Introducing STCU Project Software

14 Feb 2005 - 14 Apr 2005

February 14, 2005. Today, the STCU is changing the way its Regular Projects are prepared and submitted — improving ease–of–use and adding flexibility and validation — by releasing STCU Project Software (STCUPS) v2.0. Effective immediately, project managers will be required to use STCUPS to submit any stage of their regular projects.

STCUPS v2.0 is a major upgrade to software it released in May 2002, which was used to prepare only STCU Regular Project Applications, also known as Short Forms. This new version has a new, simplified interface and helps in the preparation of all three stages of regular projects. Furthermore, the data required for the Regular Project Application has been drastically reduced and in most cases can be completed in under an hour.

Previously, there were certain restrictions encountered when preparing STCU Regular Projects. STCUPS removes those restrictions, allowing project managers to include as many institutes, scientists, budget items, collaborators, etc. as necessary for their project.

To help the project manager prepare the project, STCUPS offers drop–down menus, where applicable, eliminating the need to type certain data, automatic data calculations for work schedule and budget items, keyboard shortcuts, and other ease–of–use features. Perhaps the biggest time saver, though, comes when a project is ready to be printed and submitted. The software will generate all files necessary for your project, including English, Russian or Ukrainian versions as determined by the locations of the participating institutions, letters to Ministries, a complete list of Previous Professional Experience pages for each Weapon Scientist listed, and more. All these documents include any data already found in the project, so the project manager doesn't have to provide it manually.

Frequently, STCU receives projects which are missing information or contain errors. Such projects are returned to the project manager with information about what needs to be changed, updated or added, incurring a delay in the progression of the project from Application to Proposal to Funding Session and hopefully to Agreement stage. STCUPS provides immediate feedback PRIOR to printing or submission. On the summary page, the user will know exactly what errors remain and can go directly to the source of each error in order to correct it. This ensures that any project received at the STCUPS contains all required information and meets certain STCU guidelines, such as composition of project team and budgetary requirements.

The STCUPS provides benefits to the STCU and its donors, as well. Projects prepared using STCUPS can be added to our database in minutes, which means that the process of internal STCU review, publication for Western Reviewers and ultimately inclusion at a future Funding Session can proceed faster. Furthermore, for those projects which are approved for funding, preparation of the necessary Agreement documents uses the same STCUPS, making it easier to make any requested changes and add new information needed exclusively or Agreements. Finally, since all the data in a project are saved in our database, it is much easier to search the database to answer any requests, especially matchmaking requests. This benefits partners, donor countries, institutes and scientists.

By simplifying the process of preparing a project and allowing scientists and project authors to focus on the substance of the project instead of the administrative details, STCU believes that this software is a major step forward in its effort to help scientists and institutes.

To learn more, visit www.stcu.int/stcups/.