Overview
Research administration is a field that is both wide and deep, especially at a large public university such as UC San Diego. Finding the tools that you need when you need them is imperative, but that is often easier said than done, especially with a system as vast as Blink.
The tools are aligned with the UC San Diego Sponsored Projects Lifecycle. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but is rather a curated list of links to assist fund managers who are new to UC San Diego and/or research administration by giving them the tools needed for proposal development and fund management.
The Sponsored Projects Lifecycle
Post-award Tools
Category |
Name/Link |
Description |
| Managing Awards: Research | Research: Managing Awards | Links to information about award management before, during and after your project. |
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Managing Awards: SPF (formerly OPAFS) | Office of Post Award Financial Services (OPAFS) | SPF provides financial support in the areas of financial management, cost accounting and control, and accountability. |
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Managing Awards: SPF (formerly OPAFS) | SPF STaRT Tool |
The Streamlined Training and Resource Tool (STaRT) focuses on Post Award Financial Management topics. It is a comprehensive online tool providing knowledge in support of the University's research mission.
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Managing Awards: Accounting
| Accounting |
Find information, guidelines and resources about university accounting, including the Chart of Accounts and cost transfers.
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Managing Awards: Reporting and Analytics
| Reporting and Analytics |
The Research Administration Reporting and Analytics team supports UCSD's research administration business needs by providing access to research activity data to approved UCSD users and providing the flexibility for advanced users to produce adhoc reports using ITS' Business Intelligence (BI) tools.
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| Managing Awards: Finance | Composite Benefit Rates (CBRs) |
Composite benefit rates are developed in order to cover the costs of fringe benefits offered by the university.
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| Managing Awards: Finance | Electronic Certification of Effort and Reporting Tool (ECERT) |
Find links to information and guidelines for using ECERT for effort reporting of federally-sponsored projects.
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| Managing Awards: Finance | Managing Sponsored Project Funds |
Get information on and go to tools and forms to help you manage sponsored project funds.
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| Managing Awards: PPM User Guide | KBA: PPM User Guide |
This article provides a brief overview of the purpose and scope of the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) User Guide
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Managing Awards: Accounting
| Short Term Investment Pool (STIP) |
The Treasurer's Office at the UC Office of the President (UCOP) invests available university cash in short-term securities called the Short Term Investment Pool (STIP).
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Report to Agency and Closeout Tools
Category |
Name/Link |
Description |
|
Reporting and Closeout: SPF
| SPF STaRT Tool |
Use the Streamlined Training and Resource Tool (STaRT) to assist with reporting and closeout.
|
| Reporting: SPARCM | Managing Sponsored Project Funds: SPARCM | The SPARCM system is an AR and Cash Management tool that allows SPF to create invoices and manage Financial Expense Reports (FERs) as well as sponsor reports on sponsored project funds. |
| Managing Awards: Reports |
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Reports formerly accessed in Financial Link can now be found here. New reports are continually being added. Historical data until the cutover (6/30/2020) can still be accessed in Financial Link.
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Training Tools
Category |
Name/Link |
Description |
| Managing Awards: Oracle BI and Financial Reporting | Consumer Space Station | The Consumer Space Station is the centralized location for updates related to Oracle BI & Financial Reporting. Schedule a 1:1 ORBIT session here. |
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Managing Awards: UCPath Training
| UCPath Bootcamp Training | Review of Bootcamp training sessions. |
| Managing Awards: UCPath Training Hub |
Access to UCPath simulation exercises, training presentations, job aids, etc.
| |
| Managing Awards: Budget, Finance, Logistics, Payment, Procurement & Travel |
BFS Homepage with links to guidance and tools for their various systems, processes and tools. | |
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Managing Awards: Oracle Training
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Financial Information System (FIS) training resources.
| |
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Managing Awards: Services & Support/Finance
|
Get finance systems help as well as answers to your question in the Knowledge Base and Community of Practice | |
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Managing Awards: Finance Administration Resources & Training
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Budget & Finance Support office hours, training, tools, and communications for the financial information system.
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| Managing Awards: Finance Training | Budget and financial information systems training courses | |
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Managing Awards: Budget & Finance Support
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Register for a Fund Management training class.
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| Managing Awards: Oracle Training
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A video that demonstrates how to view the budget, costs, and remaining balance on an award.
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| Managing Awards: Service Now (SNOW) in the Services & Support Portal |
Go here to find Knowledge Base Articles (KBAs) that answer questions on common business processes and system issues. The Knowledge Base includes many step-by-step guides on new processes and procedures.
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| Preparation Checklists: New Hire Onboarding; Responsibilities: Proposal Preparation; New Award, Closeout; and New Faculty |
View and print Preparation Checklists for new Research Administrators/Fund Managers.
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Note: the information contained in this job aid is accurate and up-to-date to the best of our knowledge on the date of publication. However, due to the ongoing Enterprise Systems Renewal (ESR) at UCSD, information on Blink and internal systems are subject to change without notice. We advise you to check Blink regularly for updates and changes.