About NPRA:

The National Program Retrospective Assessment (NPRA) is an independent internal evaluation of the impact and outcome of each of the 15 nationally focused, scientifically based ARS research programs based in the Office of National Programs (ONP). 

This review process is a collaboration with the National Program Leaders (NPLs) for each national program. On a 5-year cyclic basis, accomplishment documents are compiled and prepared for review by an external panel of scientific experts.  For each individual program, these experts critique and assess the success which has been achieved based on the current National Program Action Plan.

Time Frame:

The NPRA occurs during the fourth year of the 5- year program cycle. Internal users can access the NPRA Checklist and template documents here.

Audience:

Customers, stakeholders and partners, ARS managers, ARS scientists, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Evaluators:

External experts from academia, stakeholders, and government free of conflicts of interests.

Click for Conflict of Interest and Panelist Information forms.

Timeline:

The NPRA process can be viewed as five distinct events with an overall time of 4-6 months from start to finish.

Current NPRA Schedule (updated April 2024):

For more information regarding the NPRA, please visit our Axon page (for internal users only).