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Contact & Access Management

General CERES RA Security Access

RA Department CERES access allows an RA to edit any proposal, award, or agreement associated with their department. This access also triggers certain automatic notifications, including:

  • Proposal submission notifications when investigators are listed on proposals outside their home department
  • Award notifications, if the department has opted to send award setup notices to the full admin list rather than only the award contacts

To request new CERES access or modify existing access, departments must submit changes to the Financial Operations IT (FOIT) Security Office via the applicable security access forms. Submission instructions are included on each form.

To change department award notification preferences (e.g., switching to “all editors receive award notices” or reverting to award-specific contacts), email osr-info@northwestern.edu.

Guidelines for Specific Record Types

Funding Proposal

Administrative Contact (Personnel Section)

  • Receives proposal-related notifications
  • May request changes and advance accounts (depending on proposal status)
  • If an award is issued, this person becomes the Administrative Contact on the award

How to Update the Administrative Contact

  • Manage Access (left-hand activity menu): Admin Contact, anyone with edit access, and the Specialist can update this field at any time
  • Personnel tab (SmartForm): Editable when the proposal is in an editable status
  • RAs with departmental edit access can update this field even if not previously listed on the proposal

SF424 Access

Changing the Administrative Contact does not automatically update SF424 access. If the SF424 has already been generated and access changes are needed, contact osr-info@northwestern.edu.

Award (AWD)

Active awards use two separate contact fields:

Administrative Contact (CERES) Research Administrator (RADM) – NUFinancials
  • Populated from the CERES FP
  • Not sent to NUFinancials
  • Receives CERES communications
  • Can be updated by anyone with edit access via Manage Access
  • Assigned to each Financial Account during award setup by SR
  • Sent to NUFinancials
  • Receives closeout notifications and subcontract invoices
  • To change the RADM, a modification is required. Email osr-info@northwestern.edu to request the update.

Note: The RADM may differ from the CERES Administrative Contact, especially when multiple accounts span departments or PIs

Deliverables

  • Deliverable contacts are managed separately. There is no bulk change tool for deliverables.
  • RAs may update deliverable contacts using the Manage Deliverables

Award Modification Request (AMR)

The Submitter is the primary contact for an AMR.

Changing the Submitter

  • The original RA creator may change the submitter during Draft or Clarifications Requested.
  • After that, only the Specialist or SR staff can change it.
  • The submitter can only be changed to someone with edit access to the award.

If an AMR needs to be reassigned:

  1. Reassign the AWD first, or
  2. Use Manage Access to add the new RA as an editor so they appear in the picklist

If the original RA is unavailable or assistance is needed, contact the BSO at osr-info@northwestern.edu.

Agreement

The Primary Contact on an agreement is the individual listed as “Primary Contact.”

Updating the Primary Contact

  • Primary Contact and Agreement Collaborators may update this field via Manage Access
  • SR populates the admin contact from the award for new subaward agreements
  • SR populates the proposal primary contact for new SRAs
  • The Primary Contact can also be updated in Agreement Upload within the agreement record SmartForm while it remains editable
  • After the record moves out of Pre-Submission, the Owner may update the Primary Contact via Manage Access

Agreement Amendments

  • The Primary Contact on an amendment is inherited from the parent agreement
  • Amendment contacts cannot be changed directly
  • To change who handles an amendment, update the Primary Contact on the parent agreement.

Viewing & Updating Existing Assignments:

To review current RA assignments

Use the RADM Tableau dashboard (NetID required.) After filtering to your department or RA, download the report for desktop review. This file can be shared with BSO analysts if SR assistance is needed. Data updates overnight.

Bulk reassignment requests

Bulk requests (e.g., “all items assigned to RA 1 should be reassigned to RA 2”) can be processed by BSO analysts using a bulk tool. However, complex reassignment logic (e.g., “these 5 awards to RA 2, these 5 to RA 3…”) cannot be processed via the bulk tool. Send the reassignment logic to osr-info@northwestern.edu for review.