When the Primate Center is involved due to an Animal Use protocol, a Primate Center compliance reviewer node is added to the approval flow. The reason is “Approver: Animal Use – Primate Center Involved.”
If the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) needs to approve for personnel or as the organization code receiving funding (2160401000), then approvals may be combined into a single node.
Org Receiving Funding
WaNPRC / Primate Center Personnel
Primate Center Involved
Approval Nodes and Reasons
WaNPRC
Yes
Yes
Primate Center, Reviewer
Approver: Animal Use – Primate Center Involved
Vice Provost-Research, Dean Reviewer
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
WaNPRC
Yes
No
WaNPRC, Dept Reviewer
Approver: Organization Receiving Funding
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
Vice Provost-Research, Dean Reviewer
Approver: Organization Receiving Funding
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
WaNPRC
No
Yes
Primate Center, Reviewer
Approver: Animal Use – Primate Center Involved
WaNPRC
No
No
WaNPRC, Dept Reviewer
Approver: Organization Receiving Funding
Vice Provost-Research, Dean Reviewer
Approver: Organization Receiving Funding
Not WaNPRC
Yes
Yes
Primate Center, Reviewer
Approver: Animal Use – Primate Center Involved
Vice Provost-Research, Dean Reviewer
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
Not WaNPRC
Yes
No
WaNPRC, Dept Reviewer
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
Vice Provost-Research, Dean Reviewer
Approver: Personnel Selected Unit, Personnel Name, WANPRC
The Advanced Search link on the My Approvals page displays the search criteria which you can use to find specific eGC1s or Advance Budget Requests.
You can search on any single field or a combination of the criteria to locate items. More specific searches will return fewer results.
Search Field
Description
Item Number
Enter the entire eGC1 or Advance number with the prefix. For example, “A12345” or “ADV12345”.
Short Title
Enter any of the words or string of letters contained in the title. You must enter at least three characters.
Full Application Title
Enter any of the words or string of letters contained in the title. You must enter at least three characters.
PI name (last, first)
Enter the last name, or the last name plus first initial, or the last name plus first name. For example: Smith; Smith, J; or Smith, John. You may also enter just the beginning of the last name as long as you enter at least two characters.
Org Code Receiving Funding
Enter three or more starting digits of the organizational code. See the Organization Code description for information about the codes.
Sponsor Name
Enter any of the words, string of letters contained in the sponsor name, or the sponsor’s acronym. You must enter at least two characters.
Date Approved After
Enter a valid date (mm/dd/yyyy). For example, enter 6/1/19 to display eGC1s that you approved after that date.
Date Approved Before
Enter a valid date (mm/dd/yyyy). For example, enter 6/1/19 to display eGC1s that you approved before that date.
My Approval Status
Choose an approval status from the drop-down menu. eGC1s in the selected status will appear on the display list. Choices are:
Approved
Returned
En Route
Waiting Approval
Watching
Watched
Item Status
Choose an item status from the drop-down menu. Only Items in the selected status will appear on the display list. Some of the statuses only apply to eGC1s or Advances, as noted. Choices are:
Routing
Withdrawn
In OSP (only applies to eGC1s)
Approved (only applies to eGC1s)
Returned
In GCA (only applies to Advances)
Processed (only applies to Advances)
Awarded (only applies to eGC1s)
Denied by Sponsor (only applies to eGC1s)
Permanently Withdrawn (only applies to eGC1s)
Select Search to display the results list, which displays the following information:
The “approval flow” includes all UW individuals, divisions, departments, deans, and/or compliance offices (including OSP), that must review and sign off on a proposal before its submission to the sponsor. Review: How the Flow is Generated.
SAGE automatically routes the proposal to the individuals and units included in the approval flow. The system also sends email notifications of pending approvals to Approvers on campus. OSP uses their SPAERC (Sponsored Projects Administration & Electronic Research Compliance) tasklist to manage proposals waiting for approval. Review: Reviewer Email Notifications.
As a reviewer, you can access the approval flow for an application from the Approvals tab in SAGE. You have the option of viewing a graphical or a textual representation of the approval flow. If you are a preparer or owner of the eGC1, you can also access the approval flow from the Certify & Route page of the application.
Generally, anyone who appears on the SAGE approval flow is referred to as a reviewer. More specifically, reviewers are either Approvers or Watchers.
