What is the API data in the GMS? GMS Focus: Very Important Note about the API data How to extract the API data Step 1: retrieve the API data URL Step 2: create a new, blank Excel document Step 3: paste the API data URL in the Excel document Step 4: Enter the credentials Step 5: load the API data in the Excel   What is the API Data?  The GMS harbors multiple series of datasets drawn from the information entered and generated on the system. This data can be used for multiple purposes, including the redaction of Annual Reports. This is why the GMS team is offering OCHA staff the possibility to extract this data depending on their needs, in the form of API Datasets. The API data contains the raw data from the GMS. The datasets have been grouped by themes (Annual reports – contributions, annual reports – allocations, MPTF data extract, etc.) The datasets can be downloaded as JSON and CSV files. Both these formats require some degree of specific knowledge to read them. But Don’t Panic! You don’t need to be an IT expert to use these datasets. This blog post will take you through the step-by-step process on how to extract the API data as an Excel sheet for internal purposes. GMS Focus: Very Important Note on API datasets  Please do not share the API data publicly, as it includes critical information on partners and projects across all CBPFs. While our team is in the process of narrowing down the data per individual fund, it is very important that the data provided through the APIs remains private and for internal use ONLY.    II. How to retrieve the API data  Step 1: Go to https://cbpfapi.unocha.org/vo3 and copy the CSV version of the Dataset you wish to extract.  Please note that, at the moment, you cannot select a specific Pooled Fund from the drop-down list at the top of the page. The extract you chose will be applied for all funds.   Step 2: Open a new, blank Excel document and save it on your computer.    Step 3: In the Excel document, go to the [Data] tab, and click on [From Web]  Paste the copied URL in the text field. Keep the default option ‘basic’ ticked. Click on [OK]. Important Note: Please double check that the beginning of the URL is “https”, and not “http”. If it is “http”, please add an ‘s’ (refer to screenshot below for an illustration of this)   Step 4: Enter your credentials in the new pop-up window to retrieve the data.  To know what your username and the password are, please contact gms-support@un.org Please note, make sure that you are in the ‘basic’ tab of this pop-up window to enter your credentials, as illustrated in the screenshot. Then, click on the drop-down list ‘Select which level to apply these settings to’, and select the last option of the list: ‘https://cbpfapi.unocha.org/vo3/odata/GlobalGenericDataExtractSecure’. And click on [Connect].   Step 5: Click on [Load] to load the data on the Excel document.  The data might take a few minutes to load on the Excel document. And Voila!  

What is the financial approval decentralization workflow on GMS? Project Budget approval during Technical Review Budget revision approval Ad Hoc Interim Financial Report approval What is the financial approval decentralization workflow on GMS?   Up until today, the budget approval process for all CBPFs was centralized in New York. Over the past few years, the CBPF Finance Unit (in New York) has conducted at least 5 thematic workshops for field-based staff to build capacity on different financial processes. After leading on all financial processes on GMS since the launch of the system, CBPF Finance has decided to pilot the decentralization of specific financial processes in 7 humanitarian funds: Afghanistan, CAR, Iraq,   Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen. Starting October 2021, these funds are taking part in a 6-month testing phase, where specifically trained Finance officers will take over the following financial approvals on GMS: Final project budget approval, Ad hoc interim financial report approval, and Budget revision approval (except revisions that include cost extensions). To this effect, the GMS team has created a new system role (HFU Finance), along with new workflows for the above financial instances, assigned to the designated HFU finance officer. Please note: the HFU Finance role will only be assigned to one person in the HFU. If this person is absent, then all projects under their task lists will remain there until they can process them. For any issue, please contact us at gms-support@un.org.  II. Project Budget approval during Technical Review  During project approval, the HFU Finance user role is required to assess the budget during the Technical Review phase of the project (in orange in the screenshot). HFU Finance is replacing CBPF Finance HQ, and its role is to clear the budget, allowing the workflow to move towards the Grant Agreement generation and signature phase (in lavender in the screenshot). For MPTF Funds, Budget clearance will lead to FTR and Allocation Letter preparation phase instead. On the GMS, at the stage ‘Under TR HFU’, the HFU will click on the button [send to HFU Finance for TR]. The HFU Finance officer will see that action is pending on their Project Task List. Upon clicking on the project’s date in the task list, the HFU Finance officer can see that the project is ‘Under TR HFU Finance’. They can review the budget, leave comments if necessary, and either approve the budget by clicking on [budget cleared], or click on [return to TR HFU] if any comment still need to be addressed. The project workflow then continues as usual. III. Budget revision approval  In case of a project budget revision, the HFU Finance officer can review and approve the budget revision, EXCEPT if the budget revision includes a Cost Extension. If the budget revision includes a Cost Extension, then the HFU must send it to CBPF Finance HQ. In the case of a regular budget revision, the HFU can send it to HFU Finance by clicking on [Send to HFU Finance for review (Budget revision WITHOUT Cost Extension)]. The HFU Finance officer will see pending action on their Revision Task List. They can click on the revision date to access the revision page. On the revision page, the HFU Finance officer is required to review the budget tab, and leave the findings in the comments’ section of the tab. Then, they can send the revision back to the HFU by clicking on [send comments to HFU].  Upon clicking on [send comments to HFU] HFU Finance will either clear the budget revision to allow the HFU to proceed with the Revision workflow, or not clear the budget if further comments need to be addressed by the partner. IV. Ad Hoc Interim Financial Report approval  HFU Finance officers are also required to review and approve Ad Hoc interim financial reports. Please note: HFU Finance officers can NOT review the following Financial reports: Year-end reports – which should be sent to CBPF finance for review and recording on UMOJA Reports with a disbursement request – which should be sent to CBPF Finance for review and disbursement Final Financial Reports -  which should always be reviewed and approved by CBPF Finance. Only in the case of an ad hoc interim report that is non-year-end, and oes not include a disbursement request, will the HFU click on [Send to HFU Finance for approval as extraordinary report]. The HFU Finance officer will then see that action is pending on their Financial Report Task List. They can click on the report’s date to access it. The HFU Finance officer is then required to review the Ad Hoc Interim Financial Report, and either approve it by clicking on [Read and approved by HFU Finance], or send it back to HFU by clicking on [Send back to HFU].

