Portal Guidance for applicants

Guidance on using the Research Management System (RMS)

Applications must be made through the RMS online application portal. A sample Application Form can be downloaded from the webpage of the competition you are applying for. However, please note that this is for demonstration purposes only and may not be used to submit an application.

Please note your account must be approved. We advise that you and members of the team register on the RMS 7 days in advance of the competition deadline in order to have your account approved on time.

In order to register successfully, please comply with the following:

● We insist on institutional emails if available – This is a double check that the contact is who they say they are and represent the organisation registered with (anyone can create a Gmail/Hotmail account and claim to be someone).
● We do not accept generic / group emails – The RMS is used for conflict checks and will flag these. If numerous people are using one email conflicts aren’t picked up and we will not know who is using the system.
● We do not accept multiple accounts – Again to ensure conflict checking is effective.
● Registered Organisations – The UK associated organisation must be registered / available on Companies house, Charity Commissions, UK Register of Learning Providers or Organisations Data Service. Funding will only be given to organisations which are suitably credit checked using these.
● Sole Traders – The PMO does not fund sole traders as they will not pass financial checks.

Criteria for registration

Before registering, please note the following:
• Please use your organisational email address to register.
• If you are a public co-applicant, you may use your personal email address
to register. Please select PPIE representative for organisation and public co-applicant for Expertise/Position in the registration form.

Register as a new user

Only registered users of the RMS application portal can apply.

Applicants new to using the application portal should register as a new user.

Once logged into your account the application portal home page is the starting point to create applications, access co-applications and to update contact information and professional details.

1. As a new user, on the right-hand side of the homepage, select “Register”

2. Enter your organisational email address and select Verify. Your email address will become your sign-in username. Please use your organisational (NOT personal) email address for this.

3. An email will be sent to the provided address for you to authenticate your new account. This email contains a hyperlink that, when clicked, will redirect you automatically back to the registration form.
   NB. If you are already registered on the system with this email address, you will not receive a verification email.

4. Enter your details in all fields and select ‘Next’. Note:

   

   denotes a mandatory field which must be completed.

5. Ensure the Consent question entitled “Communication Preferences” at the bottom of the page is answered.

6. Select the “Terms and Conditions” and, once read, tick the confirmation box.

7. An email containing a link to create your password to subsequently gain access to the system will be sent to the previously entered email address once your registration details have been approved by a grant administrator. Please allow two working days for the registration to be completed.

8. Please add pmo@ccggranttracker.com to your trusted senders as these emails are prone to Spam or Junk folders.

Access the RMS

1. Enter your email address and password and click “Login”.
   If you are accessing the system for the first time, the Basic Information page will display. Once the relevant fields have been completed, press Save button.

2. The account home page will now display indicating access to the system.

Forgotten Password

1. From the PMO home page click the “Forgotten Password?” hyperlink.

2. Enter the email address with which you registered and click "Submit".

3. An email containing instructions for resetting your password will be sent to the registered email address.

Account lock out

Please note, persistent use (>3 attempts) of an incorrect password will lock your account; this is to protect you from attempts to access your data by a third party. If this happens, you can request a new password via the forgotten password function.

The RMS Home Page

Managing my details

Select “Manage My Details” from the left-hand menu

Lead applicants and project partners (team members, clinical partners or subcontractors) can manage their basic contact information and curriculum vitae (CV) through the ‘Manage my Details’ link on their application portal home page. Lead applicant and project partners’ contact information is integrated by the application portal into the relevant fields during the application process.

Creating and completing an online application

The lead applicant must initially create the new application.

1. Select “My Applications” from the left-hand menu and click the “New Application” button

2. A list of open funding rounds will display along with further information about the competition.

3. Selecting “Apply” will open an application form for completion

   

   Denotes a mandatory field

From the application summary page, the application can be edited by clicking on the ‘Edit’ button. The different sections of the application form can then be accessed via the list of hyperlinked buttons on the left-hand side of the application portal webpage. You can move from page to page either by using the ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ buttons, or using the list on the left-hand side of the web page.

Most questions are associated with contextual help

The research team can collaborate with the lead applicant to edit the content in the application by being invited to be a team member or a clinical partner through the Team section (section 5) of the application form.

The lead applicant can use the search tool to find project partners and then to invite them to join the application. The application portal will automatically dispatch an email inviting the project partners to confirm their participation in the application. The invited project partners can then decide whether to accept the invitation and consent to the application being submitted jointly in their name. They will need to log into the application portal and follow the links to ‘Confirm’ their involvement on the co-application summary page. Once confirmed, the project partner will be granted access to edit the online application form.

All project partners must not only ‘Confirm’ but also ‘Approve’ their invitation to participate in the application electronically on the co-application summary page in advance of the submission deadline.

The system will prevent your project partners accessing your application at the same time as you. This stops applicants and co-applicants inadvertently making changes to the same part of the application at the same time and overwriting each other’s work.

Remember to save your work

You will be prompted to save your work if you leave the browser in application editing mode. We recommend you save your work regularly to minimise the risk posed by any local computer or internet problems. You can save and return to the application form as often as you like prior to submission.

Exiting and returning to work on your form

Should you wish to exit your form, you can return at any time; simply log in using your username and password and select ‘My Applications’ from the menu. You will then be presented with a list of all the applications you are currently involved with as well as providing details as to their stage in the submission process.

Validation and submission of the form

The lead applicant can review the progress of their application at any time by selecting the ‘View/Print’ option on the application summary page to generate the application as a PDF File.
When the application form is complete, it must be validated prior to submission. The validation step is a check run by the application portal to assess whether all the mandatory questions contain information. It will provide a list of links to any parts of the form where corrections or additional content are needed.

Once the application has been validated successfully and no further corrections are needed, the lead applicant can submit the application by clicking on the ‘Submit’ button on the lower right-hand side of the application summary page.

Following submission

A programme specific reference number will be assigned to the application once it has been submitted. After the relevant competition round closes, the application will automatically enter the process of being considered for funding.

If you have any questions regarding your application, please email sbri@lgcgroup.com