Tips & Support

Questions about this version of the portal, and how it differs from the previous one, are answered in the FAQ.

Access to the Research Portal

Faculty Access

  • All faculty with current or pending research, and/or who are assigned as project managers on non-sponsored projects, have automatic access to the Research Portal.
  • Investigators see their own portfolios upon login, including sponsored projects on which they have a key role.
  • Investigators need Row-Level Security (RLS) access to see non-sponsored projects.
  • Principal Investigators can see salary details for their projects. Salary Access role is required to see non-sponsored project salary.

Staff Access

  • Permanent Northwestern staff who have access to the research or financial folders in Cognos BI reporting have automatic access to the Research Portal. To request access, use the “Expense Entry, Procurement, Payment and GL Journals” or Cognos Reporting “Sponsored Program Management” or “Monthly Financial” checkbox (depending on which form) on the security form.
  • Temporary staff cannot be granted access to the Research Portal.
  • Research administrators are able to view sponsored projects across the institution.
  • Sensitive information like salary and non-sponsored/discretionary funds require the same security access that are currently in place in other systems.

Salary Security

  • Investigators can see salary information for sponsored projects for which they are the principal investigator or the primary project principal investigator. They can see non-sponsored project salary if they are the project manager, have NU Financials security access to the project, and have the Salary Access role.
  • Staff with the Salary Access role in CERES can see salary details for all sponsored projects.
  • Staff members can access non-sponsored project salary if they have NU Financials security access and have the Salary Access role.
  • Investigators cannot see salary information for other faculty on the Project Team and People pages.

Frequently Asked Security Questions

Visit the Knowledge Base article Accessing Financial and Salary Information in Research Portal for details on how to request changes to security.

Troubleshooting

Project Not Listed

For Non-Sponsored Projects, make sure you have security access to see the project (see Financial Management Systems Security Access Forms). Investigators must be listed as the Manager of a project in order for it to appear in their portfolio.

Also, see the Data Guide for details about funds and accounts that are excluded from the Portal.

Non-Sponsored Project Displays No Current Fiscal Year Activity

In September–October, you may see no budget or other activity because the previous fiscal year is still being closed and residual funds transferred over.

Charges Appear Incorrect

If you have questions about charges to a project, please contact your department financial or research administrator.

Proposal Should Be Removed From Pending List

If you know that a pending proposal will not be funded, open the proposal from the Pending list and click the Mark as Not Funded button. This action sends an email to SR requesting the update.

Feedback

Use the Send feedback button at the top of portal pages to report an issue, or if you have a suggestion to improve the application.

Need Help?

Contact the IT Support Center: consultant@northwestern.edu or 847-491-4357 (1-HELP), option 2.