What is the Monitoring Report and where to access it in the GMS? How to generate a Monitoring Report (filters)? What is included in the Monitoring Report extract?   What is the Monitoring Report and where to access it in the GMS?  The GMS allows the users to download all monitoring data as a working Excel document where multiple partners can be selected. To learnmore on Project Monitoring, please refer to this article of the Help Portal.  To generate such a document, go to report > report > monitoring report II. How to generate a Monitoring Report (filters)?  In the Monitoring Report page, enter your research requirements using the filter options, and click on [export to excel]. If you click on [export to excel] without applying filters, you will generate a full dump of all audit reports of the Pooled Funds in which you are registered. A description of the filters is available below the screenshot. Filters description: Pooled Fund: Select from the drop-down list the Pooled Fund. You will only be able to select the Pooled Fund(s) in which you are registered. Allocation year: select from the drop-down list the allocation year by ticking its checkbox. You can select multiple allocations. Partner type: Select from the drop-down list the Organization type by ticking its checkbox. You can select multiple organizations. Partner: Select from the drop-down list the Organization by ticking its checkbox. You can select multiple organizations. Then, click on [export to excel]. The excel will be downloaded in your computer, by default in the ‘Downloads’ folder, except if you configured it differently.   III. What is included in the Monitoring Report extract?  The Monitoring Report excel extract is broken down into two tabs: the Monitoring details sheet, which will display all the information relevant to the monitoring recommendations, and the Participant detail sheet, which will provide the details of the monitoring focal points. Field description (Monitoring Details tab) : Fund Name Organization Name Acronym Project Code Implementation progress Monitoring Type (as per report and timelines) and Name Monitoring End dates (as per the report) Monitoring actions, and responsible Monitoring Recommendation and notes Field description (Participant Detail tab) : Fund Name Organization Name Acronym Project Code Monitor Name Monitoring Start and End Dates Participant name/email/phone

Where to manage the OM in the GMS? How to create a new OM set? How to add/edit a Modality Line A concrete example of line configuration GMS Focus: Specific cases: OM asterisks UN Agencies special OM rules The template’s end date How to submit the Operational Modalities’ template for technical approval GMS Troubleshooting : how to solve the OM related errors? Read the full guidance on Operational Modalities in the Help Portal at this address : /content/operational-modalities I) Where to manage the Operational Modalities in the GMS?  To access the Operational Modalities module, follow this navigation: System Setup > Configuration Setup > Operation Modality Configuration II) How to create a new OM set?  To create a new set of Operational Modalities on the GMS, you can choose between the below two options: Create a new OM template from scratch Clone an existing template 1- Create a new OM template from scratch:  To create an empty OM template which you will have to populate with all modalities, click on [Add New Template]. 2- Clone an existing template  You can create a new OM template by cloning an existing one. This method is likely to be more time-efficient than creating an empty template, as you will be able to edit the modalities as necessary, instead of creating them all from scratch. To do so, click on the clone icon of the template’s line you wish to clone. In the pop-up window, tick the Pooled Fund box and click on [Clone]. The new template is created at the top of the OM templates’ list, and its status is under ‘draft’. You can open the new template by clicking on the edit icon of its line. To properly configure a new OM template, whether cloned or new, you will need to fill in the below mandatory fields.  It is MANDATORY to upload and save the Fund’s FULL Operational Handbook in PDF format, including the OM table. The rest of the template is composed of all the operational modalities as set in the Fund’s Operational Handbook. Each line corresponds to one unique modality.   III) How to add/edit/delete a Modality Line  ADDING A MODALITY To add a new modality line, click on [Add new Operation Modality]. CONFIGURING THE MODALITY LINE:  To better understand how to configure a modality, let’s take a concrete example and configure the line in red in the screenshot below, taken from the Global Operational Handbook Operational Modalities table.  Below is how this line should be configured on the GMS: *Please note that audit requirements are not configured in this module of the GMS. To learn more about audit requirements, please refer to this article of the Help Portal.  EDITING/DELETING A MODALITY To edit a modality already saved in the template, click on the edit icon   or the delete icon of its line. *Please note, it is neither possible to edit nor delete a modality in a template which has been approved. IV) Specific cases   Click on the menu item to access the guidance. GMS Focus: How to transpose the asterisk modalities in the OM template on GMS (e.g. projects of 10 months and more) GMS Focus: UN Agencies Operational Modalities  GMS Focus : the Template's end date V) How to submit the Operational Modalities’ template for Technical approval  Once your OM template is finalized on GMS, you need to submit it to technical review by GMS Support. To submit it, please send an email to GMS Support, copying the Programme Unit in New York, to notify them that the new OM template needs to be reviewed and approved on GMS. GMS Support will make sure that the Programme Unit in New York has reviewed and approved your new Operational Modalities, and that all the modalities are properly transposed into the GMS module, before approving the template on the system. Once the OM is approved on GMS, it will start being applied to newly approved projects. The OM line is linked to each project’s Timelines at Budget Approval stage, so it is important to make sure that the correct OM template is saved and approved on GMS before new projects reach the Budget Approval stage. To learn more on the Timelines process and OM linkage, please refer to this article. After the OM template is approved and linked to projects, it is no longer possible to edit nor delete it. GMS TROUBLESHOOTING  Click on the error message to access the solution. The combination of Partner type and Risk level should be covered in order to make the operation modality valid Start date can not be blank / Approved date can not be blank Start date of the template should be greater than the existing templates. Please change the start date. Invalid template as there is no operational modality defined under this template. Please upload Pooled fund operational handbook against each operational modality template which will be published on the CBPF BI portal (CBPF Data Hub) Issues Found in this template, please correct them to proceed further 

