Key Features

Owned by Christine Joyal
Last updated: Apr 16, 2024
9 min read

 

NoFA/RFP Edit Tool

This is a new feature that is now in place for Funding Organizations to post their link directly into their NoFA/RFP, especially if their state requires the Grantee to go to the state procurement website.

  • You have a new option to Show/Hide the Apply Button when a Grantee is applying for a NoFA/RFP. Funding Organizations can find this in the NoFA/RFP Project Sections and can still use the WYSIWYG tool to add in their own link to apply. (6/29/22)

Floating Help/Assistance Button

This new feature is a question mark on the bottom right of the page while you are in specific areas. You can find out information by using the ? and typing in something you would like to know more about, or need help with. If you use one of the links in that help section, the information will remain from the help will remain in the window that you are currently on.  (5/18/2022)

Saving Your Work

DD Suite will not automatically save your entries! After editing the information on a screen, you must click the "Save" button to submit your edits to the database. If you leave the page you are working on without saving, your edits will be discarded.

*Note: Because of the dynamic nature of DD Suite, you will need to "Save" changed form data before printing a page to get all your latest updates. Otherwise, some forms fields may not show unsaved edits on the printed copy. *

Save or Leave Page Dialog Box is a new feature that will display a dialog box with a reminder that says you have made changes but have not saved them. If you hit cancel, it will bring you back to the page to save changes. If you try again to leave the page you are working on and haven’t saved, you will get the next dialog box to leave unchecked for creating additional dialog boxes, or check to not receive notifications during that page session. (5/18/2022)

Save / Cancel Scroll Buttons a new feature that will be on several pages in DD Suite will have a scrolling Save or Cancel button on the right side when working on a longer page. (5/18/2022)

Email or Export Applicants

This is a new feature which allows a Funder to generate an email to all of the applicants for a specific NoFA/RFP. Export Applicants provides a csv export of all Organizations (with Staff contacts) who have applied under the NoFA/RFP. This will provide the application status, name of the Organization, title of application, Grantees and their roles, etc.… Criteria for inclusion would be all individuals listed under the “People” section of each Application. Application can be in progress or submitted. (05/09/2022)

CSV File for Export Applicants

Add all Demographics Measures

A new convenience link when editing a Project Work Plan. It is only visible when a Project Objective has no demographics. If a Project Objective has no demographics, then a convenience/utility link will be available that will add all demographics (including Council defined sub-measures) to the Project Objective. After they are added, the “display” is exactly the same as it is today. After they are added, the Council could then edit each one individually to set target values and remove any individually after they are added. Once or if a Project Objective has any demographics already assigned, the link will not appear. (03/18/2022)

If Councils also enable the option to edit the Workplan, Grantees will also be able to add Demographics to a Project Objective.

The Unique Entity ID (SAM)

This has replaced the DUNS number for Organizations and is required by the Federal Government. You can learn more at Sam.gov. DD Suite supports both DUNS and SAM ids. (01/05/2022)

Project Review for PPR

This is an overview of all projects within a fiscal year. The information provided is the State Plan Objective (or lack) associated with each Project Objective, as well as the Reporting Year set for each Program and Summary Periodic Report. You can find more information here: Project Review for PPR (12/29/2021)

Council Preferences for Periodic Reports

Councils can prevent Grantees from adding budget items to budgets, activities to work plans and/or performance measures to work plans in periodic reports. FYI: The preferences default to "yes - allow Grantees to add items" and it will be up to Councils to turn the adding capabilities off. You can find more information here: Preferences (01/18/2022)

Quick Views

Found on each NoFA summary, Application summary, and Project summary page. Because many summaries are very long, clicking a Quick View will take you directly to the section of interest but you can only view, until you go into that section on the Navigation Bar. (01/18/2022)

Reset Filters

This button will clear a page's filter settings and return them to default values. (11/28/2021)

Spending and Match Report

This has been added to the Reports and Queries module. Based on the entered date range, this report shows the spending and match amounts from Periodic Expense Reports. You can look under Dashboard, Reports and Queries, Financial, then Spending and Match Report. Enter which date range you want to look up and it will give you a listing for Grants and/or Internal Projects based on your filters. (09/09/2021)

Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives are used to associate periodic project reports (project narratives and key performance indicators) for reporting in your annual PPR.

