RAMP Tip of the Month-Ancillary Reviews* 

Ancillary reviews that are assigned to organizations are routed to each of the organization’s designated ancillary reviewers at the same time. Some organizations have two reviewers, and some organizations have more.

Once any one of these designated ancillary reviewers selects “Yes” to Question 3, “Is the ancillary review complete?” on the “Submit Ancillary Review” SmartForm page, and clicks “OK,” the review is no longer accessible to any of the reviewers. This includes the reviewer who completed the task.

If the department requires multiple individuals to review an assigned ancillary review, the department must coordinate this process within its own organization.

• Some organizations, for example, have a triage-type approach, whereby one reviewer makes a determination as to whether they can approve the request (“Yes” the review is completed), or if other designated reviewers need to take a look prior to completing the task (“Yes” or “No”).
• Other organizations may want to use a tiered approach. For example, the chair or the chair’s designee reviews the requested ancillary review and answers Question 2 “Do you accept this submission?” with “Yes,” but answers Question 3 “Is the ancillary review complete? with “No,” which allows other designated ancillary reviewers to review and comment. The last person in the tier would then answer Question 3 “Is the ancillary review complete?” with “Yes,” and click “OK.”

Other Reviewers still have access:

Reviewers no longer have access:

*Please remember that RAMP notifications are sent to the official email address of record identified in OMNI so be sure to update any information/preferences in the myFSU Portal. 

RAMP Activities

New RAMP Website Design: The RAMP website has been completed. Visit RAMP for updated Known Issues, FAQ’s and new features, such as the Quick Reference page and the Hot-Topics page that provides several new RAMP information guides.

RAMP System Upgrade: Starting in mid-summer 2021, RAMP will be upgrading to the newest Huron Suite Platform that will bring some exciting new features for users as well as the administrative support teams. Information updates will be posted on the RAMP website as well as included in the monthly Research Newsletter.

RAMP Grants

RAMP Grants has entered its tenth month. Close to 1600 Funding Proposals have been created.

The Grants module offers system-to-system proposal submission capability that connects with Grants.gov, and it integrates with the RAMP Agreements and RAMP IRB modules, as well as OMNI. Although the RAMP-Grants SF424 proposal process supports system-to-system (S2S) submissions via the grants.gov portal, the technical limitation between RAMP-Grants SF-424 S2S submissions for NSF proposals continues to have challenges for many NSF proposals.  The vendor for RAMP (Huron) is not planning to modify the system to meet the needs of Fastlane since Fastlane is expected to be deactivated in 2022 with NSF formally transitioning fully to Research.gov.  Therefore, NSF proposals may be submitted via FASTLANE or Research.gov versus RAMP-Grants SF-424 S2S, effective immediately, by selecting “No” to the system-to-system question within the funding proposal workspace.  The NSF proposal may then be submitted external to RAMP-Grants SF-424 S2S via FASTLANE or Research.gov. You will still be required to complete the Funding Proposal & Budgets within RAMP-Grants following the same procedures for proposal review and approval.

To view the list of proposals documents that cannot be submitted via RAMP, please see the Unsupported Documents file. Training materials, educational videos, and How-to Guides to assist with the RAMP proposal process are also available on that page. If you have any questions, please check with your SRA Grants Officer to determine whether the solicitation is supported in advance via email to RAMP-Grants@fsu.edu.

Reminders

The RAMP Grants support email, RAMP-Grants@fsu.edu, is the quickest way to reach the RAMP Support Team with any questions or concerns. Please continue to provide us with your feedback as we continually work to improve the training options. We are dedicated to supporting your efforts to learn and use this robust new system.

If you weren’t able to attend RAMP training in the past, it is not too late to learn what you need to know to successfully navigate RAMP Grants. In addition to the materials noted on the training page, Virtual “Office Hours” are now available upon request. To request training, please contact the RAMP-Grants@fsu.edu mailbox. The training team will be available for direct software assistance using Zoom screen-share functionality so you can work on any issues you may have encountered creating your proposals.

Please remember that RAMP notifications are sent to the official email address of record identified in OMNI so be sure to update any information/preferences in the myFSU Portal. 

RAMP Export Controls

RAMP Export Control is fully operational and required to be used for export control requests. This new system was launched in December and it marks the 5^th module within the Research Administration Management Portal. RAMP Export Control provides an automated process and enhanced communication tools for the submission, review and management of export control requests. The Export Control module offers the same transparency as the other RAMP modules where the users are able to check the status of requests in real-time. It also provides a flexible review process as ancillary reviewers can be added to the workflow to evaluate and comment on particular export control requests, as needed.

