Research Admin March 2023 Update

The Huron Research Suite and Workday implementations continue to roll along. Read on for all the latest developments with these two activities.

RAMP – Research Administration Modernization Project

Grants & Agreements (at UW­–Madison)

As we provide updates across campus, we often hear feedback from end users wanting to see more of the actual system. Well, we are very excited to announce the launch of a new resource page devoted to RAMP! In collaboration with RSP’s Research Education Development (RED) program, the RAMP project team has worked diligently to develop the RAMP Resources/Training webpage (accessible via UW­Madison NetID).

RAMP Resources/Training Page Highlights

  • Huron Learning Videos
    Huron Learning Videos showcase the basic navigation and functionality of RAMP – General Navigation and the Basics of Proposals, Awards, and Agreements. The videos are not specific to UW–Madison (those specifics are coming later this spring), but we hope they give you a good introduction of what you can expect from the new RAMP system.
  • UW RAMP Learning Video Library
    Here you can continue to find recordings of UW–Madison RAMP demos and discussions.
  • Live Zoom Courses – Offered May-July 2023
    Registration for RAMP instructor-led courses will open later this spring.
  • RAMP User Manuals
    Detailed user guides/manuals will be available later in spring 2023.
  • RAMP Job Aids
    These simple how-to documents will be available later this spring.
  • Glossary of Terms
    We are working on a searchable glossary of RAMP terms. For now, you can download a PDF copy.
  • UWMadison Business Process – RAMP Flowcharts
    Interested in seeing how RAMP fits into the UW–Madison business process?  Detailed flowcharts are now available for viewing.
  • RAMP Coaching Requests
    Like the RED coaching program, we will be opening a RAMP-specific coaching program post go-live in June 2023.

We hope you’ll find the new content useful as we all continue to ramp up for RAMP go-live coming in late June.

February also saw us continue our change management efforts. We will complete 5 “RAMPing-Up” sessions across the UW–Madison campus to build awareness and share updates on what’s to come with training and system rollout.

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – February 6
  • College of Engineering – February 15
  • School of Education – February 16
  • College of Letters & Science – February 21
  • School of Medicine & Public Health – February 21
  • OVCRGE – March 8
  • UW System Administration – March 2

We continue to work through a number of other project activities such as conversion, integrations, data warehousing, business process tweaks, training development, and end user testing. For those who have volunteered you time to test – thank you!

Reminder: ATP will also be implementing the Grants and Agreements modules for UW-Milwaukee and the comprehensive institutions. That project is slated to kick off on July 1, 2023, immediately following the implementation at UW–Madison.

Export Control

The rollout of this dedicated export control functionality will occur in conjunction with the UW–Madison Grants and Agreements modules in June 2023. Similar to the Grants and Agreements modules, the design work has largely been completed and testing will begin in February.

Employee Compensation Compliance – LIVE!

The ECC portion of the RAMP project has been completed and ownership transferred to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. For more information, please see the RSP ECC page.

Financial ForecastingLIVE!

This module went live in July and is now in production. A common question we get is “Who will use this tool?” The current plan is to implement Financial Forecasting for primary use by the UW–Madison Budget Office and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (VCFA) units. Now that this tool has gone live, however, its use outside of central administration is being assessed, and further rollout across the UW–Madison campus is being analyzed.

Workday

Customer Confirmation Sessions (CCSs)

Each CCS offers a look at how ATP Design Teams have designed and configured Workday. During these sessions, subject matter experts from across the UW System will be invited to validate and refine the finance, HR, and research administration business processes that were designed during the Architect Stage.

In February, we completed another CCS that focused specifically on the sponsored billing, payment application, and accounts receivable processes. We also held a session on March 2 covering general award management activities. If you were unable to attend, you can find a complete recording of the session on the Research Admin CCS Resources page. In addition, you’ll also be able to see the upcoming sessions we have scheduled.

Our next session will be devoted to effort reporting (comprehensive campuses only – Madison/Milwaukee will continue to use ECC), which is scheduled for March 22.

Interested in attending and don’t have the invite? No worries! Email the Research Administration Team Project Manager, Betsey Kenyon, who will send you an invitation.

Also, we recognize that the nature of research administration is very cross-functional: Decisions made in ATP’s finance and HR workstreams will sometimes impact research administration. You are encouraged to check out the finance and HR CCS pages as well.

Workday Walkthroughs

Those who are newer to Workday or want an introduction to the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system are encouraged to tune in to ATP’s Workday Walkthroughs, which provide high-level overviews of Workday functionality. Our next walkthrough takes place March 9 at 3 p.m. and answers the question “What is a security role?”. A recording of the walkthrough will also be posted to the ATP website at a later date. Get Workday Walkthrough details.

Workday Terminology and Crosswalk

Another resource that may be useful is the Workday Terminology and Crosswalk page. This includes a searchable list of Workday terms, including a crosswalk between current Shared Financial System (SFS) and Human Resource System (HRS) terms and future Workday terminology.

Other Workday Activities

In addition to the Customer Confirmation Sessions, the team continues to work through many of the important implementation activities, such as conversion mapping, reporting requirements, and configuration details.