OMAFRA's Research Management System (RMS)

Welcome to the Research Management System (RMS), our new e-grant system for managing research programs.

Good-bye paper and hello RMS

We are bringing the Ministry's research administration into the 21st century. We replaced our former paper-based system with this on-line system in order to:

• Decrease the amount of time and work required by applicants, and allow them to track past and current submissions to OMAFRA research programs
• Help us manage the programs more efficiently and effectively
• Support knowledge translation and transfer by consolidating research information and outcomes into a searchable database
• Reduce our volume of printing in keeping with the government's Go Green initiatives

What you can do with RMS

The Research Management System allows you ready access to information relating to your proposals for Ministry-funded research programs. You can:

• manage your personal profile
• create new applications to open calls
• track applications from submission through to award decision
• manage your awards through report submission to OMAFRA

Your personal profile within the RMS 'Researcher Workbench' includes both your contact details and relevant research outputs which can be used in submissions to Ministry-funded research programs and for annual and final reports for funded projects.

Although you need to register on the system in order to view and apply to any open Calls for Letters of Intent, this does not obligate you to apply. However, we may contact you to verify your interest solely to maintain our system.

Browsers to Use with RMS

RMS is fully compatible with Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Other browsers such as 'Safari' can result in system errors.

Step One - Register to get a password

Before you can create a profile, you must register to obtain a 'User Name' and 'Password' in order to login to the RMS.

Complete the fields on the registration page and hit the 'Submit' button. You will receive an email from 'Do Not Reply - OMAFRA RMS' [donotreplyOMAFRArms@smartsimple.ca] containing your temporary password and the link to the login page on the Research Management System. Remember to check your 'Junk' email folder in case your spam filter has removed it from your 'In box'. We suggest that you add the RMS email address to your contact list or 'safe sender' list so that you can receive future notifications from the system.

Use the right registration form

Public sector researchers register here - This registration is for researchers from colleges, universities, hospitals and government.

• It allows on-line communication between you and your corresponding Research office or similar approval authority when submitting an application to OMAFRA-funded research programs.

Private sector researchers register here - This registration is for researchers from businesses, industry organizations, commodity groups etc.

• It does not allow on-line communication between your and your approval authority when submitting an application to OMAFRA-funded research programs.

Step Two - Create your profile

To login - Use the link here or the one provided in the email that you received following registration. Enter:

Username	the email address that you provided for registration
Password	the temporary password supplied in the registration email

The system will prompt you to change your password.

Create/Manage Your Profile

Click on the 'manage profile' button to enter your name, business contact information, etc.

There are two options to populate the 'Additional Information' section of your profile.

1. Import citations from Publication Databases (Agricola and PubMed are currently available). This is a very quick way to get 4 or 5 publications into your profile that are relevant to your current Letter of intent (LOI) application:
   1. Under the 'Journal Articles' tab click 'New' and then 'Search Publication Databases'.
   2. Select the available databases from the drop down menu.
   3. Enter search terms and hit 'search'.
   4. Select publications to import and scroll to the bottom and click 'Add'. This allows you to view the publication.
   5. Clicking 'Create Transactions' will add the publication to your profile.
2. Populate your profile manually. For a letter of intent, just type in the publications and other products of research (such as conferences, presentations, workshops, IP).

You can log in and update your profile with additional information at any time.

Step Three - Apply to open calls

Researcher Workbench - Call Overview Screen

You can view and apply to any open Calls for Letters of Intent from your Researcher Workbench. The active Calls are displayed in a box at the top right of your Workbench screen.

Click 'Apply' to go to the Overview Screen to see an overview of the program.

From the Overview screen there are two buttons:

1. 'Apply' button - takes you to the Letter of Intent application form.
   • Once you have saved an application for the first time, go to the 'Current Applications' tab on your Researcher Workbench to edit the application.
   • Further use of the 'apply' button will create multiple applications.

2. 'Back' button - returns you to your Researcher Workbench screen

Saving your application

When you are in the application form, you will see the following buttons at the bottom of the form:

1. 'Save Draft' button saves a copy of the application form before all the mandatory fields are completed.
   • Hitting the Save Draft button for the first time will make a draft application appear under the 'Current Applications' Tab on your Researcher Workbench with the status 'Letter of Intent - in preparation'.
2. 'Save' button will prompt you if you have not completed all the red mandatory fields.
   • Use this button to save the letter of intent when you are ready to submit it.

3. 'Submit' button - will forward your application to either your research office or directly to OMAFRA depending on how you registered.

The system does not autosave your application so remember to save it often.

Editing your application

• Click on the 'Current Applications' tab on your Researcher Workbench to find your application form with the status 'Letter of Intent - In Preparation'.
• Hitting the red 'Details' button allows you to work further on the application until you submit it.
• Remember to save your work.

Submitting your application

Public sector applicants (from colleges, universities, hospitals and government):

• Hitting the 'Submit' button will forward your application to your Office of Research (OR) or other authority for approval.
• The OR or other authority will review your application and either return it to you for revision or forward it to OMAFRA on your behalf.
• Remember to allow time for your internal approval process when applying to OMAFRA.
• Be sure to append any additional documents required by your Office of Research.
• The system will not allow you to submit an application after the program's submission deadline.

Private sector applicants (from businesses, industry organizations, commodity groups etc):

• Hitting the 'Submit' button will forward your application directly to OMAFRA.
• The system will not allow you to submit an application after the program's submission deadline.

More Information

• Contact the RMS Administrator if you need help with using the Research Management System.