About Award and Proposal Autoloads for Grant Data
- Grant Scholarship Records Modification Request Form
- You must request SFTP access for autoloads.
- Grant data must be placed in /incoming/[database ID]/grants.
- Unless otherwise specified, files will load on the 1st, 10th, 20th, and 30th of the month.
Award and Proposal Autoloads for Grant Data
Database Target
Will it be possible to test the file processing in dev?
Yes, if applicable, a development database can be used for testing, but once the processing has been tested and finalized, the file will only be processed to production.
Number of Files
Can I send more than one of each file type?
Yes. One or more proposal/award files can be provided.
The multiple files will be combined and processed at the same time, as if they were in the same file. First, the proposal files will be combined and processed. Then the award files will be combined and processed. If the same record exists in Award file#1 and Award file #2, then one record will be flagged as a duplicate and the other one will be loaded.
Is it possible to combine the proposal and award file into one?
Including both proposals and awards in the same file is not a supported option.
Upsert
How are records loaded?
Interfolio uses upsert as a default.
- If the record is new, it gets inserted.
- If the record exists…
- And data exists in the file for that record, it will update the grant information.
- And if a field is blank in the file, that field will not update (this option can be disabled).
- For funding and authors, it checks for any type of change. It will remove the data and refresh it completely with what is in the file.
- For statuses, if an existing record has a new status provided, the new status will be added.
Is there an option to not update rows as a setting?
Institutions may choose to only load new records, and skip all updates. They cannot pick and choose some updates and not others at this time.
Locking
| Feature | Autoload | Available Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Locking | Supported |
Locking options available:
|
Statuses
| Feature | Autoload | Available Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Updating Statuses | How a proposal and an award are “matched.” | Institutions have the option to provide the Proposal ID in both the Proposal file and the Award file. This way, instead of creating a new record, the Proposal will be updated with the Award information. |
Can status options be changed?
Statuses cannot be modified. If the institutional source of record has different statuses, each status sent has to be mapped to a FAR status. For consistency of reporting, there are no exceptions.
What are the default Proposal statuses?
The expectation is that for proposals the statuses used will be as follows:
- In Preparation - Not Submitted
- Submitted for Review
- Submitted - Not Funded
- Work Discontinued
- Withdrawn
Any of the default status options can be accommodated for Proposals.
What are the default Award statuses?
The expectation is that for awards the statuses used will be as follows:
- Funded - In Progress
- Completed
- Work Discontinued
- Withdrawn
Any of the default status options can be accommodated for Awards.
Can Proposals be updated once they become Awards?
Institutions have the option to provide the Proposal ID in both the Proposal file and the Award file. If the Proposal ID is provided in the Award file and the Proposal record already exists in FAR, then the information in the Award file will be used to update the Proposal record.
Collaborators
How do collaborators need to be provided in the file?
There are two options for providing collaborator information. These are listed on the first page of the Grant data model.
-
Option 1 (External Authors Only): Last name comma first name space middle initial period. Next a vertical pipe (|) Collaborator Role vertical piper (|) and the Percent Effort closed with a semi-colon and then the next Collaborator's data can be added.
- Example: Smith, John A.|PI|1.00 ; Doe,Jane A.|Co-PI|0.50;
-
Option 2 (Internal/External Authors): Collaborators can be listed in a separate file that provides Award/Proposal Record ID, Faculty ID, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Contributor Type, and Percent Effort. In this option, both internal and external faculty should be listed in the Collaborator file. As external faculty will not have a Faculty ID this field can be left blank. The associated grant records will need to be in the Proposal/Award file, along with this collaborator file.
Does Option 1 of the data model allow for internal Collaborators (search by faculty ID)?
No, internal collaborators are expected to have their own row of data to include their Faculty ID. In Option 2, any external collaborators can have a blank Faculty ID.
Tracking Data Source
Can the data source be added to the grant section? If so, how?
An activity classification can be added to identify the possible sources of data being added to the Grant section.
- Possible options include Manual, IDM, OSP, and more.
- Users can add new Activity Classifications as well as any desires options. See the article on how to customize Activity Classifications for more information.
Activity Classifications
| File or Feature | Autoload | Available Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Activity Classifications | Default versus new |
|
Can I edit default Activity Classifications?
Default Activity Classifications are those that are part of the FAR standard configuration. They may be modified or used as-is.
As a reminder, do not modify any Activity Classifications used for accreditation.
Can I add new Activity Classifications?
Yes. Activity Classifications should be added as columns of data at the end of the file. Any changes to the Activity Classifications should be configured in the database by the institution or on behalf of the institution by Interfolio in preparation for the file processing.
If the Activity Classification is set as required, the data MUST be provided in the data file for that Activity Classification.
Error Logs
| Feature | Autoload | Available Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Error Logs | Information provided to the institution on successful or failed record processing. | Notifications can be sent via email to any contact needing that information. Notifications are managed by Interfolio; please contact help@interfolio.com to make changes. |
What triggers a failed record?
- If there is no match on the primary faculty ID.
- If the status does not match accepted values.
- If the Activity Classification does not match accepted values.
- Duplicate record(s).
- If the period end date comes before the period start date.
- If the award amount is negative.
Does the entire record fail, or do the non-failed fields get added?
The entire record will fail to load if an error is triggered. This is due to the constraints of the API.
Required Fields
| Field | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal/Award Record ID | This ID should identify all rows associated with a single proposal. In most cases, the Proposal/Award ID could be used. This ID is needed in order to tie potentially multiple rows (multiple collaborators, statuses, multiple funding periods, etc.) to a single proposal. | Defined by institution |
| Faculty ID | The value that is used in the Faculty ID field in FAR. | Defined by institution |
| Status Date | This date determines the Term/Year assigned to the Grant |
yyyy-mm-dd mm/dd/yyy dd-mon-yy |
| Proposal or Award Status | Appropriate status for the Proposal or the Award. |
Default values Only:
|
| Title | Title of the Proposal or the Award. | Defined by institution |
| Proposal ID or Award/Contract ID | The unique identifier for the Proposal or the Award. | Defined by institution |
| Proposal or Award Start Date | Expected or Known or Projected start date of the Proposal or the Award. |
yyyy-mm-dd mm/dd/yyyy dd-mon-yy |
| When Date Columns are Blank |
Even though most dates are not required in FAR, the load process may still require them. The right column states how each specific date field is populated when the data file doesn’t provide a date. Note that if the institution would like a particular default date used for when a date column is blank, Interfolio can support that. |
|
- If the institution is not providing data for any non-required column of data, they SHOULD KEEP the column, even if blank.
- Please keep the structure of the data model.
- Column order matters. The order of the columns must be the same number and order in the file that is sent for processing.
Grant Record Deletion/Modification Requests
If a FAR administrator wishes to delete a specific grant record, but the grant section is locked for the institution, please fill out the Record Deletion & Modification Request Form. Once completed, send it to the Tech Services team via help@interfolio.com and we will process your request. In all other instances, grant records should be deleted via the UI.