The item status indicates where an eGC1 or Advance Budget Request is in the overall creation and routing process. Use the check boxes to filter your approvals list. Some check boxes only apply to one item type which is included in the label. For example, In GCA (Adv) indicates that the In GCA status only applies to Advances.
The following image shows the My Approvals page with the My Item status choices displayed.
The item statuses are:
Status
Description
Routing
Items which have been completed and are currently routing to campus approvers.
In OSP (eGC1)
eGC1s which the PI and all required campus units have approved, and OSP has received for review.
Approved (eGC1)
eGC1s which OSP has approved.
In GCA (Adv)
Advances which the PI and all required campus units have approved, and GCA has received for review.
Withdrawn
Items which someone with owner or edit access has withdrawn from routing to edit.
Returned
Items which a reviewer has returned for modifications.
Processed (Adv)
Advances which GCA has reviewed and completed.
Awarded (eGC1)
eGC1s which the sponsor has awarded.
Denied by Sponsor (eGC1)
Applications which the sponsor has denied. SAGE users can change an application to Denied by Sponsor status if the sponsor is not the UW Royalty Research Fund (RRF), or if there is no child FA. OSP can also change an application to this status.
Permanently Withdrawn (eGC1)
Applications which will not be submitted to the sponsor. SAGE users can change an application to Permanently Withdrawn if there is no child FA. OSP can also change an application to this status.
Grant Runner validation and usability improvements
Award Signature update for RRF
Addition of optional WIAP column in SPAERC tasklist
SAGE Approval Graph
Export Control added as “Watcher” on Applications with Foreign Entity Involvement
An Export Control “Watcher” node will automatically be added to the eGC1 approval graph when one or both of the following data-related Non-Fiscal Compliance questions are marked “Yes”:
D-2. Is the project intended to assist a foreign country’s military or space activities?
D-4. Will the project involve travel to or collaboration with a person or entity in a sanctioned country (e.g., Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria)?
Once the application reaches “In OSP” status, an automatic Export Control hold is applied to the application. OSP can manually remove the hold.
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Select Agents Reviewer Update
Previously, EH&S Select Agents were listed as approvers when “Select Agents and Toxins” were chosen on the Non-Fiscal Compliance section (EHS-1) of an application. Now, EH&S Select Agents are listed as “Watchers” who will receive notice of the application, but are not required to take action. The select agents and toxins description has also been updated to remove the text “EH&S approval of this eGC-1 is required due to federal regulations.”
The following image shows an approval graph with the both the Export Control watcher and the EH&S Select Agents watcher.
SAGE Grant Runner
Validation Update
An ORIS implemented validation on the Grant Runner Research Plan form has been removed to align with the NIH validation. The Progress Report Publication List or Progress Report will no longer have an ORIS validation on Renewal and Resubmission applications. If the attachment is required by the NIH, users will still see an NIH validation when they run a “Check for Errors” on their application.
Help Links and Guidance Updates
A help link has been added to the RR Subaward Budget and the PHS Human Subjects & Clinical Trials Study forms. Detailed instructions will guide Chrome users through the steps of downloading and opening the editable forms. The following image shows part of the form and the help instructions.
SPAERC
RRF Funding Actions No Longer Require an Award Signature
When RRF is listed as the sponsor, the Award Signature field now defaults to “Not Required.” The field will still be editable when the FA is “In OSP” status.
Washington Innovation Advantage Program (WIAP) Column Available on Task List
A new column can be optionally displayed on the SPAERC task lists for Funding Actions and Admin Actions The column will display the value selected in the WIAP field (Yes, No, blank). Users can sort the task list by that column. The following image shows the Funding Actions task list with the WIAP column highlighted.
New School of Medicine watcher on the eGC1 Approval graph
The School of Medicine will now be included as a Watcher on the eGC1 approval graph when any of the following Interdisciplinary Organization Units reviewers have been selected on the PI, Personnel, & Organizations page of the eGC1:
Radiology Services
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI)
Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD)
The following image shows an approval graph with CHDD added and the School of Medicine watcher node.
SAGE Budget
Accessibility improvements and bug fixes
Accessibility improvements were made to all type-ahead search features in SAGE Budget. Now users who solely use a keyboard can fully navigate those features.
