This page provides information regarding the purpose for Harvard’s Grants Management Application Suite (GMAS) as well as who uses the system, signing in and some tips and tricks.
What is GMAS?
GMAS is Harvard's enterprise-wide grants management system supporting the administration of the University’s $800M+ in sponsored funding. The application is web-based and serves to connect those involved in and responsible for sponsored research administration.
This system:
- Is the University’s system of record for proposals, awards, financials, and documentation related to sponsored projects
- Enables the proposal and request development, approval, and submission processes
- Supports the end-to-end grant lifecycle process including award management and financial reporting and closeout
- Is integrated with University financial and compliance systems.
GMAS assists in the management of the last four activities in the grant life cycle highlighted below.
Who Uses GMAS, and what Actions do They Take?
Users can obtain access to the system through their department’s Authorized Requestor for a range of access (i.e PI or ORG based), or through a Department Administrator for project specific access. The Authorized Requestor will determine the appropriate role(s) a user should have and indicate the appropriate teams for the user to be on. This type of access will pre-populate the user on all project types that fit the role and team determined by the Authorized Requestor. The Department Administrator does not need to work with the Authorized Requestor to determine which role on a specific project a user should be on (this type of security is segment specific).
The GMAS Authorized Requestor List is available on the Client Services website. The table below depicts the system roles and actions performed.
| System Role Category | System Roles Examples | Actions Performed |
| Principal Investigators |
Principal Investigator Mentor Fellow |
|
| Department Edit Users |
Department Administrator Lab Administrator |
|
| Central Edit Users |
Central Administrator Central Super User Sponsored Program Approver Central Financial Administrator |
|
| View Users | Observer |
|
| School Edit Users |
Department Chair Signatory Dean/ Designee Signatory |
|
Signing into GMAS
- Click here to access GMAS and log in with your Harvard ID and PIN.
- Users need to have been assigned to a team by their Authorized Requestor, or be on a project standing team to access the system.
- Review the computer standards document describing which computer operating systems, web browsers and other software can be used with the GMAS system.
GMAS Tips and Tricks
- Users will be locked out after 60 minutes of inactivity.
- The GMAS homepage allows users to customize the number of past projects that you can view – ranging from 5-100 projects.
- On the Recently Viewed Projects Banner click the drop down to select the number of projects to view.
- The default setting is 20 projects.
- The system sends notifications via Outlook email for some actions that users need to take (i.e., electronic signatures, confirming research team).
- GMAS is being upgraded to a new screen format that makes better use of the screen as well as provides some additional information for users. Each newly designed system page will provide page information, related links and tool tips to assist users with using the system.