Submit An IAR

If you have a permit, you must submit an Investigator Annual Report (IAR) for each year that the study is active, even if you did not do any research in the park. Many people – resource managers, other scientists and scholars, educators, conservation professionals, students, etc. – are interested in your research and your findings. Because it communicates scientific information about protected public lands, the IAR embodies the core rationale for why parks are open to research and scholarship.

You can submit an IAR at any time. A reminder email is sent at the start of a calendar year to the previous year’s permit-holders. Given the importance of IARs, park research coordinators may deny permit renewals or new permits if there are outstanding IARs.

The IAR is intended to be made available to the public (note that anyone can use the RPRS Search menu to find IARs). Therefore, please describe your results in language accessible to a broad and non-specialist audience. Please also avoid sharing sensitive information like the specific locations of endangered species. If you have questions, please discuss them with the park’s research coordinator.

How to Do This

On your Investigator Dashboard, go to the “Tasks in Progress” section and open the panel labeled “Submit Investigator Annual Report.” There you will see a list of the permits on which you must report.

To begin an IAR, click on the edit button (pencil icon) on the far left of the table row. You will then see a Requirements page that lists the types of information to provide, some of which you may want to prepare in advance. To proceed, click the “Continue” button at the bottom of the Requirements page.

As with the permit application, the IAR form has a few tabs. Most are pre-filled with information from your application and permit. You can edit much of that information to reflect your actual activities.

IAR form open to Tab 5.

Tab 5, “Research,” is the primary reporting section. Use the “Findings” field to enter a description of your results and progress during the year. Note the 4,000 character limit. If you did not conduct any of your proposed activities, state that briefly in the Findings field (e.g. “No work was done in the park due to inclement weather and a funding shortfall.”)

For the current status of your study, select the appropriate radio button. If you select “Completed,” you must have met all obligations of the permit, including submission of required data or other information and the correct disposition of any collected specimens (e.g. specimens planned to be destroyed have in fact been destroyed; specimens planned to be retained have been labeled and cataloged per the park curator’s directions).

In the funding section, report only the costs realized during this reporting year.

For the last question about collections, select the appropriate radio button. If you select “Yes,” describe your specimen collection in the text box.

Dialog box for uploading a file as part of the IAR.

You are not required to attach additional documents. However, the IAR form can be a convenient way to submit data, field notes, reports, maps, etc. that the park requires as a condition of your permit. If you want to use this option on Tab 5, click the “Add attachment” link, which will open a dialog box. In the dialog box, enter a brief description of the file in the text field, then click the “Add File” button to select the file you wish to upload. Then click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box to return to the IAR form.

When you are done entering all information, use Tab 6 to either save a draft for future editing or submit.

Upon submitting, you will see a confirmation page from which you may download a pdf of your IAR for your files. You will also see your IAR on your Investigator Dashboard in the “All of My Work” section.

The park’s research coordinator will be notified of your submission and will review it. They may return it to you for editing, check it in as complete and publicly accessible, or check it in as containing sensitive information and therefore not publicly accessible. Ideally, all IARs should be written so they are complete and appropriate for public access.

Do you have questions about the software? The RPRS HelpDesk is available. e-mail us