The Tri-agency grants management solution (TGMS) project is committed to engaging in codesign activities with users to acquire knowledge that is foundational in guiding the configuration of the grants management solution. The team will work with stakeholders to incorporate feedback where possible.
Approach
In the fall 2019 and winter of 2020, individuals from the research community (primary users of the agencies’ systems) participated in workshops to identify key needs, tasks, and pain points of the current tri agency grants management systems. Users mapped their end-to-end grants management experiences to gain greater visibility into how they interact with current grants management systems and what an ideal future state experience would look like. See below what the TGMS team heard from applicants, reviewers and research administrators.
Since the winter 2020, individuals from the research community continue to participate in workshops to identity the needs of a harmonized CV management experience. See below what the TGMS team is hearing from applicants and reviewers.
User design principles
The knowledge learned from these workshops is guiding the selection of the agencies’ grants management solution. Five user design principles are stemming from what we heard from users and represent the desired value and benefits derived from the new solution.
What we heard
End-to-end journey maps
End-to-end journey maps offer a glimpse into what the ideal user experience is desired for applicants, reviewers, and research administrators. They are a great visual tool to represent what the TGMS team heard from current systems users.
The applicant
Applicants want a flexible solution that allows them to access all funding opportunities with a single username and password as well as a re-useable (create only once) profile. They want a flexible portal that allows them to easily collaborate with other funding opportunity participants. Applicants also want to be kept in the loop about the status of their submission as it goes through the grants management lifecycle.
The research administrator
Research administrators work closely with one or multiple applicants and on one or more applications. The role is complex. Research administrators want a single solution that allows them to get in-the-moment responses from the agencies for help and guidance. They want to have centralized communications and information in the solution portal, ensuring access the best possible information for their needs.
The reviewer
Reviewers want to be able to provide their availability, area of expertise, experience and possible conflicts of interests within the solution. They want the solution to allow materials to be accessible online and offline for review, comments and scoring and later, if required, uploaded to the portal prior to assessment discussions.
CV Management journey maps
The applicant
Through workshop discussions with applicants on the desired usability of a CV management tool, TGMS learned that both an online and offline experience are desired to complete the CV. An online experience means the ability to complete and submit a CV in the grants management solution which is equipped with functional and user-friendly features including import/export functionality and auto save. An offline experience means the ability to complete a CV in an offline document, upload and attach the CV to the application content. Applicants expressed that an offline experience would better serve the needs of many participants who work with international and community-based partners because they experience many barriers to submitting CVs on time. Many applicants also maintain a master CV outside the agencies data repositories, which could easily be copy/pasted and tailored to create offline CVs for agency programs.
The reviewer
TGMS met with reviewers to understand the needs for the desired experience reviewing CVs.