In addition some minor bugs were identified and fixed:
Special characters no longer cause errors in the type-ahead searches
The F&A base type for subawards has been removed from the Budget Summary totals table
Currency fields now display the zeros to the right of the decimal point
Budget titles that exceed the maximum length no longer cause errors
SAGE Grant Runner
Sponsor Budget Map issue with custom roles resolved
An error that occurred on the Sponsor Budget Map when a user entered a custom role in the Other Personnel section that exactly matched a Key Personnel role has been resolved. Users can now enter any custom role for Other Personnel.
SPAERC
Award Signed Date
A new Award Signed Date field has been added to FAs, NAAs, and PACs. This field is intended to capture the date when the last signature needed for the agreement was obtained. The field will require the user to either enter a date or select “Not Required” prior to approval for all new agreements. This adds a valuable data point for award reporting, and will be used by the School of Medicine and Clinical Trials Office to verify that agreements have been signed prior to enlisting participants in clinical trials studies.
The following image shows the new fields on a Funding Action.
When you are logged in to SAGE, but have not been actively using the system for 40 minutes, a dialog message displays indicating that your session will expire in 5:00 minutes. The dialog will continue to count down the time. You have the option to click “Keep Working” to re-activate your session.
If you do not click “Keep Working”, then when the time count reaches zero (0) minutes, your session will expire. Your browser will be redirected to a “session expired” page from which you can log back in to the system you were using. Any unsaved data at the time your session expires will be cleared.
The SAGE system has always timed out after 45 minutes of inactivity. We have now made the timeout more visible so you know that your session has expired, instead of sending you to the tasklist with no explanation.
The following image shows the session timeout dialog, with the time remaining until expiration and the instruction to click “Keep Working” if you want to continue to stay logged in.
In order to give reviewers/approvers better visibility to the application’s sponsor deadline, the deadline now appears on the Approval Graph in the Application Details section.
PI Assurance Statement Updated with Multiple PI Guidance
The Assurance Statement for Principal Investigators on eGC1s has been updated to include a statement guiding them on their responsibilities for ensuring Multiple PIs from external organizations provide proper assurance, in compliance with federal regulations. The newly included verbiage reads as follows, and is visible on the Certify and Route page when the PI is logged in, and on their approval page when they have not yet noted their assurance:
If this is a multiple PI application, I understand that if I am the eGC1 PI, my approval of the eGC1 indicates I have obtained written assurances from external PIs named in this application that include this Non-UW Multiple PI Assurance Statement.
Application PI Added to Priority Email Notifications
When an eGC1 contains personnel with the Application PI role, the Application PI will now receive the following email notifications to ensure they are alerted to important changes:
Final Sponsor Documents Required for eGC1 – reminder email for deadlines sent if eGC1 has not been marked “Ready to Submit”
eGC1 Returned by Reviewer (campus reviewer) – to inform owners their submitted eGC1 has been returned by a campus reviewer
eGC1 Returned by Reviewer (OSP) – to inform owners their submitted eGC1 has been returned by OSP
eGC1 Received at OSP – eGC1 has reached OSP and will begin the central review process; includes OSP assignment
Application Review Notice (auto generated by OSP) – generated after central review and includes OSP review comments
Requested Documents Ready for Pickup – signed and scanned documents are uploadable to an application and are ready for pickup
FCOI Just-In-Time notification – to indicate eGC1 has reached JIT
Funding Action email w/Funding Action pdf attached
Post Award Change email w/PAC pdf attached
FIX: Non-UW authorized SAGE users cannot create new eGC1
Non-UW SAGE users, such as partners as SCCA or Fred Hutch, were receiving errors when attempting to initiate new eGC1s. The system restriction has been updated, so that all persons with a valid UW NetID and an appropriate SAGE Astra Role can perform their SAGE duties as expected.
FIX: Common Interdisciplinary Org Unit Reviewer checkboxes can’t be unchecked
An issue was resolved where eGC1 preparers who had previously checked one of the Interdisciplinary Organizational Unit Reviewers to add to the approval graph, and then later wanted to uncheck the unit, were unable to do so. Users can now check and uncheck as necessary before completing the eGC1.
FIX: Activity Locations without an address display blank in summary table
In the case where a location sourced from the GeoSims database does not have an address, the summary table on the Activity Locations page will now show the test “Not Provided” for consistency and clarity.
