24 THE NATIONAL FOREST MANUAL. 



(3) Working plan. 



(4^ Description of materials. 



(5) Progress reports. 



(6) Inspection reports. 



(7) Project report, which may or may not be published. 



Where cooperation with outside parties is involved, a written co- 

 operative agreement will ordinarily be prepared and executed, fol- 

 lowing the preliminary investigation. 



INCORPORATION IN ANNUAL INVESTIGATIVE PROGRAM (FOREST SERVICE 



ORDER NO. 4l). 



Review by offices and committees. 



Every proposed technical investigation will be submitted to the 

 district investigative committee, if in a district; or to the members 

 of the Service designated by the director of the Forest Products 

 Laboratory or the chief of Industrial Investigations, as the case may 

 be, to pass upon proposed investigations and make up an annual pro- 

 gram for the unit of the Branch in question. The program of tech- 

 nical investigations for each unit, after approval by the executive 

 officer in charge, will be submitted directly to the assistant forester 

 in charge of the Branch. Tfre assistant forester, in consultation with 

 the director of the Forest Products Laboratory and the chief of In- 

 dustrial Investigations, will thereupon make up an investigative pro- 

 gram for the Branch of Products for submission to the Central In- 

 vestigative Committee. After the annual investigative program of 

 the Forest Service has been approved by the central committee and 

 the Forester, the assistant forester will instruct each of the executive 

 officers in the Branch as to the projects assigned to his unit for the 

 ensuing year. 



PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS. 



Purpose. 



A preliminary investigation may be made to determine the ad- 

 visability of a proposed project or to secure information upon which 

 to base a working plan. Reports on preliminary investigations are 

 termed " Preliminary reports." Suggestive outlines for such reports 

 are given on pages 30 to 32 of the Appendix. 

 Summary of procedure. 



The procedure followed in preliminary investigations and reports 

 is as follows : 



(1) Investigation ordered by the director of the Forest Prod- 

 ucts Laboratory, the chief of Industrial Investigations, or a district 

 forester. 



(2) Report prepared and signed by the member of the Service 

 making the investigation. 



(3) Report approved and initialed by the executive officer author- 

 izing the investigation. 



(4) TW T O copies of the report submitted to the director of the 

 Forest Products Laboratory if the project is within the province of 

 the Laboratory, or to the chief of Industrial Investigations if the 

 project is within the field of that office. 



(5) One copy of the report returned by the director or chief with 

 comments and a statement of action required. 



