Skip navigation.

The Office of

Sponsored Research

OSR Links

R@C Links

Contact us

104 Airport Drive Suite 2200, CB 1350
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350
Phone: (919) 966-3411
Fax: (919) 962-5011 or (919) 962-3352
Email: resadminosr@unc.edu
RAMSeS Help desk: (919) 843-2594

Research Contacts

Research Contacts is a web-based utility that provides an infrastructure whereby departmental personnel are identified within RAMSeS (and other Research applications) by virtue of roles which have been assigned to them within Research Contacts by their departmental Research Contacts Role Manager. (read more)

Data Access roles

Functional roles

View Departmental Research Contact information

Update Departmental Research Contact information (for Role Managers)

Technical issues/Help


Data Access roles

Animal Care Data Access - Individuals assigned Animal Care Data Access in Research Contacts have access to departmental animal care data contained in ACAP.

Award Data Access - Individuals assigned Award Data Access in Research Contacts have access to departmental award data contained in RAMSeS.

Human Subjects Data Access - Individuals assigned Human Subjects Data Access in Research Contacts have access to departmental human subjects research data contained in IRBIS.

IP Data Access - Individuals assigned IP Data Access in Research Contacts have access to departmental Intellectual Property data contained in BLUE.

Clinical Trials Data Access - (Coming soon!) Individuals assigned Clinical Trials Data Access in Research Contacts will have access to departmental clinical trials data via an application currently in development.


^ to top

Functional roles

Role Manager – individual(s) designated by the Dean/Department Head to manage (assign/remove) roles for departmental personnel within Research Contacts.   Because Role Managers are authorized to manage roles involving, e.g., financial guarantees and IPF/proposal approval, it is required that a Role Manager Authorization Form be completed and signed by the Dean/Dept Head for each Role Manager designated for a department.   The Role Manager Authorization Form may be accessed at (link to Role Manager Authorization Form).   Additionally, the role of “Role Manager” initially must be assigned within the OSR/ORIS administrative offices, but thereafter the Role Manager has the ability to add/remove roles at any time on his or her department’s behalf within Research Contacts.   The Role Manager maintains his or her department’s Research Contacts listing, including updating it as department members’ job responsibilities and/or roles change, or they leave the department, etc.   It is up to each individual department to make the determination as to how many Role Managers it should have, though for back-up purposes, it is recommend that there be at least two.   Signed Role Manager Authorization Forms are maintained in the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS).

Important:  If your department does not have a Role Manager, if you would like to have an additional Role Manager assigned, if the Role Manager listed for your department within Research Contacts is incorrect, or if you have any other questions, please contact the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS) help line at 843-2594.

IPF (Proposal) Approver – individual(s) designated with signing authority to review and approve IPF/proposals on behalf of their department.   Although all IPF Approvers for a given department receive an email notifying them when a proposal requires review/approval, only one IPF Approver must sign off on/approve the proposal in order to fulfill the departmental approval requirement.   Email notifications contain a link to the IPF/proposal within RAMSeS by which an approver may access it for review/approval. IPF/proposals may be reviewed either screen by screen, or in 2-page PDF format.   Once an approver has reviewed the proposal/IPF and is satisfied with all aspects of it, sign off/approval is done electronically within the IPF/proposal.   There is an opportunity within the approval process to mention any concerns or questions in a “note” which becomes part of the IPF/proposal and may be viewed by others from that point forward.   In addition to accessing IPF/proposals for review via the notification email, departmental IPF Approvers also have the option to log in to RAMSeS and locate IPF/proposals requiring review within the “Dept Approval Inbox” on their RAMSeS Proposal Dashboard. IPF/proposals located in the Dept Approval Inbox are divided into two categories – proposals requiring review/approval may be accessed by selecting the yellow “Proposals to be Authorized” tab.   Proposals previously reviewed/approved may be accessed by selecting the green “Previously Reviewed Proposals” tab.

Research Account Manager – Individual designated as the departmental “point person” to receive research-related correspondence in electronic form (via email) for dissemination to appropriate/relevant departmental personnel.

The Research Account Manager role was originally established to facilitate electronic distribution of financial information, e.g., quarterly reports, by OSR to campus departments (to replace the previously employed hard-copy distribution.)   To streamline dissemination of information and avoid duplication of effort, it is recommended that each department assign only one Research Account Manager.   For back-up purposes, the departmental Role Manager has the flexibility to temporarily remove the primary Research Account Manager role and assign it to a different person, e.g., if the primary Research Account Manager will be out of the office on vacation, etc.. The Role Manager may then remove the temporary Research Account Manager and reassign the primary once the primary returns.

Project Financial Guarantee (PFG) Approver – individual(s) designated with signing authority to review and approve Project Financial Guarantees (PFGs).   A PFG represents that the given department is responsible for and assumes financial and administrative liability for all costs incurred on the given project.   The PFG may be prepared and submitted (electronically) within RAMSeS by anyone with access to the IPF/proposal with which the PFG is associated.   Once submitted, all departmental PFG Approvers receive an email notifying them there is a PFG requiring review/approval, although only one must sign off on/approve the PFG in order to fulfill the departmental approval requirement.   Email notifications contain a link to the PFG within RAMSeS by which an approver may access it for review/approval.   If an extension is required beyond the 90 days of the original PFG, the same procedure is followed except that, in addition to authorization by the PFG Approver, the next level of management (e.g., Dean or Department Head) is also required to authorize the guarantee.

