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Worktribe access is restricted to those who need to use the application. No-one should inquire, investigate or view the staff salary information contained within Worktribe unless directly required to use the application. Users should be aware that actions within the system are automatically logged and are auditable. Any member of staff who is found to have inappropriately accessed or divulged confidential (including personal) information will be subject to investigation under the University’s disciplinary procedure, which may result in dismissal and possible legal action. It is an offence under the Data Protection Act 2018 where an individual knowingly or recklessly obtains, discloses, procures, sells or offers for sale, personal data without the consent of the University, as controller. |
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Sign into Worktribe at https://uoa.worktribe.com |
The University has implemented Worktribe as part of the Research Award Management System project. This online platform provides a single end to end solution for development, submission and approval of grant applications through to post award monitoring and financial management.
Pure Data - From 11th March 2022 the RAMS system is feeding your Application and Award data into Pure. Please take a moment to review your information in Pure and let Nykohla Strong know if there are any issues so we can resolve them as quickly as possible.
The system is used for:
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- Overview Session Recordings
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These recordings were made during demo sessions hosted by members of the project team in early 2021. They demonstrate how to use the Worktribe system and allow familiarisation. By clicking the Watch in Panopto arrow (bottom right of player), you can use Panopto’s bookmarks you to skip from topic to topic.
Session for PIs
Duration: around 40 minutes
Session for Approvers
Duration: around 30 minutes
- FAQs
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Submission and approval
How early should I start my application? Complex bids can take many months to prepare and require careful planning. Start the process early, and make sure you allow adequate time to develop your proposal.
Do all external grants (including small value applications and applications led by other institutions) need to go through approval process in Worktribe? Yes.
Should I add grant applications to Worktribe where I am a co-applicant but the grant is led by another institution and there is no grant funding coming to University of Aberdeen? Yes. All external grant applications and awards, even those with a zero value Aberdeen budget, should be recorded in Worktribe so that your proposed Co-I time commitment on such projects is recorded. Logging the grant on Worktribe will also ensure that it will appear in PURE.
Do I need to create and submit an ethics application as part of my project? Whilst preparing a project proposal on the Worktribe ‘Project’ module, the system will give you the option to create an ethics application as part of the project. Please be advised that not every research project requires ethical approval. You should consult the guidance from the ethics boards to determine if your research needs ethical approval.
Even if you do require ethical approval for your proposed project, you don’t necessarily need to apply for ethical approval while preparing your funding proposal (unless your funder requires ethical approval at the point of submitting your funding application). However, you must obtain ethical approval before starting your research and you should allow sufficient time for the application to be reviewed and approved. Please only apply for ethical approval via Worktribe once the system has been adopted by the associated Ethics Board (see the roll-out schedule). Until then, please use the existing ethics application processes.
Budgets
Is there an option to see a breakdown of costs by different criteria, e.g. project period, funder etc.? Yes. You can Export cost reports to Excel via the drop-down menu next to the Submit for Approval button at the top of your project window.
Will I able to use other currencies? Yes. When a budget is unlocked for editing you can change the budget currency. This allows you to flip the budget between currencies and shows the currency rate for conversion. See the section on Foreign Currency Budgets in the Worktribe Users’ Guide.
If the currency you require is not available in Worktribe, please contact ramsproject@abdn.ac.uk.
Is there flexibility around overheads? Yes. But you must consult with, and have approval from, your Head of School before reducing overheads.
Can I add Intern costs? Yes. You can add interns as Temp Staff and modify as necessary.
Can I update the budget once I've submitted? Yes, but it would have to be returned to you first. So, as far as possible, it is preferable to finalise the budget before submitting for approval.
What do I need to do if a named individual’s starting salary should be increased beyond their current point? You would add the individual within the staff budget as normal. but will then need to contact your Cost Accountant, who is assigned to the project, to make this change on your behalf.
Budget monitoring (actual spend)
How do I see actual spend for my project? Select your project in Worktribe and then click on the Actuals tab. See page 27 of the User Guide for reference Is spend shown in real time? Spend is updated overnight from Agresso so spend in Worktribe will reflect a snapshot at that time – it will therefore not reflect any Agresso transactions processed during the current day. Why is there no actuals tab against my project? Some projects were awarded prior to the post award element of Worktribe going live. We are working our way through these projects to retrospectively put them live. Once put live you will then be able to see the actuals tab. Why is there no spend showing on the actuals tab? If you have spend on your project please email RAMSproject@abdn.ac.uk confirming the Worktribe reference and we will investigate. Risk assessment
Who reviews the risk assessment responses? Your Business Liaison Officer will review the information and will follow up accordingly.
Who can I ask for assistance on answering risk assessment questions? Your Business Liaison Officer will be able to assist.
