The System to Administer Grants Electronically (SAGE) is the tool that researchers and grant administrators use to prepare proposals for approval and submission to the funding agency. At the UW, the appropriate campus units, compliance offices, and the Office of Sponsored Programs must review and approve all grant and contract proposals.
The Approvals component of SAGE manages the electronic routing of the proposal for approval. It is also used to manage the approvals for Advance Budget Requests and Award Requests for funded proposals.
This guide describes the functionality of the Approvals component for:
The My eGC1s page displays those eGC1s to which you have direct access either as an owner or through read-only or read-write permissions. The eGC1s are listed in order by Date Created with the newest one first. The following image shows the header for this page.
The fields displayed in the list, reading left to right, are:
From the My eGC1s page, you can find and open an eGC1 by its number, filter the list by status, link to an Advanced Search and create new eGC1s.
To use this feature, enter the number of the specific eGC1 (with or without the “A”) in the text box and click Open. The page will refresh and display the eGC1.
You can use the status checkboxes to select which items appear on your list. Your list will update each time you check or uncheck one of the status boxes. For status definitions, see eGC1 Statuses.
The Select Composing, Select Routing, and Select All links will reset the status checkboxes to show only those items that match your choice.
The following image shows this section of the page.
When you first display the My eGC1s page, only items in Composing status are displayed. If you don’t currently have any eGC1s in Composing status, you’ll see this version of the page as show in the following image.
You can use the quick find-and-open feature, choose to view Routing items or all items, go to the Advanced Search page or create a new eGC1.
Click the Advanced Search link to display a search page you can use to find eGC1s by various criteria.
Click the Create New eGC1 button to open the wizard for creating a new eGC1 application.
Enter any information that will be helpful to campus and OSP reviewers. This may include special sponsor requirements, exceptional situations or other information that will assist reviewers in understanding your application.
Note: On the Application Summary page and in SAGE Central (OSP’s view of SAGE data), the Additional Information field (which appears on the eGC1’s Certify & Route page) is referred to as eGC1 Comments.
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 SAGE Central 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.
Organization Codes have been replaced with Cost Centers; see Cost Center Receiving Funding article.
The Organization Code Receiving Funding is the UW’s ten-digit code which identifies the department or unit that will receive funding. Ask your fiscal specialist or department administrator which code you should use.
Note: GCA requires the code to be at the department level or below. See the OPB Orgcode and Budget Number Guidelines for an explanation of organization levels.
The following image shows this section before a code is selected.
Enter your organization code number directly on the page or select Look Up Organization Code to use the Organization Chooser.
Once you have selected the organization code, the associated Box number will appear. You can edit the box number if desired. If you need to change the box number associated with the code, use the “Changes To Existing Org Code Form” available from the Office of Planning & Budgeting web page.
You can also use the +/- buttons to expand and collapse the organization code’s hierarchy. The following image shows an expanded hierarchy.
The Change the Organization Code? link will re-display the chooser so that you can select a different code.
When you create an eGC1, you are automatically named as the eGC1 Preparer. Approvers may contact you during the review process, and OSP and/or GCA staff following the awarding of funds.
To select a different preparer, click the Change the eGC1 Preparer? link beneath the preparer information to open the Personnel Chooser. Search for and select the new person.
When you choose to change yourself as the preparer, a warning message will appear. If the change you are making removes your last access to this item, once you confirm the change, the tasklist will display.
The information displayed for the preparer is:
When you create a budget, you are automatically named the role of Budget Preparer. Approvers may contact you during the review process, and OSP and/or GCA staff following the awarding of funds.
When you choose to change yourself as the preparer, a warning message will appear. If the change you are making removes your last access to this item, once you confirm the change, the tasklist will display.
The information displayed for the preparer is:
Use this section of the eGC1 Contacts and Assign Access page to look up an Administrative or Pre-Award Budget Contact. Approvers may contact these persons during the review process. OSP and/or GCA staff may contact them following the awarding of funds.
Review the SAGE Budget and eGC1 Shared Access Data page to learn how contact information is displayed on the shared access page of your eGC1 and its connected SAGE Budget.
Note: This page is editable regardless of the eGC1’s status.
Click on either the Look Up Administrative Contact or Look Up Pre-Award Budget Contact button on the Contacts & Assign Access page to open the Personnel Chooser. Search for and select the person.
The information displayed for both contacts is the same.
To select a different contact, click the appropriate Change the (Admin/Budget) Contact? link beneath the contact information to open the personnel chooser.
To remove a contact, click the appropriate Remove the (Admin/Budget) Contact? link beneath the contact information to clear the selection.
When you choose to change or remove yourself as a contact, a warning message will appear. If the change you are making removes your last access to this item, once you confirm the change you will be returned to the tasklist.
For a person to be a reviewer of all eGC1s submitted to your department, they need to have the SAGE ASTRA (Access to Systems, Tools, Resources and Applications) role of Department or Center Reviewer for your cost center.
You can contact your department’s ASTRA administrator and request this role assignment. If you do not know who your ASTRA administrator is, contact your department administrator or email astra@uw.edu.
Yes. To create a “template” eGC1, start with a newly created eGC1 and fill in just the data values that you commonly use. This might include:
Review the data that is copied, so you’ll know what to add.
Give the eGC1 a title that indicates it’s a template, and then save it, leaving it in Composing status. When you need to create a new eGC1, open the template eGC1 and make a copy of it.