HDC Report Procedure
Purpose of reports
Types of reports
Writing the report - remember the target audience
Deadlines for reports
Submission of report
Distribution of reports
HDC Reports - Special Requirements
Standard Report Format
Report layout
Grower Summary
Science Section
Examples
Downloadable template
Report Procedure
Purpose of reports
HDC reports have several functions:
- they are a requirement of each HDC R&D contract;
- they are an essential means of communicating research results, in detail, to HDC members;
- they provide a means by which HDC can monitor the progress and standard of a project;
- they provide a basis for further work.
Types of reports
a) Annual reports
Annual Reports are usually required for projects of more than one year’s duration. The reports should summarise work completed in each 12 month period (except for the year the Final Report is submitted).
b) Interim reports
Occasionally, reports during the life of a project may cover a period of more than one year, in which case these Interim Reports will describe the work for that period. Alternatively, more frequent reporting may be required than annually and in this case an Interim Report may also be requested. The contract will always state when and if an Interim Report is required.
c) Final reports
The Final Report describes the entire project, including work for which Annual Reports have been submitted. Previously reported work should be included in outline with the final year’s work in detail. Conclusions should be drawn from the entire project.
Writing the report - remember the target audience
It is important that all reports, in particular the ‘Grower Summary’ section, are written in a simple, straightforward style with as little jargon used as possible. Sentences should be short and bullet points used where appropriate. The aim is to make the report an ‘easy read’ while ensuring all supporting data are present.
Deadlines for reports
Reporting deadlines are always included in the contract. Ensure that, when negotiating contracts, sufficient time is built in to the reporting deadline to allow for data analysis and the compilation of the report. It is the responsibility of the Project Leader to provide a copy of the draft report to the Project Co-ordinator(s) for comment, at least four weeks prior to the deadline for submission to the HDC. Comments from the Project Co-ordinator(s) should be incorporated before the report is finalised and submitted by the contracted date.
If a delay is unavoidable, contact the Technical Manager immediately. Always keep us informed.
Project Leaders are required to complete self-assessment forms at the time of submission of the Annual and Final reports.
Submission of report
a) Project Co-ordinators.
Project Co-ordinators are appointed to help Project Leaders on practical grower-related matters and should be consulted in the compilation of the report before final submission to the HDC. Project Co-ordinators’ help should be sought particularly in identifying the benefits of the work to growers in the ‘Grower Summary’.
b) Electronic Copies.
Send a copy of the report on a disk to the Technical Administrator or by e-mail to techadmin@hdc.org.uk for the attention of the Technical Administrator. Microsoft Word is the preferred format, however, we can convert from other word processing packages. Please state the package used and the name of the file clearly on the disk.
We do not have access to statistical or graph-creating software other than Excel, therefore any changes required to graphs/charts will have to be returned to you for amendment.
c) Where to send reports
All reports should be submitted to the Technical Administrator, Horticultural Development Council, Bradbourne House, Stable Block, East Malling, Kent ME19 6DZ. Tel: 01732 848383, Fax: 01732 848498, Email: techadmin@hdc.org.uk.
d) Amendments
Once reports are received, they are checked by the appropriate Technical and Communications Managers. If the report is satisfactory in its style, presentation and content it will be released to members within 6 weeks of receipt. Any major amendments will require a return to the Contractor and will delay clearance of the report. The satisfactory completion of all amendments is required before the report can be released and contract payments made.
Distribution of reports
Providing that no amendments are necessary, all HDC reports will be available to HDC members within 6 weeks of receipt.
HDC Reports - Special Requirements
a) Projects with multiple contractors
In projects with more than one contractor, one person will have been appointed Project Leader with the responsibility for compiling the reports. Data will be provided by the other contractors for inclusion. It is the responsibility of the Project Leader to ensure that all details are integrated. It is particularly important in the 'Grower Summary' and the 'Conclusion' sections that care is taken to report on the integrated results.
b) References to other work
References in the text to earlier HDC and DEFRA work must include the project number. The full title and details of the author should be listed in the reference section. Other references cited in the text should be in the form (name, date), again with full details in the reference section. (see ‘Standard report format’)
c) Photographs
Photographs of the work should be taken throughout the project for use in the reports and HDC News articles etc. Slide or print film is preferred as the print quality of digital images may not be sufficient for quality reproduction in publications.
Photographs can be included in the ‘Grower Summary’ or the main body of the report. Any additional photographs should be included in the appendices.
d) Plant names
Plants used must be correctly named with latin binomials, cultivar names and common names.
e) References to pesticides
Pesticides should be written as ‘trade name (active ingredient)’ when first mentioned in text and then as ‘trade name’ except where the repeated inclusion of the active ingredient would aid interpretation, eg, comparison of products containing the same active ingredient.
Where pesticides are referred to, a statement regarding the approval status of the product should be included. The options are:
- This product has on-label approval for this use,
- This product has a specific off-label approval (SOLA) for use on this crop,
- This product can be used off-label at growers’ own risk under the Revised Long Term Arrangements for Extension of Use (2002).
