Processing Hardware Grants

What is RT?

The RT system (short for Request Tracker) is a general-purpose system used to log and sort individual issues, such as a grant applications, that need to be tracked and responded to. This system is based around the concept of a “ticket.” Each ticket is an individual record created for a request to be addressed. Tickets are sorted and grouped in a number of ways and the RT system can employ logical queries to filter tickets according to the type of issue, priorities, and pretty much any other information contained within the tickets themselves. Hardware Grant applications are tracked from start to finish using RT, and we have created a custom Grant Processing dashboard within RT to streamline the process. During your orientation you will be given an account and credentials to log into our RT system at [1].

The Grants Processing Dashboard

After logging in to RT you will arrive at your default home page, which will look similar to this. (RT Home Screenshot Here) Move your cursor over the Home link at the top left corner of the page and select Grants - Processing from the menu that appears. Note that there is also a Grants - Production dashboard, though you will generally not need to refer to it. (Select Processing Screenshot Here)

Understanding the Dashboard Categories

(Grants Processing Dashboard Screenshot Here) The Grants Processing Dashboard lists all grant applications we have received and are currently processing, with different categories for different stages of the process or special conditions.

Incoming

The Incoming category lists all applications that have been submitted to us but no action has been taken on them yet. An application appears in the Incoming list when its ticket status is set to "New". Upon taking action on a ticket such as approving the grant or requesting additional information from the applicant the ticket's status will be changed to "Open", advancing it to a further stage of the process.

Verification

The Verification category lists all applications that we have reviewed and taken some action on, but have not been approved. Typically this is when the application did not contain enough information and we have sent a reply asking for additional details on the organization to determine if they qualify for a grant or clarification of what hardware they are requesting from us (e.g. if they asked for "2 computers" and we want to determine if they meant desktops or laptops).

Warning

The Warning category lists any tickets that have incongruous details. Examples of this would be:

• The grant request was marked as rejected but the ticket status is still set to 'Open'
• The grant request has been marked as approved but details on what has been requested have not been filled in
• The grant request has been marked as ready to be picked up but there are still requested items that have not been marked as ready.

In any of these conditions (and some others) the RT system can't determine which of the other categories the application belongs in. If you see a ticket in the Warning category please open it up and try to determine what details are missing or incorrect.

Special Cases

The Special Cases category is exactly what it sounds like. We have specific procedures or verification processes for grant requests from certain organizations that will need to be handled by the staff Grants Coordinator and should be tagged as a special case to exclude them from the regular flow. In other cases the grant may simply warrant special attention, or a particular individual may want to take "ownership" of that grant and personally handle it's entire process. Unless you have taken ownership or been assigned responsibility for a particular Special Case ticket you can generally ignore them.

Production

The Production category lists applications that have been approved and marked as requiring desktops, laptops, macs, or servers. These applications are now also being displayed on the Grants - Production dashboard mentioned earlier, which is referred to by staff in the Production department. When they have prepared all the requested hardware they will update the ticket details to indicate that the request has been filled. When all the requested computer systems are prepared the application will be moved to the next appropriate category.

Gathering

The Gathering category lists applications for which all necessary production has been completed, or for which production of new systems was not necessary. When an application is in the Gathering category it is time to review the request and verify that we have all the requested materials available. Any of the computer hardware that was produced for this grant should already have been tagged with the application's ticket number and be waiting on the appropriate shelves. Any additional items (i.e. monitors, printers, network devices) should be confirmed as available and tagged with the ticket number by you. Once you have confirmed that all the requested equipment is ready you will change the ticket status to indicate such.

Ready

The Ready category lists grants for which all the requested hardware has been prepared and is ready to be picked up. All that's left to do is contact the requestor, schedule a time for them to come pick up the equipment, and disburse the grant when they arrive.