Invention Disclosure Approver – Individual(s) designated with signing authority to review/approve a Report of Invention (ROI) on behalf of their department. The ROI is prepared and submitted (electronically) within BLUE (UNC-Chapel Hill’s web-based Intellectual Property application). Once submitted, all departmental Invention Disclosure Approvers receive an email notifying them there is an ROI requiring review/approval, although only one must sign off on/approve the ROI in order to fulfill the departmental approval requirement. Email notifications contain a link to the ROI within BLUE by which an approver may access it for review/approval.

^ to top

View Research Contact information

Departmental role and contact information may be viewed within Research Contacts for any department at UNC-Chapel Hill by anyone with an ONYEN or SOM User ID.

  1. Log in to Research Contacts at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/ with your ONYEN or SOM User ID and password
  2. Under “Department List” click the "list" link to view a list of all departments. A pop-up box appears containing an alphabetical list of all campus departments, including their 4-digit department #s. TIP: You may quickly find a particular department using “CTRL F” (find function), typing in the name or dept # you are looking for and pressing “return” or the “Find Next” button within the “Find” pop-up box that appears.
  3. Click the department # link to the left of the department name for which you would like research contacts information (this returns you back to the “Department List” page and populates the “View” field with the name of that department)
  4. Click the "View" button to the right of the field in which the department name appears to access the department’s Research Contacts listing – including names and contact information for individuals in that department and their respective roles. TIP: You may quickly email any individual by clicking on their email address contained within the departmental listing.
^ to top

Update Research Contact information (Role Managers only)

Only those individuals who have been formally designated by their department’s Dean/Department Head as Research Contacts "Role Managers" may update (assign/change/remove) roles within Research Contacts. Because Role Managers are responsible for managing roles involving, e.g., financial guarantees and IPF/proposal approval, an Authorization Form be completed and signed by the Dean/Dept Head for each departmental Role Manager designated (link to Role Manger Authorization Form). The “Role Manager” role must be assigned initially by the OSR/ORIS administrative offices, but thereafter the Role Manager has the ability to add/remove any role at any time on his or her department’s behalf within Research Contacts.

Important: If your department does not have a Role Manager, if you would like to have an additional Role Manager assigned, if the Role Manager listed for your department within Research Contacts is incorrect, or if you have any other questions, please contact the ORIS help line at 843-2594.

^ to top

Add a new contact to your departmental listing

          1. Log in to Research Contacts at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/ with your ONYEN or SOM User ID and password
          2. Click "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          3. Click "Add Contact" link (“Add Contact” page appears)
          4. Click “Click here to Select a Person” located in the "First Name" field on the Add Contact page. (A pop-up box appears asking that you enter a keyword (last name) of the person you wish to add)
          5. Type in the last name of the person you wish to add into the “Last name” field and press “Return” or the “Search” button. (A list of all individuals with that last name appears)
          6. Scroll down the list and click on the individual you wish to add. This returns you back to the “Add Contact” page and populates the fields with the individual’s information.
          7. Click “Add Contact” button to add this person to your department’s listing. (You are directed to the Contact Directory page, where the individual’s information has been filled in under “Contact Information” subheading – you may now proceed to the next subheading “Role Management” where you may assign roles to this individual.
          ^ to top

          Assign/Remove role(s) to an existing contact

          Important:  If you would wish to assign a role to someone in a different department, follow the steps to add a new contact first.

          1. Log in to Research Contacts at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/ with your ONYEN or SOM User ID and password
          2. Click "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          3. Click the "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          4. Scroll down the list of contacts and highlight the individual's name
          5. Click the "Go" button
          6. To add a role, scroll down the list of roles, highlight one, and click the "Add Role" button
          7. To remove a role, click the "Remove Role" button on the right-side of the page
          ^ to top

          Remove an existing contact

          1. Log in to Research Contacts at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/ with your ONYEN or SOM User ID and password
          2. Click "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          3. Click the "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          4. Scroll down the list of contacts and highlight the individual's name
          5. Click the "Go" button
          6. Click the "Remove Role" button(s) on the right-side of the page until all the roles are gone. to remove all
          7. Click the "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link and confirm that the individual has been removed from your contact list
          ^ to top

          Generate a Research Contacts report

          1. Log in to Research Contacts at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/ with your ONYEN or SOM User ID and password
          2. Click "MANAGE RESEARCH ROLES" link located just below the Research Contacts banner at the top of the page
          3. In the Reporting section, highlight the role or roles of interest
          4. Click the "View Report" button
           
        ^ to top

Research Contacts

Research Contacts is a web-based utility that provides an infrastructure whereby departmental personnel are identified within RAMSeS (and other Research applications) by virtue of roles which have been assigned to them within Research Contacts by their departmental Role Manager. Each departmental Role Manager maintains his or her department’s listing within Research Contacts, indicating individuals who have been assigned various roles within that department. The two types of roles which may be assigned within Research Contacts are (1) functional roles and (2) data access roles. Individuals who have been assigned functional roles are allowed to perform those functions on behalf of their department (e.g., approval of an IPF ). Individuals who have been assigned data access roles are authorized to view departmental data as indicated by the type of data access they have been assigned (e.g. Award Data Access).

Role Managers are individuals designated by their Dean or Department Head, and as such are authorized to manage (e.g assign/remove) roles on behalf of their department within Research Contacts. Research Contacts is also an excellent resource for obtaining contact and role-related information about personnel on campus, by department. A listing for every department may be viewed, including which individuals have been assigned which roles, along with their email, phone, and other contact information. Research Contacts may be accessed at http://cfx5.research.unc.edu/research_contacts/.

If you have questions, or would like to share comments or suggestions on ways we might improve Research Contacts, please let us know via “Ask OSR” at http://research.unc.edu/osr/ask_osr.php.

Technical assistance with Research Contacts (and other RAMSeS-related applications) is available during office hours via the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS) Help Line at 843-2594.

^ to top