Q. What is the intended purpose of this application?
The application is primarily designed for use by Principal Investigators (PIs) and their delegates in order to allow them to keep track of budgets, expenditure and commitments on their Research Grants via an easily accessible on-line application.
Q. Is the application going to be pushed out to all departments?
No. It will only be rolled out to departments who request access. Use of the application is purely optional.
Q. Where is the data for the application derived from?
Most data is derived from the Grants module of the Cambridge University Finance System (CUFS). There is also a facility (subject to user permissions) to manually enter commitment information directly into the application at a Project level (e.g. for Staff commitments or equipment purchases).
Q. How often is the data updated?
The CUFS data is refreshed overnight on a daily basis. This should be complete by 9am each morning. The time & date of the last CUFS data refresh is shown in the top right hand corner.
Any commitments data manually entered into the application is updated immediately.
Q. Why can't I see a project today that I could access yesterday?
We are aware of instances where you may occasionally not have visibility of all of your projects - this is usually fixed after the overnight data refresh from CUFS. Alternative tools available include:
- The Research Dashboard: https://www.research-operations.admin.cam.ac.uk/managing-research-projec...
- CUFS: https://ufs.admin.cam.ac.uk/
RGEA remains a useful tool - however due to its age it will not be developed further in its current form and this issue is unlikely to be resolved in the immediate future. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Q. How do I report issues or raise queries?
To allow us to deal with any issues or queries in an efficient manner, please report them via email to the following address: Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk.
To request for Users to be given an account, please use the Online access request form available as a link under 'Quick links' on the main webpage.
Q. Are there any plans to further develop the application?
RGEA remains a useful tool - however due to its age it will not be developed further in its current form.
Q. Where can I find a user guide for the application?
The application has been designed to be highly intuitive and not require a user guide. Some ‘help text’ is available within the application itself for some of the more complex administration tasks. Where additional support is needed please contact Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Q. How is the application accessed?
The application is web-based and can be accessed from anywhere with internet access. (Subject to having the required user permissions.)
Q. How is access to the application secured?
Access to the application is secured via Raven encryption.
Q. What are the different levels of access?
- User: ‘User’ is the standard level of access for PIs, and allows them to view their Awards and Projects as well as enter manual commitments and delegate access to others.
- Viewer: The ‘Viewer’ role provides a restricted level of access. Viewers can still view their Awards and Projects but are unable to enter manual commitments or delegate access to others.
- Admin: The ‘Admin’ role is assigned to one or more CUFS department codes, and allows visibility of all Awards and Projects for the department(s). Admins are able to enter manual commitments and delegate access for all Awards / Projects in the department. They are also able to manage user permissions.
- System: The ‘System’ role is similar to ‘Admin’, but allows access to all records – regardless of department. This role also provides access to a number of additional administration functions that a departmental ‘admin’ user would not have.
Q. Who can delegate access?
- User: A ‘User’ is able to delegate access to any Awards or Projects where they are listed as the Principal Investigator (PI) on CUFS.
- Viewer: A ‘Viewer’ is unable to delegate access to their own Awards or Projects.
- Admin: The ‘Admin’ role is assigned to one or more CUFS department codes, and allows delegation of access for all Awards / Projects in the department.
- System: The ‘System’ role allows delegation of all Awards / Projects – regardless of department
Q. What are the different levels of delegation?
The application supports three different levels of delegation – as follows:
- View Only Access implies the delegatee can view all aspects of the delegated resource.
- Edit Access implies the delegatee can make changes to all aspects of the delegated resource including managing manual commitments. Delegatees will however not be able to pass on their rights to others.
- Full Access implies the delegatee can make changes to all aspects of the delegated resource including managing manual commitments as well as passing on those rights to others.
Q. How are users allocated to roles?
Each department must have one or more local administrators in place who are able to manage the allocation of users (via their CRSid) to roles within the application. If you are unsure as to who your local administrators are, please contact Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk for clarification.
Q. How do I propose additions to this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)?
We will proactively add to this list of FAQs on a regular basis in line with user input. If you wish to propose an addition please contact Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Q. How do I get access?
If you are a PI and would like to access the application, please contact your local Research Grant Administrator / Department Administrator (DA) in the first instance. Then you or your DA will need to fill in the Online access request form
Departments who wish to adopt the solution should email Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk
Q. Which browsers is the application compatible with?
The application has been tested with recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. Some users of Internet Explorer have reported strange behaviour, which is easily resolved via the following one-off change:
- Log into the application in Internet Explorer
- Press F12
- Change ‘Document Mode’ to ‘Internet Explorer 9 standard’
If you encounter any browser compatibility issues please contact: Research_Expenditure_Support@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Q. Some of the numbers are difficult to read. How do I make the text larger?
As the application is web based, you can make the text larger (or smaller) by zooming in or out via your browser.
This can also be done by holding down the ‘CTRL’ key and pressing + or – on the keyboard.
Q. Why aren't all of my grants visible?
Only Awards where the end date is less than 12 months in the past are visible via the application.