Proposal and Agreement Management (PAM) Implementation Project

PAM Launch Reminders:

• Launch is Monday, December 8th, 2025.
• A Launch announcement will be sent out the morning of December 8th. It will include instructions to access PAM using the "Administrative Services" section of access.caltech.edu. You will be able to log in using your Caltech SSO credentials.
• Starting December 8th, all proposals that pass through OSR will be routed through PAM for purposes of campus approval of the DAF. Beginning December 8, the DAF (and MORA) will no longer be routed as separate forms; rather, their content has been incorporated into PAM. Please note that if you currently submit internally funded proposals to Caltech programs (e.g., proposals that do not come through OSR), those proposals will continue as they currently do using the DAF form until further notice.

Transition Information:

• In preparation for converting existing awards from Oracle into PAM prior to Launch, OSR will pause creation of the initial PTA for new awards until Monday, December 8. This pause will not impact changes to existing PTAs (e.g., incremental funding, NCEs, etc.) or the creation of additional PTAs (e.g., fabrication accounts) linked to an existing award. If a PTA setup for a new award cannot wait until December 8, please contact David Mayo.
• If you began routing a proposal prior to December 8, the proposal may continue as-is and OSR will backfill these proposals into PAM after they are submitted. However, proposals that begin routing for approval on or after December 8, must be routed using PAM.
• Proposals to be submitted via Grants.gov are currently prepared in Cayuse; starting December 8, we will begin using PAM for preparation of Grants.gov submissions. If you have already begun preparation of a proposal in Cayuse, please feel free to continue that proposal in Cayuse and OSR will submit the proposal from Cayuse. Also, Divisions may continue to use Cayuse for Grants.gov preparation and submission until March 31, 2026, by which date submissions to Grants.gov must be transitioned to PAM. However, routing and approval of proposals in PAM begins December 8, as previously described.
• We will delay roll-out of PAM's Agreements module for several weeks to allow users to focus on proposals and routing. Please continue submitting requests for Subawards and Technical Service/Facilities Use Agreements as you do now.
• A separate communication will go out shortly directed to research personnel with guidance on how to access and certify a proposal in PAM.

PAM Resources:

The training and office hours schedule will be published soon. These training sessions are intended for those who prepare proposals; they will be recorded and made available on the PAM website.

What is PAM?

Proposal and Agreement Management (PAM) is the upcoming Research Administration system for Caltech. PAM will:

1. Consolidate review and approval processing of proposals, awards, subawards, TSA/FUA, and other agreement transactions
2. Improve transparency on the status of transactions
3. Enhance federal compliance support
4. Capture a searchable repository of proposals, awards, agreements, and supporting documents, including an audit trail of key events for each transaction

PAM will validate against various Caltech systems, including compliance databases (e.g., DFIC, IACUC, IRB, training status) and HR. It will also:

1. Push data into the Oracle PTA setup process and Oracle Grants Management
2. Supplant Caltech's use of Cayuse for Grants.gov submissions
3. Contain pending proposals, active awards, and active agreements that have been converted over

Benefits: 

Find Status and Key Information Quickly

• Easily find the status of your items. The status is clearly visible in several areas in PAM, including on the PAM dashboard, which is your landing page when you first log in.
• Swiftly identify who is reviewing or responsible for your items. Contact and reviewer information is available in multiple places in PAM.
• View the status and contents of funding proposals, awards, agreements, supporting documents and other key data in one system.

Manage and Track Work Efficiently

• Request ad hoc review and approval outside the normal workflow, such as for a MORA or PI eligibility, using the ancillary review feature.
• Grant managers will have access to all transactions within their division, but can also grant access to individuals outside their division, such as for proposals or awards with PIs from more than one division.
• Create relationships/links between funding proposals, awards, and agreements, to have complete information about a project, and easily navigate back and forth between related submissions.
• Record key information, like notes, email correspondence, follow-up tasks, and award deliverables to track what occurred and what needs to be done.
• Receive email notifications and reminders at various points in the workflow.

Easy to Use

• The PAM dashboard shows an inbox of items that you are currently working on or require your attention. From the dashboard, you can also create new funding proposals or agreements to start the review and approval process.
• Streamlined data entry forms and built-in error checking ensure forms are completed correctly and contain all the required information to start the review process.
• Items are automatically routed to reviewers and approvers, ensuring efficient and timely review processes.
• Copy and edit existing records.
• Help is available when you need it. A built-in Help Center, along with page- and field-specific help text are accessible throughout the system.

Prior to the transition to PAM, training materials and support resources will be offered, and office hours will be open for real-time support in the weeks following the system launch. We look forward to the PAM Launch in 2025.

The Grants Management System Implementation Working Group has been established for the purpose of working with Huron to implement the system; the Working Group includes representation from each academic Division, as well as the stakeholder administrative units (alternates' names in parentheses):

The Implementation Working Group reports to the Huron Grants Management System Steering Committee:

Introduction

• Zoom Link
• Passcode: jg=C49rN

Grants.gov Submission

• Zoom Link
• Passcode: 11HE=905

Initiate a Proposal

• Zoom Link
• Passcode: .1=.gX7f

Build a Budget

• Zoom Link
• Passcode: +!29@1pk

Routing and Approval

• Zoom Link
• Passcode: G=@T57EC
  

Quick Reference Guides

Proposals

Awards

Budget

Activities

Reference Guides

Recorded Trainings