FIX: Editing Activity Locations or International Involvement sections in Firefox causes page to freeze
An issue with Firefox and locking/freezing of the Activity Locations page on edit has been resolved.
SAGE Budget
SAGE Budget Updates to Workday Salary Data Displayed for Personnel
In order to clean up and clarify the salary distribution data presented to SAGE Budget users, the following updates were made:
Make Institutional Base Salary more easily configurable in SAGE and update existing rules
SAGE Budget can now be more easily updated when new Compensation Plans are added to Workday. This will ensure salaries in SAGE Budget reflect each person’s Institutional Base Salary. This release also brings SAGE Budget up to date with the Compensation Plans currently in Workday.
Distribution % for Administrative and Endowed Supplements no longer factor in FTE
Administrative and Endowed Supplements will now show the Distribution % direct from Workday. Previously, these Compensation Plans used the same Distribution % calculation as General Salary, which incorrectly reduced the total pay for people with supplements tied to part-time positions.
Administrative and Endowed Supplements now included for Non-Faculty Personnel
SAGE Budget will now include Administrative and Endowed Supplements in Institutional Base Salary for any UW personnel who have them. Previously, these Compensation Plans were only included for faculty.
Other Minor SAGE Budget Fixes
The following SAGE Budget issues are now resolved:
FIX: 07 Retirement Benefit percent does not update when changing personnel from APL to non-APL
FIX: The Update (Benefit) Rate button in personnel salary and benefits by period does not work
FIX: 01-70 Changing between exemption rate settings for 01-70 staff does not result in refreshed benefits rates for individual personnel entries
SAGE Grant Runner
Populate SF424 Federal Agency from the Opportunity Data
The SF424 Grant Runner sponsor form will now default in the Federal Agency from the opportunity information retrieved from Grants.Gov, instead of the sponsor listed on the eGC1. This will improve accuracy on the Grant Runner form and reduce the risk of issues at the time of submission.
FIX: Error on History & Comments page for Grant Runner eGC1s (Released via patch on 6/19/19)
An issue has been resolved that was causing an error for users when they would navigate to the History and Comments section of the Approvals tab for an eGC1.
Campus research teams and related central offices use the SAGE Suite electronic research administration system to manage application proposals and related items. The suite consists of three components that access the shared SAGE Suite database.
SAGE: System to Administer Grants Electronically – used by campus researchers and administrators
SPAERC: Sponsored Projects Administration & Electronic Research Compliance – used by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
SERA: System for Electronic Research Accounting – used by Grants and Contract Accounting (GCA)
In addition, FIDS: Financial Interest Disclosure System is used by researchers designated as investigators; it integrates with SAGE
The following set of tables gives a high-level overview of who uses each of the different components, and describes the possible actions and the why and/or when.
SAGE: System to Administer Grants Electronically
WHO: Campus research administrators, Principal Investigators, campus reviewers, compliance reviewers
ACTION
WHY / WHEN
Create SAGE Budgets
Centralizes data gathering for salaries, benefits, F&A rates. It can be connected to an application, which automatically populates the eGC1 budget data on the Budget & Fiscal Compliance page. Any changes to the budget will update in real time when the eGC1 Budget & Fiscal Compliance page is viewed.
In addition, if your eGC1 is a Grant Runner application using the RR Detailed Budget form, your budget data will appear in the form.
Create applications (standard or Grant Runner)
Required for all sponsored research. The standard eGC1 pages of the application are, in effect, an approvals routing cover letter for the proposal. Only the UW uses the eGC1. It does not go to the sponsor.
A Grant Runner application includes, in addition to the standard eGC1 pages, the sponsor forms for NIH. OSP submits the application “system-to-system”.
Approve routing applications
The Principal Investigator, Multiple-PI, Application PI, academic reviewers (division, department, dean) and compliance reviewers (human subjects, animal use, EH&S, etc.) view and approve the application. At each approval, SAGE captures a PDF snapshot of the application and attaches it to the eGC1’s Approvals History & Comments page. Copies of the attachments are also captured.
Administrators and reviewers have the option to return the application to the research team for changes. They can also add other reviewers (as individuals or a group) to the approval flow as needed. These are referred to as “ad hoc” reviewers (approvers or watchers).