  • Goals and Objectives now have customized start and end dates.

  • Can set Goals and Objectives to align them with 5-year State Plan.

  • If a Goal or Objective changes, Councils can set an end date for the old one and create a new one.

  • Goals and Objectives can be ended at any time by simply setting or changing the end date.

  • New Goals and Objectives can be set to start at any time.

  • DD Suite has converted all existing State Plan Goals and Objectives to this new version.

Project Reports and Queries

The process for linking an Objective to a Project (Grant or Council Activity) remains the same. The list of available Objectives for association with Project work plan objectives is based on the start and end dates of the Project.

Reports and Queries:

The following reports use the Goals and Objectives when extracting data for the annual PPR. These reports have been enhanced with additional filters to help track performance throughout the year.

  • KPIs by Objective

  • KPIs by Goals

  • Narratives by Objective

Changed Security for New User Accounts

Creating a new user account previously required a “verification email” to validate the email address. These emails were sometimes blocked or sent to spam. The new security simply requires email address (and password) to be entered twice.

Letters of Interest

Letters of Interest were moved to the Funder Dashboard.  This feature is optional for each NoFA / RFP.

The Sections and Outline Questions can be customized for LOI only, Application, or Both.

Budget Export

Application Budgets, Project Budgets, and Periodic Expense reports can be downloaded to a comma separated (.csv) file which can be used with Excel for further data analysis/reporting.

The export provides the same expense data as is shown on the Applicant/Grantee Budget/Expense Report.            

Objective Narratives

DD Suite has been enhanced to offer additional narrative fields to Periodic Program Reports. These enhancements include:

  • Project objective narrative fields added to periodic program reports.

  • Default Settings at the Organizational level (preferences) for including Objective and/or Activity Narratives in program reports.

  • Options at the individual Project level for including Objective and/or Activity Narratives in program reports.

  • Filter options for importing objective narratives when generating reports.

Report Narratives by Organizational Objective

Since Funders and Projects have widely diverse requirements, DD Suite now supports the following options. For each project, the Council can choose the level of narrative reporting required.

  • No change to current program report requirements - Activity Narratives Only

  • Program reports include both Objective and Activity Narratives

  • Program reports have only Objective Narratives

  • Program reports have no Objective or Activity Narratives

 Activity Narratives Only – no change

Objective and Activity Narratives

Object Narratives Only

No Objective Narrative

Organizational Preferences

An Organization can specify the defaults for using Project Objective Narratives and the Project Activity Narratives. These options are chosen under Preferences in the Administration module.

These default values can be changed for any individual project.

  • “Include Objective Narratives? No” means that new projects and awarded applications will default to “No Objective Narratives”.

  • “Include Objective Narratives? Yes” means that new projects and awarded applications will default to “Include Objective Narratives”.

  • “Include Activity Narratives? No” means that new projects and awarded applications will default to “No Activity Narratives”.

  • “Include Activity Narratives? Yes” means that new projects and awarded applications will default to “Allow Activity Narratives”.

Project Options

Can also choose whether narratives will be used in the reports at the individual project level. These options may be changed by editing grants and internal activities.

  • No Objective Narratives or Include Objective Narratives

  • No Activity Narratives or Include Activity Narratives

Report Narratives by Organizational Objective

Objective Narratives is now a choice in the Report Narratives by Organizational Objective report. With this new option, Organizations have more flexibility in reporting on their project work plans.

Report Narratives by Organizational Objective

In the example below, only Objective Narratives were selected.