RAMP Export Control can be accessed by signing into the myFSU portal, clicking the “RAMP” icon, and then clicking the Export Control tab within the top navigation menu. Users can also access the system through links contained within Outlook email notifications as certain system activities are performed.

Export Control requests (listed below) are required to originate and route through RAMP.

• Biologics Access Controls
• DD Form 2345 – Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement
• Shipment (International only)
• Sponsored Research, Collaborations, and Other Agreements
• Visa
• Visitor

There are many resources available, such as How-To Guides by request type, a PI Reference Guide, and a document outlining When RAMP Export Control is Required. Users can also learn how the ancillary review process works by reviewing the Ancillary Review Guide and which system actions trigger email notifications through reviewing the System Workflow and Notifications Guide. These training resources are conveniently accessible within the Help Center in RAMP Export Control.

Virtual “Office Hours” are available for user questions and to provide direct software assistance using Zoom screen share functionality. The RAMP Export Control support email (ramp-exportcontrol@fsu.edu) serves as the best communication tool to reach the Export Control training team for any questions, concerns, feedback, or to request virtual office hours (virtual assistance). We are dedicated to helping you successfully navigate RAMP Export Control.

RAMP Agreements

In February, there were updates applied to the RAMP Agreements module that will impact departments.

First, there is a new agreement type in RAMP AGM – Unfavorable Terms Memos. This agreement type will be initiated by SRA and the FSURF during the award negotiation process to document any unfavorable terms that the sponsor is unwilling to remove and the department is willing to accept the risk (a UFT cannot be used for contract terms that the university is legally prohibited from accepting). Signatures from the PI, Chair/Director and Dean of the respective department will be collected via RAMP through DocuSign.

Additionally, we now have the ability to more easily update the personnel that have access to the Agreement Record via a new activity titled, Manage Agreement Personnel. This can now occur without having to submit an amendment. This activity is available to both departments and the central offices to execute on all Active agreements. Please note, the PI (also known as the Agreement Manager) cannot be updated with this activity. A PI change requires approval of the respective central office to determine whether the change requires sponsor or contracting party approval or changes to the contract. If a PI needs to be updated, please contact the Agreement Owner to determine the appropriate course of action (i.e. request an amendment or terminate the contract and create a new agreement, etc.).

If you have any questions, please email ramp-agreements@fsu.edu.

Sponsored Guest Access

Sponsored Guest Access is now available in RAMP. Occasionally, there is the need for someone outside FSU to have limited access to RAMP. This occurs most often when FSU is acting as a single IRB (but could occur in other cases). Rather than going through the longer onboarding process that is required and appropriate for individuals who will have an ongoing relationship with FSU, individuals can be provided with limited access to the system. For more information, please visit the Sponsored Guest page.

All requests for a Sponsored Guest must be submitted to the RAMP-Grants@fsu.edu mailbox with the subject: Sponsored Guest Access Request.

The request should contain the following:

1. Guest’s name and Guest’s external email address of fewer than 30 characters (will be used as FSUID)
2. FSU Requestor’s name, department and title. (If this individual is not submitting the request, they should be cc’d on the request.).
3. The request should also include a very brief description as to the need for the access (i.e., to access IRB protocol when FSU is acting as IRB of record, etc.)
4. The approval of the Associate Dean, Department Chair or designee. (This can be submitted as an attached email approval or they can be cc’d on the email and respond with an “I approve.” The request will not be processed without this approval.)

Once the request has been received, the RAMP Support Director will create the Sponsored Guest Access request in OMNI. The Guest will then receive an email with a link to provide the required information: NAME, HOME ADDRESS COUNTRY, EMAIL ADDRESS CONFIRMATION, DATE OF BIRTH, GENDER and PASSWORD CREATION.

Upon receipt of information from the Guest, the RAMP Support Director will create the account in RAMP and notify the Guest and Requestor that the access is now active.

This process can typically occur within 1-3 days but is dependent upon the Guest providing their information in a timely manner. It is recommended, when possible, to request access approximately two weeks prior to need.

For questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

For questions regarding Export Controls, please contact:
Diana Key, Director of Research Compliance and RAMP Export Control functional lead, at dkey@fsu.edu

All other questions regarding RAMP Support should be directed to:
Dan Mullins, RAMP Support Director, at dmullins2@fsu.edu
Kerry Peluso, Associate Vice President for Research Administration & Finance, at kpeluso@fsu.edu