Request an advance budget number for awards
Used when the research proposal is being awarded by the sponsor, but the actual award has not yet arrived. It requests GCA to set up a budget account in the financial system so the research team can start spending the anticipated award money. The preparer completes the request in SAGE, then GCA processes it in SERA.
Create subaward requests for awarded applications
Used when a research proposal has been awarded and part of the award needs to go to the subrecipients (subcontractors) that are the UW research team’s collaborators. For a new award, a “new” subaward request (SA) is created along with its parent subaward (SC). For an ongoing award, a “modification” request would be created within the existing subaward (SC).
SPAERC: Sponsored Projects Administration & Electronic Research Compliance
WHO: Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
ACTION
WHY / WHEN
Review and approve applications
OSP reviews the information on the eGC1, such as the sponsor proposal information and compliance questions, after all campus reviewers have approved. When OSP approves the application, they place it into a new or existing Cycle.
Add Approved applications to a Cycle
A Cycle holds a “competing segment” for a research team/project/sponsor combination. It’s a container to keep applications, their related advances, funding actions, admin actions, and subawards together. One cycle can be “related” to another, so that more than one segment is associated.
A Cycle is automatically deleted when the last item in it is removed.
Create various types of Administrative Actions as needed
Administrative Actions document various related agreements, adjustments and/or changes, and the finalization of a research project. These actions all appear in the project’s cycle, associated to their appropriate parent item.
Note that all actions (including Funding Actions) start as “unidentified” ones, with a prefix of AA. They are then converted to the specific type needed.
Non-Award Agreement (NAA) records a generic agreement not pertaining to funding.
Pre-Award Notification (PAN) records a change to the proposed project before the sponsor awards funding.
Post-Award Change (PAC) records changes to the project after the sponsor awards the funding.
Close Out (CO) records the tracked activities to terminate a project upon completion of the research.
Create Funding Actions (FA) for awards
When the sponsor awards an application, OSP creates a Funding Action as a child of the application. Depending on answers to certain compliance questions, the system may apply one or more automatic “holds”.
Once OSP completes the FA (and all holds are cleared), they transmit it to SERA for GCA to establish a budget in the financial system (if not already done via Advance Request).
Process subawards
OSP reviews the subaward requests, and negotiates the contract with the subrecipient. The request moves through several statuses until, when the agreement is “fully executed” the request becomes Active. It is automatically “Expired” once the End Date is passed.
SCs and FAs can have a many-to-many relationship. The system enforces that all related FAs and SCs must be within the same cycle.
SERA: System for Electronic Research Accounting
WHO: Grant & Contract Accounting (GCA)
ACTION
WHY / WHEN
Process Advance Budget Number Requests
Received from the research team, an advance allows the team to spend award money before the actual award arrives. GCA adds a budget number to the ADV and sets up that budget in the financial system. As part of completing the ADV, the system sends a notification to the requesters.
Process Funding Actions
Received from OSP. GCA adds a budget number, if needed, and sets up the budget in UW financial system. As part of completing the FA, the system sends a notification to the requesters, and the first-level reviewers for the organization code receiving funding.
Process Post-Award Changes
Received from OSP. Not all types of PACs are sent on to GCA. As part of completing the PAC, the system sends a notification to the requesters.
Create “Other” items
Created as needed for various budgetary processes. These items only appear in SERA.
FIDS: Financial Interest Disclosure System
WHO: Any research personnel designated as an “Investigator” on the PI, Personnel, & Organizations page of the eGC1.
ACTION
WHY / WHEN
Create a Financial Interest Disclosure for an eGC1
or
A disclosure for a CoMotion tech transfer agreement or IRB approval
or
Complete an Annual Update disclosure
Investigators are required to disclose any significant financial interests (SFI) such as salary, equity, sponsored travel, etc., that might, or might appear to, bias their research.
An investigator must complete a disclosure for each eGC1, whether or not there are SFI that apply, before the proposal can be marked as Ready-to-Submit = Yes.
The disclosures are reviewed by the SFI Reviewer, in the central Office of Research, who determines if there is a potential for a Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI). The review occurs at the time of award (just-in-time).
Annual Updates: All investigators are required to review and update their SFI at least once a year. The “year” is calculated from the date of the last disclosure created in FIDS. Investigators are notified by email 45 days prior, and again at 15 days prior, to the end of that year’s time.
Full details on using FIDS can be found in its User Guide.
