Award Management Dashboard

Staff who are in leadership positions and do not currently have access should submit a ticket indicating why access is needed and attaching approval of the MSO or other departmental leader.

1. Navigate to bah.ucsd.edu. 
2. Select Budget & Finance. 
3. If using the List View, look for Award Management Dashboard in the list or use the search bar at the top right and click the dashboard name  
   • If using the Card View, click the Leadership (Restricted) tab and click Launch on the Award Management Dashboard tile 

• You will land on the Overspending and Underspending page by default, but you can use the buttons on the top bar to navigate to the other reports/dashboard pages.
• Each report has its own set of prompts located at the top of the page. These prompts are independent of one another—applying filters on one report will not affect the others.

Summary

Landing page. This report provides a comprehensive overview of award financial health across VC Areas, highlighting trends and potential risks related to overspending, underspending, and inactivity. It includes the following visualizations:

• Award Deficit Amount by VC Area: Shows cumulative dollar value of overspent awards over time.
• Count of Deficit Awards by VC Area: Tracks the number of awards in deficit.
• Active Awards – Award Health: Categorizes awards as (same as Project Management Dashboard):
  • Overspent: Award has not ended and has negative balance
  • Overspending: Award has a positive balance but spending is outpacing time. The % of budget remaining is >10% less than % of budget period remaining.
  • Underspending: Award has a positive balance but time is outpacing spending. The % of budget period remaining is >10% less than % of budget remaining.
  • Good: Award has a positive balance and spending over time is healthy.
• Expired Awards - Award Health: Categorizes awards as (same as Project Management Dashboard):
  • Overspent: The Award end date is past and the award still has a negative balance. 
  • Underspent: The Award end date is past and the award still has a positive balance. 
  • Zero Balance: The Award end date is past with zero balance. 
• Sponsored Projects with No Transactions by VC Area: Identifies awards with no financial activity. Only applies to projects that started more than 60 days ago.
• Unspent Cost Share by VC Area: Displays unused committed cost share funds over time.
• Award Funds Unspent by VC Area: Highlights underutilized award balances by year and VC Area.  While funds are not required to be spent, a significant unspent balance can indicate failures in award management.
• Awards with Negative Cash Balance by VC Area: Tallies awards where expenses exceed available funding. Only includes awards where invoicing is amount-based.

Navigation

• Use these parameters to filter for the data you want to view.
• This report can be filtered by VC Area and by Department (that is, Financial Unit L4).
• It can be run by VC Area, Department, Agency, or Award Type. Changing the selection will change how the lines or bars on each graph are segmented.
• For each graph (except for Active Awards - Award Health), click on the lines or bars to drill down into a table with more detailed financial data for each award by VC Area.

Business Scenarios

Risk Monitoring & Financial Oversight

• Which VC Areas have the highest number or dollar value of deficit awards?
• How has overspending trended over time for each VC Area?
• Are there awards with negative cash balances that require urgent attention?

Award Utilization

• Which VC Areas have the largest amount of unspent funds on active awards?
• Are there expired awards with significant unused or unspent balances?
  

Operational Efficiency

• Are there sponsored projects with no financial transactions, indicating potential setup or engagement issues?
• Are we at risk of losing committed cost share due to underuse?
  

Strategic Improvement

• What proportion of awards fall into “overspending” or “underspending” categories?
• Which units are managing awards effectively (i.e., in “good” health) and can share best practices?

Report Views

Summary

This report monitors the status of sponsored awards approaching or past their end date, focusing on timely project closeout. It provides visibility into bottlenecks and departmental trends through the following visuals:

• Awards Pending Closeout: Categorizes awards based on how long they’ve been pending closeout after expiration — from 0 to over 361 days — and groups them by VC Area.
• Departments with Most Overdue Closeouts: Highlights departments with the highest volume of unclosed awards, enabling targeted outreach or process improvement.
• Awards Ending in 90 Days: specifies the number of awards about to expire by VC Area or Department.
• Time Taken to Close Projects: Tracks the average number of days it takes to close projects after their end date, broken down by month. A dotted reference line marks the 120-day benchmark, helping visualize progress over time and trends in closeout efficiency.

Navigation

• Use these parameters to filter for the data you want to view.
• This report can be filtered by VC Area and by Department (that is, Financial Unit L4).
• For each graph, click on the bars/line to drill down into a table with more detailed financial data for each award by VC Area/Department.

Business Scenarios

Timeliness & Compliance

• How many awards are overdue for closeout, and which VC Areas are most affected?
• Are we meeting institutional or sponsor expectations for timely award closeout?
  

Departmental Performance

• Which departments consistently have delayed closeouts?
• Are certain departments driving the majority of pending closeouts within a VC Area?
  

Process Efficiency

• How long does it typically take to close projects after the award end date?
• Is the closeout process improving over time or are delays increasing?
  

Workload Planning

• How many awards are approaching their end date in the next 90 days?
• Can we proactively plan closeout resources based on projected workload?

Report Views

Summary

This report provides insights into effort certification activity, enabling users to monitor compliance with federal regulations that require verification of payroll charged to sponsored projects. Users track effort certification activity in this report, featuring key metrics and visuals:

• Total Reports & Needs Action: Shows the total number of ECERT reports generated, the count and percentage of those that still need action.
• Semi-Annual Count: Shows trends in ECERT report volumes and certification status over time.
• Status Distribution: A pie chart indicating how many reports are certified, partially certified, need adjustments, or remain uncertified.
• Top UCPath Departments by ECERT Count: Identifies departments with the highest volume of effort reports.
• Top 10 Principal Investigators by ECERT Count: Lists PIs with the most ECERT reports, highlighting where certification efforts may be concentrated.
  