Peer review
Has the peer review policy changed? No. You should still adhere to your school policy. However, you will use Worktribe to submit peer review requests, and reviewers submit assessments using Worktribe.
Why does the Peer Reviews tab sometimes disappear from my Home screen? The Peer Reviews tab is only displayed on your Home screen if:
- You are a PI and have Added a Peer Review request, but have not yet Submitted it to the Reviewer, or
- You are a Reviewer and have received a Peer Review request, but have not yet Marked it as Complete.
If at any point there are no Peer Review requests assigned to you, either as a PI or Reviewer, the Peer Reviews tab will disappear from your Home screen, and will only re-appear next time it is in use.
All Peer Review requests, regardless of the stage they are at in workflow, will still appear under the Project Peer Review tab, and will indicate their current status.
General
I am an Honorary member of staff and can’t log in to Worktribe. I need to create/update applications. What should I do? Please contact ramsproject@abdn.ac.uk and we will set up access for you.
Do I have to complete all the information in one sitting? With the exception of the risk assessment (which has to be completed in one sitting), you can return to your project in Worktribe at any time to make changes etc.
Can I use Worktribe to submit for consultancy approval? No. You should follow the current process for the time being.
Can I add multiple research themes, research areas, research centres/groups, and tags? Yes, you can!
What if my Funder isn't in the system? Please submit a request form and we will add the funder to Worktribe.
Can I edit a project once I have submitted if for approval? No. Once submitted, it becomes ‘View only’. Your Research Support Officer (Pre-Award) will support you and make minor changes on your behalf. If major changes are required, they will return your project back to ‘Bid Development’ stage in order for amendments to be made to the proposal.
Can I delete a project? No. If for any reason you want to delete a project, please contact your school Research Finance team.
I have created a project and want to submit the same (or a similar) project to a different funder. Can I do this? Yes. It is possible to duplicate a project. See the Duplicate a Project section in the Worktribe Users’ Guide.
How secure are documents uploaded to Worktribe’s Documents tab?
Worktribe is ISO 27001 certificated. This is an internationally recognised best practice framework for information security management systems (ISMS). Essentially, it means Worktribe is able to securely handle confidential information, with controls in place to identify and reduce any risks to this information.
Worktribe also complies with all GDPR requirements.
Login to Worktribe is strictly controlled by the University with all users having to authenticate via Shibboleth. Once signed in, further permissions within the system enable additional control of proposal elements.
- User Guides and Forms
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Worktribe guides
These user guides were created by Worktribe using a demonstration system. This means that what you see in the University system may be slightly different from the screenshots in the guides - for example, you might not see as many menus. This does not affect the written guidance nor the functionality of the system.
General guide
This guide provides a general overview of the Worktribe interface and summarises common activities that you may use. For example: signing in, menus and basic navigation, notifications and comments, searching, viewing a record and editing a record.
Users’ Guide
- Download the Users’ guide (Revised September 2021)
This guide follows the menu structure in the Worktribe system. It steps you through creating a project and subprojects, including: adding partners, putting together proposed budgets (e.g. staff, research facilities, travel, student stipends, etc), peer review, uploading documents, completing risk assessment, and basic project workflow.
University of Aberdeen guides
These guides relate to internal processes, specific to the University of Aberdeen.
Before you start
Once you have identified a research funding opportunity, there are some key considerations you need to make before you start creating your project record in Worktribe. This guide steps you through what you should take into account.
Costing Research and IT Facilities:
Obtaining/submitting quotes and adding budget lines- Download the Costing Facilities guide [updated: 07/03/2022]
You are strongly advised to obtain all necessary quotes for internal and external products and services well in advance of submitting your costing proposal. You must include these in your Worktribe submission.
This guide steps you through the process for obtaining quotes for University Core Research Facilities and IT Services and Equipment, uploading them to Worktribe, and adding associated budget lines.
Ethics
In addition to the Research Award Management, the University is in the process of implementing a new Ethics Application System on Worktribe. If you determine based on your Ethics Board’s guidance that your research project needs ethical approval, you can create an ethics application on Worktribe once the ‘Ethics’ module goes live for your School/Institute. The roll out dates of the system and further guidance on creating ethics applications can be found on our dedicated website “Ethics System: Worktribe".
Post-award guides
Procurement Policy Essentials
Please follow this guide if you are a requisitioner or approver as it outlines the procurement thresholds for research grant purchases.
Ineligible Costs on UKRI grants
This guide outlines a list of charges commonly made on research grants which are ineligible.
Forms
- Support and Feedback
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Cost accountants and Research Development Executives are here to help. For guidance on using Worktribe, please review the overview session recording and user guides above in the first instance. If this does not resolve your query, please contact your Research Finance Team.
If you have queries or suggestions about the Research Award Management System project, please contact the project team at ramsproject@abdn.ac.uk.