How is the Risk Level determined on the GMS?  Capacity Assessment score  What is the adapted CA score? Performance Index score and Risk rating evolution When is it recommended to re-calculate the risk level of partners on GMS? What is the difference between Project Risk Level and Partner Risk Level? 1/ How is the Risk Level determined on the GMS? Each CBPF is required to assess the capacity and monitor performance of every potential eligible partner and Implementing Partner.A first risk analysis is carried out by analyzing the partner’s capacity through the Capacity Assessment (CA). Based on the Capacity Assessment’s results, eligible NGOs are categorized according to a specific risk rating which determines the minimum standard of operational modalities applicable to the partner. The principle is that the higher the risk the more stringent assurance mechanisms will apply. (i.e. Low risk partners are subject to less monitoring.) Over time, as partners receive funding and implement projects, the risk rating is increasingly determined by partner performance, which is assessed by the HFU through the Partner Performance Index (PPI). This Performance system encourages improvement in capacity as partners can migrate to lower risk levels through good performance and by addressing capacity weaknesses. These performance trends are captured by the Performance Index (PI). The partner Risk Level is hence determined by the combination of both the initial Capacity Assessment score and the multiple Performance Index scores (1 per implemented project). It is important to note that as time passes and the partner implements project, the CA score weights less and less in the Risk Level rating, to the point where the CA initial score is no longer taken into account in the calculation. This blog post aims to give explanations and recommendation on the Partners and Projects Risk Levels. 2/ Capacity Assessment score A. What is the CA score?The CA is aimed at determining whether the organization has sufficient capacity in terms of institutional, managerial, financial, and technical expertise. The Capacity Assessment aims to score the partners as follows: Non-Eligible Partners Eligible Partners Based on the CA score and the Funds’ scoring table and thresholds, eligible partners are rated as: High Risk, Medium Risk, or Low Risk. You can find the CA score country table in the CA scorecard of the partner : Example: In our example, the partner received a CA total score of 76.75. According to the country CA scale provided in the table on GMS, this score is within the 71 to 90.99 score range, corresponding to ‘Medium’ risk. Therefore, the Partner has a Medium Risk Level. B. What is the adapted CA score?  The Adapted CA score is displayed next the CA score automatically calculated at the completion of the CA Questionnaire on GMS. The adapted CA score was introduced to harmonize the CA scores and to facilitate the comparison of partners’ risks between funds. It is calculated by means of a ‘multiplier’.  The ‘multiplier’ is specific to each Fund; it translates the CA country score into its weight equivalence at the global level without changing the risk levelIt is the adapted CA score which is used in the calculation of the Partner Performance Index Adjusted Risk Level. For instance:Lebanon’s HIGH Risk range is scored between 31 and 70.99, and the global HIGH Risk range is scored between 50 and 69.99. Partner Z is scored 31/100, which is considered Eligible/-HIGH Risk according to Lebanon’s range. A score of 31 would be considered ineligible at Global level without the multiplier concept. However, with the multiplier concept, the equivalent score at the global level is 50/100, which is considered as Eligible - HIGH risk. Partner Z’s Adapted CA score is hence 50/100 and reflects the correct Risk Level on the global template. To learn more on Capacity Assessment scoring and how to calculate it on the GMS, please refer to this article of the Help Portal.  3/ Performance Index score The performance of an Implementing Partner on a project is assessed through a set of questions, pre-determined by the CBPF and common to all partners. These questions are displayed for the HFU as and when specific milestones are completed in the project lifecycle. At Project Closure, when all questions have been answered and saved, the Performance Index score is calculated based on the following weightage:   PARTNER-LEVEL PERFORMANCE AND RISK RATING EVOLUTIONThe different project PI scores of a Partner are combined with the original Capacity Assessment’s score to determine the overall Partner PI adjusted score. The weightage of each project in calculating the overall Partner Performance Index is adjusted as and when the partner completes more projects, i.e. an increased weightage is given to the performance based on the most recent projects completed by the partner. An overview on how the weightage breaks between Capacity Assessment and Performance Index is given below: As can be seen in the above screenshot, the CA score is not included in the calculation of the PI adjusted risk from the partner’s fifth project onwards. The Partner’s PI adjusted score, obtained by the combination of project’s PI scores and CA results (if relevant), is linked to a specific risk level defined by the Global Risk Range, as shown in the screenshot below. To be included in the calculation of the PI adjusted risk, the CA risk score is adapted from the Country Risk Range to the Global Risk Range via a multiplier tailored for each country. The GMS automatically calculates and determines the Partner’s PI score and subsequent Risk Level (adjusted or not). HFU officers can approve the PI adjusted risk of the Partner from the Partner Performance Index Risk Management page. To learn more on Performance Index please refer to this article of the Help Portal.  