Project Progress Reports and Final Reports

Progress reports and final reports serve two different purposes and are currently managed through two different systems.

Annual progress reports are written for program managers, who must approve them for the next year of funding to be released. The last year of the project is often a no-cost extension, and currently, PAMS does not require a progress report for a project in a no-cost extension.

Progress reports will be requested by PAMS 120 days before the budget period end date for all but the final year of your project. Therefore, you will not be able to submit a progress report until PAMS asks for it.

If you have been granted a no-cost extension, you are not required to submit a progress report. However, some PIs highlight their progress by e-mailing a brief, informal report to the ASR program managers.

In the final year of your project, the final report ordinarily takes the place of a progress report—a public record of the research accomplished with what the taxpayers funded.

Generally, final reports are due 120 days after the end of the award’s period of performance. However, each DOE award includes a Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist that includes reporting requirements, due dates, and instructions. We encourage you to check with your sponsored research office for the specific requirements for your award.

These reports are handled through DOE’s OSTI E-Link page (although they may be requested through PAMS in the future).  A guiding principle when writing a final report is that it is the public record of what was accomplished through your ASR award.

When you submit final reports, include a detailed summary of project activities and accomplishments. The most effective final reports:

• Provide identifying information. Documentation should include the DOE award number, sponsoring program office, name of the recipient, project title, name of project director/principal investigator, and consortium/team members. Identifying information is usually provided on a cover page.
• Include an abstract or executive summary. This should be written in terms understandable by an educated layperson. The abstract is valuable because the entire final report is a public, searchable document.
• Review project activities. Include hypotheses, approaches used, and findings. Include, if applicable, facts, figures, analyses, and assumptions to support the results in a manner that conveys to the scientific community the scientific and technical information created.
• Include publications. It is important to document all publications that have resulted from your DOE-supported research, such as journal articles, software, conference proceedings, and student theses/dissertations.

Other considerations to keep in mind when preparing final reports:

• Discuss the support of graduate students or participation of undergraduate students, especially if there is not a final product (e.g., journal article or thesis) resulting from that support.
• Do not attach journal article manuscripts or published papers to the report. Instead, published manuscripts should be submitted on the ASR website separately from the final report.
• A report should not include any protected, personally identifiable information (PII).