SAGE – the System to Administer Grants Electronically – is the web-based system used by faculty, researchers, administrators and staff.
You can stay up-to-date on changes in SAGE (and FIDS) by subscribing to our Office of Research Information Services (ORIS) News.
The core SAGE system allows you to carry out several tasks:
- SAGE Budget helps you create an accurate budget for your grant proposal. It auto-populates data from the payroll and financial systems, helps you select proper rates, and calculates totals automatically.
- You can connect a budget to a standard or Grant Runner eGC1 to populate budget data.
- You will need to connect a budget to an Award Setup Request.
- eGC1 Forms are the electronic Grants and Contracts forms you use to route your grant proposal through the University’s internal compliance process.
- Grant Runner applications combine the eGC1 and sponsor forms for some NIH funding opportunities requiring SF424 R&R forms, including Modular, Detailed and Subaward Budgets. With the click of a button, OSP can electronically submit your application via Grants.gov to the sponsor.
- Approvals is the electronic routing engine that stages eGC1s, Advances, and Award Setup Requests for approval by associated departments, colleges, compliance offices, and the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Advances creates an online request form for an advance budget number.
- Awards allows you to create Award Setup Requests and Modification Requests.
- Subawards submits a request for a new subaward or a modification of an existing one.
The SAGE Awards landing page includes the option to create a request, view a list of all Award Setup and Modification requests, and access links to helpful resources.
Review Awards Overview/Workflow for an overview of Awards.
The following image shows this page:
- The Create A Request button (upper, right) allows you to initiate an Award Setup Request in SAGE.
- Under Award Requests, select View List of Requests to see a list of your Award Setup Requests and Award Modifications in process. You can also create a new Award Setup Request from this page.
- Processed Awards (coming soon) will allow you to view award activity and other request history, add or remove related items, or create Modifications to the Award.
To create an Award Setup Request, start at the Awards tab and select the Create a Request button at the upper right.
Note: you can also start a new request from the Award Requests tasklist.
The following image shows the Awards tab in SAGE.
When you select the button, a menu displays with the option to create an Award Setup Request.
The following image shows this menu:
Select Award Setup Request from the menu. A type-ahead search displays for finding the associated eGC1 application. You can search by eGC1 number, PI (Principal Investigator), or Short Title.
The following image shows this search step:
Enter your search text. Only applications not already linked to an eGC1 or award will display. Select the desired eGC1.
A New Award Setup Request form will open, displaying the General Information page by default. SAGE will auto-fill details from your eGC1 (Title, Periods, Sponsor Details, PI/Department, etc.).
This information can be updated since information may change between time of proposal and time of award. You can also update the award’s start and end dates, funding amounts, and other details, as needed.
Use the left navigation menu to access and complete each of the sections. This menu previews the information you’ll be reviewing and entering, and allows you to easily navigate between various sections. Navigation is similar to that used for Advances.
The following image shows the navigation menu, with the General Information section highlighted.
Campus research teams and related central offices use the SAGE Suite electronic research administration system to manage application proposals and related items.
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- SAGE: System to Administer Grants Electronically – is used by campus researchers and administrators
- SAGE Central is used by both the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and 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, and 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.
When creating an Award Setup Request, you will need to connect a budget. |
| 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 a 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 SAGE Central. |
| Create Award Setup Requests and Modification Requests for awarded eGC1 applications |
Used when a research proposal has been awarded and the award has been received. A “new” Award Setup Request (ASR) is created. For an ongoing award, a Modification Request might be created. |
SAGE Central
WHO: Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), Grant & Contract Accounting (GCA)
| ACTION |
WHY / WHEN |
| Review and approve eGC1 applications |
OSP reviews the information on the eGC1, such as the sponsor proposal information and compliance questions, after all campus reviewers have approved. |
| Process Award Setup Requests |
Received from campus for reviews and approvals. Forwards to GCA for integration into Workday, with Award budget number. As part of completing the Award Setup Request, the system sends a notification to the requesters. |
| Manage Actions |
Will manage existing items while transitioning to SAGE Central and Workday. |
| 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 Advance and sets up that budget in the financial system. As part of completing the Advance, the system sends a notification to the requesters. |
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.
Note: only a UW NetID is needed to access FIDS. |
The approval flow for an Award Setup Request (ASR) or Modification Request (MOD) starts with the Award Preparer submitting the request.
Optionally, one or more ad hoc reviewers may be included between the Award Preparer node and the OSP Reviewer node. Review: Awards Approval Process.
The ASR or MOD is then reviewed and processed by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). Review: Approvals.
SAGE automatically routes the award to the reviewer units included in the approval flow. The system sends email notifications of pending approvals to reviewers on campus. Review: Awards Email Notifications. After reviewing, the reviewer can approve the request or return it to the preparer for changes.
Note: In the future, campus organizational reviewers will access the advance from the link in their email notification.
This article describes the following:
Approval Flow
To approve an Award Setup Request, log in to SAGE and click on the Awards tab.
Select the award to review from the list or use the Advanced Search link to find a specific award.
On the left navigation menu, select Approvals.
The approval flow reads from top to bottom. Some approver nodes may grouped and, within the group, can be approved in any order.
The first node lists the Award Preparer(s), then any added Ad Hoc Reviewers, followed by nodes for OSP and GCA.
The following image shows the approval flow, with an ad hoc reviewer, for an Award Setup Request before any approvals have occurred:
As the Award Preparer, when you select Submit & Route in the Review & Submit section, your node will turn green and indicate the submission, as shown in the processed approval flow image at the end of this article. Note: Once you have routed the award, the OSP node will be ready for review, and you will no longer have the option to add an ad hoc reviewer.
