Award Verification Tool

Award verification activities are conducted and documented using the Award Verification Tool. The Award Principal Investigator must verify at least quarterly that payroll and other expenses for each of their sponsored awards (including privately funded sponsored awards) are allowable, allocable and reasonable. Other features available in the Award Verification Tool are optional and can be adopted depending on department, division, and Control Point requirements; complexity of each PI's portfolio; and communication and meeting schedules.

Technical Support

System and Data Availability

System Availability

The Award Verification Tool is available 24/7/365 except during the following regularly scheduled maintenance and data load windows:

  • Every Saturday from 10 p.m. to Sunday at 10 a.m.
  • Monthly before each data load from 10 p.m. the night before to 7 a.m. the day data becomes available.

Other scheduled Award Verification Tool outages will be announced as information becomes available. Users will receive a "page not found" error message when the system is unavailable. 

Data Availability

Data becomes available in the Award Verification Tool once per month after monthly close. Principal Investigators, Program Managers and RSAs will receive an email when data becomes available each month. The Award Verification Tool will not be available during the data load beginning at 10 p.m. the night before until 7 a.m. the day data becomes available. Data availability for the current fiscal year:

Month & Year System Unavailable During Data Load Data Available in Award Verification Tool (subject to change)
June 2023 (year-end close) 10 p.m. July 26 to 7 a.m. July 27 Thursday, July 27, 2023
July 2023 10 p.m. August 16 to 7 a.m. August 17 August 17, 2023
August 2023 10 p.m. September 12 to 7 a.m. September 13 September 13, 2023
September 2023 10 p.m. October 10 to 7 a.m. October 11 October 11, 2023
October 2023 10 p.m. November 9 to 7 a.m. November 10 November 10, 2023
November 2023 10 p.m. December 11 to 7 a.m. December 12 December 12, 2023
December 2023 10 p.m. January 10 to 7 a.m. January 11 January 11, 2024
January 2024 10 p.m. February 9 to 7 a.m. February 10 February 10, 2024
February 2024 10 p.m. March 11 to 7 a.m. March 12 March 12, 2024
March 2024 10 p.m. April 9 to 7 a.m. April 10 April 10, 2024
April 2024 10 p.m. May 9 to 7 a.m. May 10 May 10, 2024
May 2024 10 p.m. June 11 to 7 a.m. June 12 June 12, 2024

Access

Award Verification Roles

  • Award Principal Investigators (as documented in RAS) can view data, enter comments, review projects, and verify awards.
  • Project Principal Investigators and Program Managers (as documented in RAS) can view data, enter comments, and review projects. 
  • Multiple Principal Investigators (as documented in RAS) can view data and enter comments.
  • Research Services Analysts (as assigned in RAS) can view data and enter comments.
  • Financial and Administrative Staff (assigned the Financial Role in MyReports) can view data.
Role View Data Enter Comments Review Projects Verify Awards Source
Award Principal Investigator  Yes Yes Yes Yes RAS - Award Owner
Project Principal Investigator  Yes Yes Yes No RAS - Project Owner
Multiple Principal Investigator Yes Yes No No RAS - Multi-PI
Program Manager Yes Yes Yes No RAS - Program Manager
Research Services Analyst (RSA) Yes Yes No No RAS - RSA
Viewer Yes No No No MyReports - Financial Role

Assigned roles and access to the Award Verification Tool is linked to data in the Research Administration System (RAS) and MyReports, and all Award Verification Tool roles are automatically provisioned based on information in RAS and MyReports. Award PI and Project PI assignments are refreshed with the monthly data load. Role assignments for Program Managers, Multiple PIs, RSAs, and viewers are refreshed nightly.

Refer to The Research Administration System, for more information about RAS and actions RAS users can take including adding a Program Manager to a sponsored award. 

To run MyReports from the Award Verification Tool (available exclusively in the web version of the Tool), you must be provisioned with MyReports access. Principal Investigators are automatically provisioned with MyReports access. Everyone else must submit a request for access through their Department Access Administrator. Refer to MyReports Access & Availability for more information. 

Award Verification Tool Access

To access the web version

  1. Log into MyAccess (opens in new window) and DUO multi-factor authentication, if prompted.
  2. Select Award Verification Tool from the applications list.
    If necessary, click Manage Favorites to find and save the Award Verification Tool to your list of applications.
  3. When connecting to the Award Verification Tool from outside the UCSF network, you must first connect to UCFS’s Pulse Secure VPN (opens in new window)
  4. If you work at an affiliate location that restricts installation of UCSF's Pulse Secure VPN, you can use the VPN web portal (opens in new window).
    For assistance with connecting to the VPN web portal, visit https://it.ucsf.edu/how-to/vpn-web-portal (opens in new window) or contact the IT Service Desk(opens in new window)

Refer to UCSF Web Browser Standards(opens in new window) on IT's website to view current standards and determine whether your browser is supported.  

To download and access the mobile app

Authorized users have the option of using the mobile app version of the Award Verification Tool. You must enroll your device using the Intune Company Portal app (Comp Portal) before you can download the UCSF Award Verification mobile app. If you are not already enrolled, follow the instructions on the IT website to enroll your mobile device in the Intune Company Portal (opens in new window). If you need assistance with the Intune Company Portal, refer to the Intune Frequently Asked Questions (opens in new window) or contact the IT Service Desk (opens in new window).

  1. Download the UCSF Award Verification Tool app to your device.
    1. For iOS devices:
      1. Open the Intune Company Portal (Comp Portal) on your device.
      2. Select 'Award Verification Tool' from the list of apps in the Intune Company Portal.
        • There is no limit to the number of licenses for this app, and you can ignore the message concerning licenses. 
      3. Tap Install.
        • You will receive a pop-up message that requires you to confirm your choice.   
        • During app installation, look at the home screen of your device (not the Intune Company Portal) to determine progress and if the app has been successfully installed.
    2. For Android devices:
      1. Launch the managed Google Play Store (Play Store) from your work profile.
        • The location of your work profile varies by device manufacturer and Android version.
      2. Search for 'Award Verification Tool'.
      3. Tap Install.
  2. Open the UCSF Award Verification app on your device and tap the Login button.
  3. Log in using your MyAccess credentials and DUO multi-factor authentication, if prompted.
    1. You can enable biometrics or use your device passcode to access the app.
    2. Your biometrics or device passcode will be required after 15 minutes of inactivity.
    3. As an extra security measure, you will need to use MyAccess and DUO weekly, or upon returning to the app after logging out.