4/ When is it recommended to re-calculate the risk level of partners on GMS? We advise HFU staff to re-calculate the risk of Partners before each allocation, in order to reflect their correct risk level before the approval of their projects.Since the project requirements are linked to the Partner’s risk level (except UN Agencies, which do not have a risk level), the Partner’s new risk level must be calculated to capture the correct reporting/monitoring requirements and disbursement tranches percentages before linking them in the Timelines’ tab of their approved projects. To learn more about project requirements and risk level, please refer to our article in the Help Portal on Operational Modalities. To re-evaluate a Partner’s Risk Level, please follow this navigation: Risk Management -> Partner Risk Dashboard. (1)After filtering out the Partner (2), click on the barometer icon (3). The Partner Performance Index Risk Management Page allows HFU to see the current Risk Level of the Partner, as well as a history of the risk level calculations. The GMS will indicate if the Risk level requires to be updated or not. The HFU can then agree or disagree to make the change on the system. 5/ What is the difference between Project Risk Level and Partner Risk Level? The Project Risk Level is the Risk Level that the Partner has when the project reaches ‘Budget Cleared’. It is based on this Project Risk Level that the operational modalities are picked up and linked in the Timelines. You can find the Project Risk Level in the Timelines’ tab of each project. The Partner Risk Level is the current, adjusted Risk Level of the Partner. It can differ from its last approved Project Risk Level provided it has been re-calculated. The Partner Risk Level, along with a history of the risk level re-calculations, can be found on the Partner Risk Management Dashboard.   

Introduction 1st mistake : 'Wanting to add a new profile but modifying the primary HFU user role instead' 2nd mistake: 'Wanting to delete a user role profile (e.g. Agency/Partner access) but actually ending up deactivating/unapproving the whole access to GMS'   Introduction  The System Users module allows HFU staff to manage the profile’s details of the GMS users. As HFU staff, it is possible, through the System Users tab, to create several profiles for one user, and one Humanitarian ID credential. The HFU can for instance, create under its individual user account a ‘Agency Partner’ profile, in addition to their primary HFU profile. This new ‘Partner’ profile can be very useful to help an implementing partner in different scenarios of the GMS. However, there are two major pitfalls to avoid while modifying a user’s profile, whether your own or someone else’s. These two very common errors are described below, along with how to solve the issue. Please note, this blog post is not a full guidance on how to manage system users. To learn more about how to manage profiles, how to approve user registrations etc. please refer to this Help Portal article. 1st mistake: ‘Wanting to add a new profile but modifying your own primary HFU user role instead’  How could users make this mistake? This mistake happens (i)when a user wishes to create a new access, e.g. as an Agency/Partner, but they do not click on [click here to create a new profile], OR (ii)when they wish to edit one of their existing user role profiles, but do not search for it in the Pooled Funds section and do not click on [edit]. Hence, they edit the information automatically displayed in the System Users- User details tab, which is their PRIMARY HFU profile, they change the 'HFU' to another user group in the drop-down list, and click on [save profile]. Why is it an issue? If you modify your primary profile, e.g. because you wanted to create an ‘Agency/Partner’ access, without first clicking on [click here to add new profile], you will be automatically logged out of GMS, with no possibility of logging back in as an HFU user role. How to avoid making this mistake? As a general rule, DO NOT EVER CHANGE YOUR PRIMARY PROFILE. Your primary profile is the one that is automatically displayed when you log in the GMS and access the System Users – User Details tab. If you wish to create/edit another user role access to your profile, please refer to this guidance below How to create another user role access to my profile? How to edit one my profile’s user role access? What should I do if this happened to me? If you have been kicked out of GMS and find yourself unable to log in as your original primary profile after editing it, you need to request a member of your HFU to reinstate your HFU access, or contact GMS Support at this address : gms-support@un.org. 2nd mistake : ‘Wanting to delete a user role profile (e.g. Agency/Partner access) but actually ending up deactivating/unapproving the whole access to GMS’  How could users make this mistake? This mistake happens when a user wishes to delete one of their profile user role, for instance Cluster Leads, and to do so, they untick the ‘Is Active’ or ‘Approve’ checkbox of the said profile and click on [Save]. Why is it an issue? It is a mistake as the ‘Approve’ / ‘is Active’ checkboxes are linked to your USER DETAILS, not the specific profile. Hence, if you deactivate your user details thinking it would delete the specific profile, the GMS will log you out, with no possibility of logging in again, as it will consider that your whole account is no longer active/approved. How to avoid making this mistake? IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HFU USERS TO DELETE A PROFILE ONCE IT HAS BEEN CREATED. Only GMS Admin can do this. If you wish to delete one of your profile’s user roles, please contact GMS Support at this address: gms-support@un.org What should I do if this happened to me? If you have been kicked out of GMS and find yourself unable to log in after deactivating/unapproving your GMS access, you need to request a member of your HFU to re-activate/approve your account, or contact GMS Support at this address : gms-support@un.org.    

