be responsive to the issues and needs identified by lake committees, the Joint Strategic Plan, and the commission’s Strategic Vision.

Conservation/rehabilitation – Projects increase in priority when they address species of special conservation or rehabilitation concerns and are important to fisheries and the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Information transfer – Projects will be evaluated for their potential to accelerate the use of new information or the development of policies that will improve fishery management.

Basin-wide importance – Highest priority will be given to those projects that address basin-wide issues.

Technical or organizational merit – Projects must be organized so as to enlist the appropriate agency partners for the task. Excellent projects will be those that have clear objectives, are designed appropriately, include appropriate partnerships, and have defined products (e.g., a database, web site, publication, and workshop recommendations and summary).

Past performance – Project leaders should be able to demonstrate technical expertise to complete the project or have co-investigators or appropriate partnerships with other organizations to meet all of the requirements of the project. Projects must be non-duplicative. Project and co-project leaders should possess the expertise to complete the project and have had successes with similar projects.