Where pesticides are included the following format is suggested for treatment lists:
Treatment Number |
Trade Name |
Active Ingredient |
Application Rate |
Application Regime |
Approval Status |
|
|
|
|
Number of applications, frequency of application |
One of the 3 options listed above |
This format can also be used for fertiliser trials, without the approval status column.
f) Waiver, disclaimers and copyright
The ‘Title page’ should include the following waiver, the complete HDC copyright statement and copyright date as a footer written in small font size.
HDC Waiver
‘Whist reports issued under the auspices of the HDC are prepared from the best available information, neither the authors nor the HDC can accept any responsibility for inaccuracy or liability for loss, damage or injury from the application of any concept or procedure discussed.’
HDC copyright statement
‘The contents of this publication are strictly private to HDC members. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the Horticultural Development Company.’
HDC copyright date
The copyright date should reflect the year the report was written e.g. ‘© 2008 Horticultural Development Company’.
The following disclaimer should appear on a separate page to follow the title page for annual reports only:
‘The results and conclusions in this report are based on an investigation conducted over one year. The conditions under which the experiment was carried out and the results obtained have been reported with detail and accuracy. However because of the biological nature of the work it must be borne in mind that different circumstances and conditions could produce different results. Therefore, care must be taken with interpretation of the results especially if they are used as the basis for commercial product recommendations.’
All other pages of the report should include the HDC copyright date as a footer.
g) Style
- Contractors’ logos should not appear on reports.
- Arial (11 point) is the preferred typeface for text. If Arial is not available, a similar typeface should be used.
- Use 1¼ or 1½ line spacing.
- Do not number each paragraph.
- Pagination should start at ‘Grower Summary’.
- Project titles must be exactly as stated on the contract. Only changes agreed in writing with the Technical Manager will be accepted.
- All project numbers must be written with a space between the letters and digits ie FV 74, not FV74. Additional letters should be in lower case ie FV 13d.
Standard Report Format
Report layout
Each report should include the following sections:
Title page
Contents page
Grower Summary
Science Section
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results and Discussion
Conclusions
Technology Transfer
Glossary (optional)
References
Appendices
Other report formats
Occasionally the information for certain projects, particularly variety trials, do not fit the standard report format referred to here. If this is the case please contact the relevant HDC Technical Manager to discuss a more appropriate format.
a) Title Page
This is the first page of the report and should include the following items in the following order:
- Project title
- Project number (always leave a space between the letters and the number ie FV 175, secondary letters are in lower case eg FV 13d)
- Project leader
- Final Report/Annual Report (state year of report and date)
- Previous reports and dates
- Key workers and their roles
- Location of project
- Project co-ordinator (name and address in full)
- Date project commenced
- Date project completed or date completion due (whichever is appropriate)
- Key words – these should include crop names, trade names and active ingredients, pest/disease/weed (both Latin and common names) etc.
- HDC waiver & copyright (see above)
b) Disclaimer for Annual reports
See section on waiver, disclaimers and copyright.
c) Contents page
Pagination should start from ‘Grower Summary’
d) Grower Summary
(Formerly The Practical Section for Growers)
General requirements
The Grower Summary should be a self-contained section of the report which highlights the main objectives and findings of the project and the way growers can use the information to improve their technical, and therefore financial, performance.
The Grower Summary must be in a form for use by the grower without reference to the main report.
The section must be concise and clear and must not contain superfluous or irrelevant detail.
Where there are no changes to grower practice resulting from the project this should be clearly stated rather than mask the issue with background statements or irrelevant details.
This section should be a maximum of six sides of A4.
Annual reports
It is expected that with annual reports, it may not be possible to complete every part of the Grower Summary in detail and hence it is advisable to exercise caution and only complete the Headline, Financial Benefits and Action Points for Growers sections if the results obtained provide sufficient information and evidence to do so.
Format of the Grower Summary
The following format is suggested but there can be flexibility depending upon the type of project and the results to be reported. For projects such as reviews, study tours, grower surveys, variety trials and feasibility studies, other reporting formats may be more appropriate and it is advisable that the Project Leader contacts the relevant HDC Technical Manager to discuss the format prior to report preparation. For all other project reports, attempts should be made to complete the Grower Summary in the following format.
1. Headline
2. Background and expected deliverables
3. Summary of the project and main conclusions
4. Financial benefits
5. Action points for growers
1. Headline
- The key message(s) from the project which should interest the relevant grower, highlighting the financial benefit or informing him that only limited change to growing practice is being advised.
For example:
- Save £300 to £500/ha by reducing N fertiliser application in cucumber crops.
- Save labour costs by not ‘tipping back’ roses as it is rarely worthwhile.
It is important to be able to back up the headline with good information and evidence in the ‘Summary of the project and main conclusions’ section. Aspirational headlines should be avoided. In annual reports in particular, do not include what the project might deliver upon completion assuming that all the work goes according to plan.
2. Background and expected deliverables
- Outline briefly why the work was undertaken.
- What is the intended deliverable(s) from the project?
- Is it intended that this project, on a stand-alone basis, will lead to improvements in growing practice?
- Will further work be required before the results can be implemented?