Increasing transparency and effectiveness of humanitarian financing data. OCHA manages a responsive, predictable and strategic humanitarian financing system through the leadership of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs). These funds help drive humanitarian action by encouraging more effective financing mechanisms that reflect the changing nature of humanitarian crises. Allocation, project and partner data collected on Grant Management Systems are analyzed and now published in the OCHA’s Pooled Funds Data Hubs. This blog post provides an overview of the different Pooled Funds Data Hubs which OCHA manages, formerly named the Pooled Funds Business Intelligence. The Pooled Funds Data Hub The OCHA Pooled Funds' Data Hub portal is a one-stop data visualization platform which presents both CBPF and CERF Allocations and Donor Contributions data, making it the only information management tool to bring together real-time OCHA Pooled Funds’ data. Check it out at this address: https://pfdata.unocha.org/ The Pooled Funds Data Hub takes a leap forward in increasing transparency of OCHA’s humanitarian financing mechanisms.  It allows donors and stakeholders to easily analyze country level responses across CERF and CBPF, increasing the efficiency of information management and improving decision making. Drawing its data from the CERF and CBPF Grant Management Systems, the PF Data Hub is composed of: The Allocations map and bar chart, which deliver data on funding allocated to Humanitarian Partners; Two data visualizations dedicated to Donor Contributions providing multi-year comparison and contributions trends per Donor. Please do share the Pooled Funds Data Hub with interested stakeholders and through social media channels – you can easily filter visuals, download and share! You can download our PDF on the Pooled Funds Data Hub HERE. You can access detailed guidance, including a tutorial video on how to navigate and extract data from the Pooled Funds Data Hub HERE. While the Pooled Funds Data Hub displays allocations and contributions’ high-level data from CERF and CBPF, users might seek more specific data, and different perspectives and analyses. This is why the Information Management and Data Analytics Unit has also developed specific Data Hubs for both CERF and CBPF. The CBPF Data Hub The CBPF Data Hub is a tool that displays the latest CBPF allocation and contribution data, in a meaningful and useful way which helps users to analyze the funding process.  In the CBPF Data Hub, data trends are illustrated through eye-friendly, analytical, and thematic visualizations that can be downloaded and shared. You can access the CBPF Data Hub at this address: https://cbpf.data.unocha.org/ You can find more information from our 2 pager on the CBPF Data Hub, available HERE. If you need more guidance on each of the CBPF Data Hub visualizations, please refer to the Help Portal article HERE. You can also watch our tutorial video on how to navigate in the CBPF Data Hub HERE. The CERF Data Hub Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 as the United Nations global emergency response fund, CERF enables humanitarian responders to deliver life-saving assistance whenever and wherever crises strike. The CERF Data Hub is a public information management platform which provides accurate, up-to-date data on both CERF Allocations and Contributions. You can access the CERF Data Hub at this address: https://cerf.data.unocha.org/ To learn more about CERF, please visit the dedicated website HERE.        

The CBPF Internal BI is a private information management platform which displays internal data on CBPF projects and implementing partners such as Due Diligence, Capacity Assessment, expenditures etc. for analysis and extraction purposes. The CBPF internal BI does not include CERF data. Only authorized UN staff can access the internal BI. If you are a UN staff and wish to view the data hosted by the internal BI, you will need to request access. After careful review, the IMSDAU will grant you access. To request access, please go to this URL: https://gms-internal.unocha.org/content/cbpf-internal-bi-homepage If you do not have a granted access, the platform will be blank, and will require to log in. Click on [sign in] and sign in using the UN email address and password. You will then be redirected to a requesting access page (see screenshot below). Click on [Request access] to request an access to the Internal BI. After being granted access, you can view the CBPF Internal BI data at the same address: https://gms-internal.unocha.org/content/cbpf-internal-bi-homepage

Strategic Review Committee Scorecards are an important element in the Project Proposal Review process. While the Strategic Review (which consists in assessing the strategic coherence of a project proposal based on an online, multiple choice questionnaire) is performed by the Cluster Coordinators and the Strategic Review Committee, it is the HFU who must create and properly configure the online questionnaire : the SRC scorecard. This blog post is a GMS Quick Tip, providing a reminder on how to create and populate the SRC Scorecard on the GMS. Should you need more detailed information, please refer to the Help Portal article by clicking HERE. In this blog post, we will review the following: What is a SRC Scorecard, and when should it be created and configured by the HFU? How to create and configure a scorecard on the GMS? Creating a scorecard template Configuring the scorecard template How to populate the scorecard template on the GMS? Adding the scorecard's categories Adding the scorecard's questions Adding the scorecard's options How to add Recommendations to the SRC Scorecard?   What is a SRC Scorecard, and when should it be created and configured by the HFU?  During the Strategic Review, the Strategic Review Committee reviews and scores project proposals. The scoring of projects must take place on GMS through the completion of the SRC scorecard.  The SRC Scorecard is hence a multiple-choice questionnaire. When the reviewer answers all questions in the scorecard, the GMS automatically calculates the final Strategic Review score. Based on this score, the reviewer can then decide to recommend this project, or not recommend it. To learn more on the Strategic Review process and how to use the scorecard, please refer to this article in the Help Portal.   During the allocation configuration stage, the HFU is required to link the new allocation to its corresponding Strategic Review scorecard. Consequently, it is primordial for the HFU to CREATE a unique SRC scorecard before creating an allocation on GMS. This unique SRC scorecard can be edited after the launch of the allocation and up until the scoring of the first project. IMPORTANT: Each allocation should have one unique SRC scorecard; Upon scoring a project under a specific scorecard, the scorecard becomes non-editable. If you notice an error in your scorecard, make sure not to save any score and go to the SRC management module to edit it before going back to the scoring of projects.   