Add/Remove an Ad Hoc Reviewer
If you can edit the Award Setup Request, you can add an Ad Hoc Reviewer (that is, a reviewer for a particular purpose only) to the approval flow. These manually-added reviewers could be a person that needs to review and approve the Award Setup Request in addition to the Award Preparer.
You can add a person by selecting the plus sign (+) that appears on the approval flow. Once the award is ready for review by GCA, the plus sign (+) before GCA will no longer display.
When you select the plus sign (+), an Add Reviewer dialog window displays. Enter a comment for this reviewer, which is required. Then search by name or NetID for the person you want to add. The Add Reviewer button will then be enabled for you to select. The approval flow will update to show the added node, and the reviewer will be notified when their node is ready for review, like the other approvers.
The following image shows the Add Reviewer dialog window:
To delete the added reviewer, select the 3-dot menu icon in the node and select “Remove reviewer.” A confirmation dialog window displays.
The following image shows the Remove Reviewer dialog window:
Processed Award Setup Request Flow Example
The following image shows an example of the approval flow for an Award Setup Request in Processed status:
This page describes email notifications related to Awards.
The SAGE Suite Email Notifications article provides information about other system emails.
Routing and Approvals
SAGE sends a number of email notifications during the routing and approval processes. The table below lists each notification type, the condition that generates the email, and the recipients. SAGE generally sends emails to the person’s UW NetID address.
Use the link in the Email column to see an example of the email.
| Email |
Purpose |
Sent When |
Sent To |
| Award Setup Request Created by OSP |
To alert the eGC1 Owners that an Award Setup Request has been initiated and is waiting to be completed |
OSP has received the Notice of Award, initiated an Award Setup Request, and sent it to campus |
Principal Investigator, Administrative Contact, Pre-Award Budget Contact, and eGC1 Preparer |
| Award Setup Request Returned |
To alert the Award Preparer(s) of the need to modify Award data |
Reviewer, OSP, or GCA takes a “return” action on an approval node |
Award Preparer(s) |
| Approval of Award Setup Request Required of Ad Hoc Reviewer |
To alert an Ad Hoc Reviewer that an Award Setup Request is waiting for approval |
Ad Hoc Reviewer node updates to “In Progress” |
Ad Hoc Reviewer |
| Award Setup Request Processed |
To notify owners that the Award Setup Request has been processed by GCA. The email includes a PDF of the completed form as an attachment. |
GCA completes the Award Setup Request and clicks the “Process Request” button |
Award Preparer(s) |
| Modification Request Created by OSP |
To alert the Award Preparer(s) that a Modification Request has been initiated and is waiting to be completed |
OSP has initiated a Modification Request, and sent it to campus |
Award Preparer(s) |
| Modification Request Returned |
To alert the Award Preparer(s) of the need to modify Award data |
Reviewer, OSP, or GCA takes a “return” action on an approval node |
Award Preparer(s) |
| Approval of Modification Request Required of Ad Hoc Reviewer |
To alert an Ad Hoc Reviewer that a Modification Request is waiting for approval |
Ad Hoc Reviewer node updates to “In Progress” |
Ad Hoc Reviewer |
| Modification Request Processed |
To notify owners that the Modification Request has been processed by GCA. The email includes a PDF of the completed form as an attachment. |
GCA completes the Modification Request and clicks the “Process Request” button |
Award Preparer(s) |
Investigator SFI & FCOI
As part of the Award Setup Request and Modification Request process, an Award Preparer can notify any investigators who are not up-to-date on either their SFI disclosures or FCOI Training.
Select the link in the Email column of the table below to see an example of the email’s content.
| Email |
Purpose |
Sent When |
Sent To |
| SFI Disclosure Required |
To notify an investigator they need to complete a primary disclosure for the related eGC1 before the request can be submitted |
“Notify” selected under SFI Disclosure |
Investigator named on the award, cc: Award Preparer(s) |
| SFI Annual Update Disclosure |
To notify an investigator they need to complete an annual update disclosure before the related request can be submitted |
“Notify” selected under SFI Disclosure which sends the SFI Annual Update Disclosure notification if the last disclosure was more than 12 months from the current date |
Investigator named on the award, cc: Award Preparer(s) |
| FCOI Training Required |
To notify an investigator they must complete the required training before the related request can be submitted |
“Notify” selected under FCOI Training |
Investigator named on the award, cc: Award Preparer(s) |
System Emails to SFI Compliance Officers
The system sends these emails automatically. Select the link in the Email column of the table below to see an example of the email’s content.
| Email |
Purpose |
Sent When |
| Award SFI Priority Review Request |
To notify the Compliance Officer to re-review the primary disclosure(s) with SFI for the Award Setup Request’s associated eGC1 |
The Award Preparer routes the Award Setup Request AND at least one investigator’s primary disclosure has a status of “Waiting for JIT” or “Review Required” and has SFI |
| Award Management Plan in Place Notification |
To notify the Compliance Officer to re-review the primary or related disclosure(s) with management plans for the associated eGC1 of a Modification Request |
The Award Preparer routes the Modification Request AND at least one investigator’s primary disclosure has a management plan indicated |
The Processed Awards feature will be coming soon.
It will allow you to view a processed Award’s activity including Advances and other request history, add or remove Related Items, or create Modifications to the Award.
The following image shows the Processed Awards portion of the Awards Landing page.