3. Summary of the project and main conclusions
- Expand the core message(s) and application and provide all relevant details in a form easy to assimilate and compare.
- Use tables and graphs to highlight clear measurable results.
- Show quantified results in a way that relates to growers. A statement commenting that a result is or is not statistically significant is not helpful for growers – further interpretation and comment is needed.
- Give an indication of the probability of success and repeatability of results in a practical situation.
- Use photographs to illustrate the core message, identification or application. To facilitate electronic mailouts of the results to growers and to allow easy access to the Grower Summaries from the HDC web-site, please save all photographs/pictures as JPEG files of no more than 0.5 Mb in size.
- Identify what SOLA application may be required, if any.
- The results and conclusions must be structured in a form to logically integrate all results over the life of the project. This applies to both annual and final reports.
- Use subheadings to structure the results into subject areas.
4. Financial benefits
In the completion of this section, consultation with the HDC Grower Co-ordinator(s) is advisable and most should be able to provide a good analysis of the benefits of the work. Other helpful sources of information include:
(i) DEFRA Basic Horticultural Statistics for the UK
(ii) The Agricultural Budgeting & Costing Book, updated annually and available from abc@farming.co.uk ; Tel (01664) 567676.
- Give the best indication, using a range of numbers if applicable, of the cost/benefit of implementing this project (or in combination with others), accepting that the R&D work is now a sunk cost.
- Indicate any capital expenditure required.
- Indicate risks.
- Substantiate yield loss or performance improvement estimates used in the economic assessment.
5. Action points for growers
This section is best presented in bullet point format.
- Indicate what growers must do differently to achieve benefits.
- Are manuals/training required to implement the results?
- Is support via consultant or others required?
- If there is no clear change of practice, say so.
- Suggest other practical reference material which should be consulted.
e) Science Section
The ‘Science Section’ should also be simple and precise in its presentation. However, it should be detailed enough to describe experimental methods sufficiently for readers to understand the work. Some projects form the basis for further research, therefore it is essential reports are suitably detailed.
Any references to pesticides should be written as detailed on pages 31-32 of these Report Guidelines.
i) Introduction
This section should describe the background and commercial objective of the project, including a concise review of relevant research.
ii) Materials and Methods
This should include: site location, soil type, trial design, treatment list (product, active ingredient, concentration, application rate, application time), assessments including explanation of scales used, cultural details/crop diary (drilling or planting dates, propagation details, irrigation or watering regimes, fertiliser applications, routine pesticide applications, additional lighting etc), and harvest. Details on statistical analysis should also be included where relevant.
iii) Results and Discussion
Describe the results in the text and explain how the objectives detailed in the contract have been achieved. Tables or graphs of results should be placed near the reference in the text. Assessment dates should be clearly noted. Include an explanation of the statistics used.
Tables and graphs
Graphs and tables must be printed in black and white only, for photocopying purposes, therefore differentiate between treatments etc with patterns, dots and shading. Include appropriate details on graphs and tables to enable them to be self-explanatory, avoiding the need for the reader to refer to text for explanations. Pesticides should be referred to using the format as described above.
Tables
Ensure the treatments are clearly identified. If there is insufficient room in the table, use numbers and put a key on the same page. Include the date (and days after treatment) on which the record was made. Explain any scales used on the same page. Statistical significance should be stated.
Graphs
Ensure axes are clearly labelled. Explain any scales used. Ensure that treatments can be clearly identified. Any abbreviations or keys must be explained on the same page for ease of reference. Error bars should be included but not if it makes the graphs appear too busy.
Note: The above report format should be used as standard. However, it may often be more appropriate to report the work on the basis of separate experiments or objectives. In these instances, ‘Materials and Methods’ and ‘Results and Discussion’ sections can be reported per experiment/objective.
iv) Conclusions
In the Final Report this should pull together the findings from the complete project.
In an Annual Report this section will only cover the work for the year. If projects have more than one contractor, the Project Leader must ensure all results are discussed in an integrated manner as described in the initial notes at the beginning of the Report Guidelines. It may be helpful to present the conclusions in a bullet point format.
f) Technology Transfer
This section should list all the Technology Transfer activities carried out that relate to this project; the Final Report should include the complete list for the whole of the project.
g) Glossary
If appropriate a glossary of terms used in the report should be included.
h) References
References should be included in the report and should be written in the following standard format:
Atkey, P.T. and Nichols, R. (1983). Surface structure of Agaricus bisporus by scanning electron microscopy. Mushroom Journal 129:334-335.
Grogan, H. (1997). Examination of the efficacy of two novel fungicides against Dactylium dendroides. Horticultural Development Council Annual report for project M 22.
i) Appendices
This will include all supporting statistical analyses, raw data, and additional relevant photographs not incorporated elsewhere. These sections will only be distributed if specifically
Examples of Grower Summary
NOTE The report template is in Microsoft Word (PC) format, (includes template for grower summary, scientific report and self-assessment which must always accompany a report). All these elements should be kept together and sent electronically to the HDC as 1 complete document, either as an email attachment or, for large files, on CD/DVD. The document must be completed and returned in Microsoft Word format with images and tables embedded within the document.
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