Request / Proposal

Guest Blogger Series - Michael Toon from OSP: Discipline Code in GMAS

I am so happy to be participating in the GMAS blog’s first guest speaker series. For my first blog, I wanted to answer a question that gets asked a lot. Why is “Discipline” mandatory in GMAS, and how specific do I need to be (can I choose “Other”)?


The quick answer is, the discipline is mandatory because it is a CRITICAL piece of data that is used in reporting. This data is mainly used for the Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD) run by NSF, which is the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. This is an annual...

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Merging Person Profiles in GMAS

Merging person profiles is an important step in ensuring that the appropriate individuals are accurately associated to sponsored projects. Merging profiles becomes necessary when sponsored proposals are entered into GMAS prior to an individual being in Harvard HR systems. Person profiles are often created by users as a temporary placeholder for that individual until they start working and are issued a HUID.

Who can merge a person profile
Users identified as Super Users can merge person profiles. These are usually...

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The right and wrong way to add a “TBD” team member to a research team in GMAS

When adding team members to a research team, sometimes it is appropriate to add a placeholder for a position where the individual who will fill the role has yet to be determined (TBD).  There is a right and wrong way to capture a TBD team member on the research team. The impacts to adding a TBD team member the wrong way can lead to incorrect data and security issues.

The right way
After choosing <Add team member> when viewing the research team, the letters “TBD” default into the full name field. Leaving this text alone (not performing  the Lookup function) and...

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Do you Know the Difference Between Pre-Award Expenditures and At-Risk Accounts?

Pre-award expenditures and at-risk accounts both indicate expenses incurred before the start date of a given award.

At-Risk accounts, also known as Advance Accounts, allow PIs and departments to record and track expenditures and minimize the need for cost transfers. Since these expenses are incurred prior to the receipt or acceptance of an award and without notifying the sponsor, the department assumes full responsibility for the expenses in the event that a project is not funded or accepted.

Pre-Award expenditures, however, are allowable, allocable and...

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Winter Recess Schedules (OSP, SPH, HMS/ HSDM)

Office for Sponsored Programs:

In observance of the University's winter recess, the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) will close at noon on Thursday, December 24, 2015 and will resume operations on Monday, January 4, 2016. All proposals with deadlines that fall within these dates should be submitted to OSP no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16, 2015. As always, earlier submissions... Read more about Winter Recess Schedules (OSP, SPH, HMS/ HSDM)

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