The Ninth Work Plan of the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP was developed by the CRSP Technical Committee (TC) and describes activities to be conducted by the CRSP during the period from 1 August 1998 through 30 April 2001 under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. LAG-G-00-96-90015-00. The start dates for Ninth Work Plan studies are staged between 1 August 1998 and 1 May 1999, with all final Ninth Work Plan reports due 30 April 2001 or earlier. (No one investigation extends beyond a two-year period although the overall time frame is greater than two years.) Previous activities under this grant are described in the Eighth Work Plan, which covered the period from 1 August 1996 to 31 July 1998.

Preparation of the Ninth Work Plan involved an unprecedented level of internal (within the PD/A CRSP) and external anonymous review of work plan proposals. Proposals were solicited based on priorities and constraints identified in the grant and in other PD/A CRSP documents as described in the Ninth Work Plan Request for Proposals. Well into the review and selection process, the PD/A CRSP learned of a substantial reduction in its USAID budget allocation. As a result, significant changes had to be made in the proposed work plan to ensure adequate coverage of the critical areas within the newly imposed financial constraints. A number of work plans were eliminated and research support activities curtailed. Additionally, substantial budgetary reductions were absorbed by the Program Management Office (PMO).

The goal of the CRSPs current five-year USAID grant, the Continuation Plan 1996-2001, is to provide a basis for improving the sustainability of aquaculture production systems. This approach uses two building blocks to identify research priorities: research in production systems; and capacity building via research support. Research in production systems is organized into three research areas (Production Optimization, Environmental Effects, and Social and Economic Aspects), which are further subdivided into specific research themes. The table on the facing page illustrates the distribution of Ninth Work Plan investigations among the three research areas, and further among research themes. CRSP research is assisted by research support functions which build capacity through educational development, and information and database management.

In relation to previous PD/A CRSP work plans, probably the most significant change is the elimination of the global experiment. Other differences from previous work plans are a new emphasis on regionalization of research and the extent of cross-cutting research projects. In the past, research plans were focused on individual countries, with limited efforts at extending the information to neighboring countries. In the Ninth Work Plan, processes and procedures are identified to ensure that information is disseminated to potential users beyond the borders of our host countries. Cross-cutting research encompasses projects that are conducted at several sites and in the US. Results from these projects are relevant to all host countries and the regions around them.

Work under the Ninth Work Plan will be implemented at the following prime sites: Peru, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand. Work in Honduras was interrupted at the conclusion of the Eighth Work Plan, and a request for proposals has been issued to identify a new lead institution for the Honduras work. In accordance with USAID guidelines, the new Honduras work will concentrate on freshwater aquaculture. The work plans for the Honduras project will appear in the Ninth Work Plan Addendum.

Beginning with the Ninth Work Plan, there will no longer be a procedure for requesting approval of work plan changes from the TC and PMO. Instead, researchers will provide notice of work plan changes by completing a form developed by the Technical Progress Subcommittee (TPS) of the TC to be submitted to the PMO along with other annual reporting elements. The information collected on the form will serve the TPS, the External Evaluation Panel, and others in evaluating progress on Ninth Work Plan projects. Project Leaders are still advised to contact the Management Entity if changes cause the research to differ significantly from that of the original approved work plan.