How to create and configure a scorecard on the GMS?  During the configuration of a new allocation, the HFU is required to create a new SRC scorecard. To do so, follow this navigation: Navigation: System Setup > Configuration Setup > Manage SRC Scorecards The Strategic Review Scorecards’ Management Module is composed of a list of all SRC scorecards that were created in each fund. The red scorecard lines represent the scorecards which have already been used to score projects (i.e. projects have already been linked to them). These red scorecards cannot be edited on GMS. CREATING A SCORECARD TEMPLATE ON THE GMS  There are two options available to create a scorecard: Click on [Add Scorecard] button of the SRC Scorecards management page, to create a blank, brand-new scorecard, with no previously inputted data; OR Click on [Copy Scorecard] to clone an existing scorecard. In the pop-up window, select the template you want to copy the scorecard from, and click on [Copy]. You will be able to edit all information in the copied scorecard. Please make sure to edit the description of the scorecard as per the new allocation it is linked to.   Quick note: Copying a previous template can be very time-saving and efficient, given that the scorecards’ categories, being set at Global Level, are the same for all scorecards.  CONFIGURING THE SCORECARD TEMPLATE ON THE GMS  HFU officers can configure/edit the scorecard’s basic information in the field at the top of the page.  The configuration options will have an important impact on the Strategic Review module (i.e. Project Scoring) of the GMS, which is the module Cluster Coordinators must use to conduct the Strategic Review of projects. To be able to use the scorecard during the Strategic Review stage: The scorecard must be unlocked to be able to access the ‘Score projects’ icon’ (‘is locked’ checkbox unticked) The scorecard must be active (‘is active’ checkbox ticked) to be selectable from the Scorecard drop-down list The print options (both concept note and proposals) can be allowed, at your discretion. This is the view you will have on the Project Scoring module (i.e. the module the cluster coordinators use to review and score the project during the strategic review) on the GMS with the above options configured:   How to populate the SRC scorecard on the GMS?  Once the template is created, the HFU should either populate it entirely (if you created a blank template) or edit the copied scorecard. Being a multiple-choice questionnaire, the scorecard is composed of 6 categories, questions, and at least two answers for each question. ADDING A CATEGORY To add or edit categories of a scorecard, click on the [Modify Category/Questions] link, present in the ‘Action’ column of the scorecard’s line.• Please note, when you add or copy a scorecard, the new template is saved at the bottom of the list. To create a new category, click on [Add Category]/ to edit an existing category, click on [edit] of the line. In our example, we created the category ‘Engagement with coordination’. Enter the category’s title, details, description etc. and click on [save].   Quick note, there are two mandatory fields that can raise questions: the “code” and the “category weight”. The code you input should be a number or a letter, a symbol that will sort the categories in order in the scorecard. In our example, we added in the ‘code’ field: A, as the category Engagement with Coordination is the first category in our example. The category weight is set at Global Level, as indicated in the graph below:   Here is how the category will look like to the reviewer in the scorecard: ADDING A QUESTION IN A CATEGORY  You can add – or edit in case of a copied template- a question to a category by clicking on [edit] of the category line (present in the action column, on the right side).   You can find the questions section below the category details section.  Add your question in the editable field, enter the question’s weight and the questions’ order in the relevant fields. The 'question order' field will configure the order of this question within the category. In our example, question 1 is the first question of the category the reviewer will answer. Be sure to tick the box ‘Is active’, and to leave the box ‘is locked’ unticked, otherwise the question will be hidden from the reviewer. Then, click on [add] on the right side of the question’s line. After saving the questions and its according answers, you can save the whole category by clicking on [save].   Quick Note : do not click on delete/save/back/cancel  to edit/save a question, as these buttons impact the whole category! To save a question, click on [add] at the end of its line. You should click on [save] of the category section after saving/adding the other elements i.e. questions and options.  ADDING ANSWERS TO A QUESTION To add the options the reviewer can choose from to answer a question of the scorecard, click on the [add options] command of the question’s line. In the pop-up window, add the option text and the option value, and click on [add]. Repeat the process to add several options.  To learn more on what is an exclusive option and how to configure it please refer to this guidance. After adding all options, you can close the pop-up window. Before leaving the category page, do not forget to click on [save]. This is what the scorecard’s questions and options we added will look like to the reviewer when scoring projects: 4. How to add recommendations to the SRC Scorecard?  Once the scorecard’s template is complete with the according categories, questions and questions’ options, you can add recommendations. Adding recommendations means associating a scoring value to a general recommendation, that the reviewer will be able to select after having reviewed the project. *Please note, the recommendation is only indicative. It does not have any impact on the actual workflow of the project. To add a recommendation in the SRC scorecard, click on [edit] of the scorecard’s line and click on [add recommendations] located at the top of the page (after you click on edit). In the pop-up window, enter the name of the recommendation, the associated value and click on [add]. During the Strategic Review process, after filling out the scorecard and obtaining the final score, the reviewer is required to select whether to recommend or not this project, by selecting the option from the recommendation drop-down list.   If you need more information on how to manage a scorecard, for instance, how to delete the scorecard’s elements, how to allocate weightages, how to add recommendations or how to associate the Strategic Review score to a color code, please refer to this Help Portal article.    

This Blog post is dedicated to the two GMS Global Trainings that were given on Thursday, 17th , and Monday 21st of December 2020, which focused on the following: Organization Registration now open to HFU staff Revision and project Timelines update Additional important points of the Global Training ​The Timelines' reminder concept The FTR Timelines requirement  Q&A session 1- PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS' REGISTRATION OPEN TO HFU STAFF  You will find in this blog post a quick overview of this process, as well as a special focus on the validity of the Organization's information.               You can also find the complete guidance on this topic on the Help Portal at this address: /content/partner-organization-registrationAlong with a tutorial video, accessible at this address: https://ocha.fleeq.io/l/partner-organization-registration    As of December 22, 2020, Partner Organizations’ registration on the GMS is open to HFU staff on the partner portal. To create a new organization after reception of the registration request and related documentation, the HFU must go to the Partner Portal by entering this address in your browser navigation bar: https://partnerportal.unocha.org/ Or, you can log in to your GMS homepage and go to Report > CBPF Partner Portal. Before creating a new Organization on the GMS, make sure that the organization is not yet registered on the Partner Portal, by searching for it. To search for an organization in the Partner Portal (even non-approved organizations, under Draft status), hover over [Organization] and click on [manage/search Organization]. To access more information on how to use the Manage/Search Organization tool, please refer to this section of the Help portal. Once you made sure that the organization is not yet registered on the partner portal, you can proceed with registering it. To create a new organization, hover over [Organization] and click on [create new organization].   Once in the Registration form, you will need to fill in all the fields of the form (Organization, Global Organization, Organization Details, Supporting Documents and Organization Contacts), and submit it to GMS Support for technical approval by clicking on [Send for approval]. Do not forget to click on [save] to save your registration draft in the system. You will be able to access it by using the [Search/Manage Organization] tool. The registration form fields are only editable in ‘draft’ and ‘under correction’ status. Special Focus on the validity of the Organization's information  When creating a new organization on the Partner Portal, the system will ask the HFU if the organization information provided is valid or not. This validity depends on the three organization names provided to the HFU: The organization name requested for GMS registration The organization name as it appears on its official registration certificate The organization name as it appears on its official bank statement/letter The organization information will be considered valid if and only if the three above names match exactly. If there is a discrepancy of any kind between these three names, the organization is requested to provide the HFU with an official letter signed by the organization’s legal representative, justifying this discrepancy and confirming that the different names pertain to the same entity. In this case, the HFU should leave the “Is Organization Information Valid?” question box unticked and provide information on the name discrepancy in the Comment box (second case scenario described below). The HFU must also upload the organization’s justification letter under the Supporting Documents section. First case scenario: The three organization names match exactly Upon HFU review, the Organization Information is valid and HFU ticks the [Yes] box (as below). The Comment box directly becomes inactive.   Second case scenario: There is a discrepancy between the three names The [Yes] box is left unticked, and HFU must provide explanatory comments in the Comment field. 2- REVISION AND PROJECT TIMELINES' UPDATE  The Revision module has been upgraded to help HFU staff in updating the project’s Timelines. During the Revision process, at 'GA Amendment preparation' stage of the workflow, the GMS now notifies the HFU: If a Timelines’ update is necessary , If the Operational Modalities have been changed due to the revision of the project’s characteristics (duration and/or budget), and, Of, when applicable, the additional required instances that will apply to the revised version of the project, which the HFU has to create PRIOR TO generating the Grant Agreement Amendment. We will present in this blog post : - The error icon preventing from activating the revision request- In which cases is a Timelines’ update necessary?- The Revision module’s Timelines’ tab NEW FEATURE To find complete guidance on the topic, please refer to this section of the Help Portal. You will notably find additional, specific guidance on:- How to create the additional required instances- How to waive an additional required instance- What to do in case the revised budget/duration is above all OM thresholds? ERROR ICON PREVENTING FROM ACTIVATING THE REVISION REQUEST  There can be two reasons why the [Activate] button is not available, and replaced on the system by an error icon . The Legal Signatories of the project have not been authorized. This means that the Legal Signatories of the Grant Agreement and project's reports have not been authorized by the Partner/the HFU in the Project Authorization page. To learn how to authorize the Legal signatories in the Project Authorization page, please refer to this guidance by clicking HERE. The project Timelines have not been authorized.   This means that the HFU did not authorize the project's Timelines. In this case, the HFU is required to fill in the Timelines' tab, according to the applicable Operational Modalities. The Fund Manager or Programme Officer Business Role must then authorize them. To do so, go to the Timelines’ tab of the project, either by clicking on the edit icon as shown in the screenshot above, or simply by clicking on the Timelines tab, present at the right-hand side of the project's module. IN WHICH CASES IS A TIMELINES’ UPDATE NECESSARY?  A Project Revision might trigger the need to create additional instances in the project’s Timelines in the two following cases: A No Cost Extension including a change of Operational Modalities; OR A Budget extension including a change of Operational Modalities. These are the only cases when a Timelines’ update will be necessary. A Timelines’ update is required if the duration or budget extension changes the applicable operational modalities linked to the project. The changes will imply either additional reporting/monitoring instances, a change in the disbursement tranches, or both. If you are faced with one or both of these cases, you should update the project’s Timelines before generating the Grant Agreement Amendment, when the revision workflow reaches: ‘Grant Agreement Amendment Preparation’. The 'Timelines' tab of the revision module (see section below) is designed to help you with this update.   THE TIMELINES’ TAB OF THE REVISION MODULE NEW FEATURE  The Timelines’ tab of the revision module displays all the required assurances updates that are necessary, notably the reporting/monitoring instances and/or the disbursement tranches (when necessary).You can notice that the system displays both the current Timelines’ set up (in yellow), as well as the required changes after the revision (in green).   Please note the following : At this stage, the Revision is still ongoing, and the project’s data has not yet been overwritten. Therefore, if the revision triggered a change of applicable operational modalities, it will not be displayed in the Timelines’ tab of the project until the project is overwritten with the revision. It is not necessary to re-authorize the project Timelines during or after a revision, provided the HFU created all additional required instances as indicated in the Timelines' tab of the revision module.  It is not mandatory for the HFU to make the timelines OM compliant as per the revision OM requirement. The GMS does not restrict user from generating the Grant Agreement Amendment or overwrite revision in case the revision OM requirement is not satisfied. However, please be aware that if there is a discrepancy between the OM requirements and the instances created in the Timelines' tab of the project after overwriting the project with the revision, the Timelines will be un-authorized. This is the only case where the Timelines will be un-authorized after a Revision.  To comply with the new operational modalities that will be applicable to the revised version of the project, The HFU is required to create the new instances in the Timelines’ tab of the project, as indicated in the ‘Remarks’ column of the Timelines’ tab of the Revision module. Create the instances in the Timelines' tab of the project: Proceed with the Revision process, until [Overwrite]. Please see below a screenshot of the Timelines after Overwriting the Project with the Revision :  3- ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT POINTS OF THE GLOBAL TRAINING  1st important point discussed during the training: the Reminder concept The Reminder concept, expected to be rolled out on the GMS in January 2021, is designed to notify the Fund Managers and Programme Officers of projects' Timelines that are still un-authorized when the project's workflow is past Budget Cleared. In order to avoid receiving an important amount of automatic emails from the GMS, Fund Managers and Programme Officers must go through their Timelines' task list in their homepage and authorize the projects' Timelines that are still un-authorized, before the launch of this Reminder concept. 2nd important point discussed during the training : the FTR requirements In addition to authorizing the Project info page, Project Timelines authorization will now be required and mandatory in order to send a FTR to FCS or MPTF. Please make sure to authorize all projects' Timelines, including UN Agencies' projects. 4- Q&A SESSION  Following the revisions, when is exactly the OCHA assurance dashboard going to be updated?The OCHA Assurance Dashboard will be updated, based on the new information in the Timelines’ tab of the project, once the project is overwritten with the revision. What if you did not add an instance before overwriting, but we want to add an instance after 'overwriting'?If the HFU does not create all the additional required instances as indicated in the Timelines’ tab of the revision module, and proceeds with overwriting the revision, the Timelines will be automatically un-authorized by the system once the project is overwritten with the revision. This is because the system will pick up the discrepancy between the number of required instances and the actual instances created in the system. In this case, the Timelines’ would be set to ‘Under Re-authorization’. You will then need to create the missing instance or ask the Fund Manager to waive it, before re-authorizing the Timelines. Please note, the Grant Agreement Amendment Annex B is generated by the system based on the information of the Timelines’ tab of the project (regardless of the OM Compliant mention). Therefore, if, due to human error, you forgot to add a required instance, it will be missing on the GAA annex B as well. Do we need to re-authorize the Timelines’ tab of the project after a Revision?The Timelines’ tab of the project will not be un-authorized by the system except in the only following case:If the HFU fails to create (or purposefully does not create, in order to waive the instance afterwards) all additional required instances as indicated in the Timelines tab of the revision module. How can I see that the project’s Timelines have been un-authorized after a Revision? If you are in the case where the Timelines’ tab of the project has been un-authorized following a Revision (because of missing OM Compliant instances), it will appear in your Timelines’ task list, on your home page. If the cost extension is done and not all tranches have been disbursed to the IP, will the cost extension and remaining tranche be disbursed at once? The Cost Extension and the remaining tranche(s) will NOT be disbursed at once.The additional budget amount requested in the Cost Extension will be disbursed to the IP after the GAA is signed by the EO.However, the undisbursed tranche(s) related to the initial GA (if any) will be requested by the IP through Financial Reports as usually done in the GMS. Will the additional budget requested in the cost extension be disbursed in 100% regardless of the amount?Yes, as per the Grant Agreement Amendment’s clause: "Additional Funds will be released to the Implementing Partner in 1 instalment of US$ XXXX" - Article VII. Financial and Operational Arrangements