  

Navigation

• Use these parameters to filter for the data you want to view.
• Quick filters on the right side allow slicing data by certification status, department, VC Area, and reporting period. 
• Click on a specific bar/slice of a graph (or report status) to dynamically filter down the other graphs for more focused analysis.

Business Scenarios

Compliance Monitoring

• What percentage of ECERT reports are still uncertified or require adjustment?
• Are we meeting federal requirements for effort certification on time?

Operational Bottlenecks

• Which departments or units have the highest number of pending certifications?
• Which PIs are responsible for certifying the largest volumes of ECERT reports?
  

Trends and Workload

• How has ECERT reporting volume changed over time?
• Are certain time periods consistently heavier for effort certification workload?
  

Targeted Follow-Up

• Can we identify specific departments or PIs where targeted outreach may improve compliance rates?
• Where should central offices focus reminders or escalation efforts?

Report Views

Summary

This report monitors the volume, timing, approval efficiency, and departmental backlog of PPM (Project Portfolio Management) cost transfers, with a special focus on salary-related transactions and compliance risk. It differentiates between NSP-to-SP and SP-to-SP transfers, incorporates compliance timelines, and visualizes salary cost transfer activity and delays. Key Visualizations Include:

• Trends in PPM Cost Transfers by Project Type
  Displays monthly trends in NSP-to-SP and SP-to-SP transfers, indicating shifting volumes over time.
• Number of High-Risk Salary Cost Transfers
  Tracks monthly counts of salary cost transfers flagged as high-risk, separated by Direct Retros and other salary transactions.
• Trends in Timely vs. Delayed PPM Transfers to SP
  Compares volume of PPM transfers completed within 120 days versus those exceeding the 120-day compliance threshold.
• Average Time to Approve High-Risk Salary Transfers
  Shows average number of days to approve high-risk salary cost transfers, helping assess efficiency and bottlenecks.
• Departments with Most Pending PPM Cost Transfers
  Highlights departments with the largest volume of pending PPM cost transfers, useful for identifying process backlog.
• Departments with Most Pending Salary Cost Transfers
  Identifies units with the most unapproved salary cost transfers, segmented by salary-specific volume.

Navigation

• Use these parameters to filter for the data you want to view.
• This report can be filtered by VC Area and by Financial Unit.

Business Scenarios

Compliance & Risk Management

• Are transfers exceeding the 120-day threshold at increasing rates?
• Which areas have the highest volume of high-risk salary cost transfers?
• Is the approval cycle for high-risk salary transfers operating within a reasonable timeframe?

Operational Trends

• How have NSP-to-SP and SP-to-SP transfer patterns evolved over time?
• Are there spikes aligned with fiscal cycles, deadlines, or operational shifts?

Process Bottlenecks

• Which departments have persistent backlogs of pending PPM or salary cost transfers?
• Are there approval delays that suggest a need for workflow optimization?

Improvement Opportunities

• Can we reduce the number of late transfers through improved policies or communication?
• Would targeted support or training reduce delays and improve approval timelines in high-volume departments?

Report Views

Summary

This dashboard provides insights into the lifecycle and financial status of research awards, focusing on setup, modification, and temporary extensions. It visualizes funding trends by agency and contract type, tracks the time taken for award setup and modifications, and monitors the duration of temporary extensions. This enables departments to assess performance, identify bottlenecks, and support compliance and operational efficiency. Key visualizations include:

• Funding Received by Major Agency: shows the evolution in total funding by agency (NIH, NOAA, State CA, etc.) over time.
• Award Increments Received Over Time: shows total awarded amounts from 2021–2025, categorized by contract type (e.g., federal, private, state).
• Time for Award Setup: displays average days taken to set up awards, from 2020 to 2025. Click anywhere on the graph line to drill down into a table with more details on the award and its duration.
• Time for Award Modification: shows the average number of days for processing award modifications, trending downward over time. Click anywhere on the graph line to drill down into a table with more details on the award and its duration.
• Average Time Awards Stay in Temporary Extension: tracks the average duration awards remain in temporary extension from Jan 2024 to July 2025, with a current total count of awards in this state.

Navigation

• Use these parameters to filter for the data you want to view.
• This report can be filtered by VC Area and by Department (that is, Financial Unit L4).

Business Scenarios

Compliance Monitoring

• Are awards being set up and modified within acceptable timelines?
• How long are awards staying in temporary extension status, and are we exceeding established thresholds?
• Which contract types or agencies are associated with delays or bottlenecks?

Trend and Workload Analysis

• Is the average time for award setup and modification improving over time?
• Are certain months or years associated with workload spikes in processing?
• Is the number of temporary extensions increasing or decreasing, and what patterns can be observed?

Funding Insights & Strategic Planning

• Which agencies are contributing the most/least to total funding?
• Are we experiencing a decline or growth in funding by contract type or year?
• Should strategic efforts be redirected toward agencies or contracts with increasing or stable trends?

Performance Evaluation

• Are process improvement initiatives leading to faster setup/modification times?
• How do current performance metrics compare to historical benchmarks?
• Can staffing or automation be adjusted to reduce award processing delays?

Report Views