Effort Administrator is a grant management software that consolidates the management and reporting of all things having to do with grants, such as effort certification and time and effort reporting. The Effort Administrator software is a web application developed and published by Information Technology Works, Inc. (IT Works). Featured at an SRA International exhibition in October 2009, the Effort Administrator web application was officially announced in February 2010. The system is used by research departments in various industries including healthcare, education, and the sciences, including such institutions as the Western University of Health Sciences. The program is designed for browser based use on Windows- and Apple-based computers, and it is used to certify and report on an institution’s research efforts for which a grant was awarded in addition to providing projected grant efforts that may be required in the future.
Contents
Development and programming
Programmed using primarily C#, it is written using object oriented programming (OOP) techniques and built on the .NET platform with a SQL Server backend database. Because it is a web application for use with multiple browsers and operating systems and their various iterations, it integrates various other technologies, programming, and markup languages.
These include:
Architecture
Effort Administrator is a web application that can be used as a complete (stand-alone) system to manage grant administration and effort reporting, or it can be customized to fit the specific needs of the organization using it, so that only certain parts of the application are used. Effort Administrator and has two basic components making up its overall architecture.
Application
Because Effort Administrator it is a web application, it is able to use existing research and effort data from systems already in use, and combines the data to issue a single report that includes each data set. The way that Effort Administrator issues its reports is dependent on the needs of the various departments that use it, but after beginning to use Effort Administrator to issue single reports, the data from existing systems are typically moved into the web application as well. This can include the existing systems that allow for effort reporting, certification and overall grant management. After combining the systems, users can access the reports by compiling them by hand or, with proper clearance issued by the department they work for, by using the online access portal.
Reporting
The reporting architecture of Effort Administrator provides the various reports that are required of effort certification and reporting tasks and accountability. When the Effort Administrator reporting abilities are used with its web application structure, a logged in user can customize the reports issued based on the information needed, and based on the permissions given to the user by the research department. After generating the report, the user can opt to display in the browser, or download it. Essentially, while all staff with access to the application can generate reports, the type of report that a user can generate varies depending on the permissions granted to that user.
Features
While the Effort Administrator program is much like other grant administration systems, it does offer distinctive features in a single web application that are not found in other effort reporting and effort certification systems, unless a user purchases pieces of different grant management systems in order to achieve the same combined reporting abilities that Effort Administrator contains.
These features include:
Reporting
One of the Effort Administrator’s main features is its customizable effort reports and effort certification statements. Users can create these reports and statements based on his or her employer's reporting and certification policies and way of reporting and issuing statements.
Some of the report types include:
Technical requirements
Because of the varied needs of different research departments and institutions that use Effort Administrator, its developers designed the web application to be compatible with a wide variety of browsers, operating systems, and server set ups. In doing so, the web application meets or exceeds the needs of the institutions that use it without the need to overhaul any configurations.
Compatible operating systems include all versions of Microsoft Windows, version XP with Service Pack 2 and newer in addition to Apple Mac Power PC and Intel-based operating systems. It is also compatible with most web and database server setups including Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2005 or its Oracle equivalent. Compatible browsers include Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari. So that Effort Administrator continues to meet institutional needs and trends, developers are designing a mobile phone compatible application as well.