Costs are generally calculated at $100/hour/person, although this amount is negotiated within the contract and can be significantly less in contracts with other not-for-profit organizations. Travel expenses to any off-site location are calculated in the contract. The contract also includes costs of supplies, ancillary services, such as processing of herbarium vouchers made as part of the research, and overhead, which is normally calculated at about 27 percent of all other combined costs.
Contracted research services are conducted at field locations or at the contracting organization, as well as in the herbaria, library, and offices of BRIT. Except for specialized research projects initiated by staff members, contracts are accepted for field locations where BRIT researchers have experience, primarily Texas, the southern Great Plains, and Gulf Coast region.
Checklists and vegetation descriptions and/or reconnaissance usually will be conducted by an individual BRIT researcher, a small team of researchers or a BRIT technician(s) supervised by a researcher. Depending on the goals, field work can be conducted for a single short interval involving only field identification (which cannot be verified later) or conducted over one or more growth seasons with identification based on the collection of voucher specimens to guarantee future verification. Topographic and geologic factors are used to determine the protocol to successfully sample all plant communities. Standard published floras and, when needed, specialized monographs are consulted in identification and analysis.
Mapping of vegetation is based on topographic maps and aerial and satellite photographs. Copies or digital files of any such references possessed by the client are to be made available to BRIT. When appropriate, BRIT will contract with the Texas Christian University Center for GIS and Remote Sensing for advice and map production. Otherwise, maps will be produced in BRIT's GIS facility. Draft maps will be drawn by noting changes in elevation, soils, and color/tone of aerial photographs. These draft maps will be carried into the field for verification and as an aid for voucher sampling. Final maps will be digitized for printing.
Likewise, quantitative analysis requiring the use of ecological plots will be by small teams of BRIT researchers. Any of several standard statistical sampling methods will be employed, depending on the goals and specifications of the client.
Wildlife habitat assessments and movements or other studies involving animals, fungi, or other organisms will be conducted by teams headed by BRIT botanists along with experienced biologists assembled from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Protocol will follow requests by the client and/or recommendations by the wildlife biologists on the team.
Projects involving herbarium or published data retrieval and analysis will be conducted by BRIT technicians with oversight by a researcher.
Recommendation must be requested by the client, and the understanding is that any preliminary field, herbarium, or library studies must be completed as part of the contract prior to making recommendations on the desired issues.
Products of the contracts will include, where appropriate:
