Admin Section

A private space where your team can store internal information at the organization, program, or cycle level, such as budget codes, internal notes, contacts, and reference documents. It is visible only to admins; applicants, reviewers, and program staff cannot see it. See ➡️ Setting Up & Using the Admin Section.

Alias

The alternate name assigned to some form fields so they are easily identifiable when calculations or average scoring is set up. See ➡️ Calculated Value Fields and ➡️ Set Up & Use Average Scoring in a Review Round.

Amendment

A change made to an award agreement after the awardee has accepted it, such as updated terms, timelines, progress reports, disbursements, or award amount. Program Admins can initiate amendments, and awardees can request them if that option is enabled for the cycle.

The original agreement stays active until the awardee accepts the amended one. While an amendment is in progress, some post-award activity is paused. See ➡️ Initiating General Amendments to Award Agreements.

Award Agreement

The terms an awardee must accept to receive an award. Admins create Award Agreement Templates that can include agreement language, required documents, progress report schedules, and disbursement schedules. See ➡️ Creating and Publishing Award Agreement Templates.

Award Cycle/Cycle

A single funding round of a program (for example, a yearly application period) during which you collect applications, review them, and give awards. Each award cycle lives under a program and has its own dates, forms, workflow, awards, and reporting. A program can have one or many award cycles. Award cycles are sometimes called “Program Cycles.” See ➡️ Award Cycle Basics.

Conditional Logic

When building a form, conditional logic is a term used to describe rules applied to responses on single-select or multi-select form fields; additional form fields display based on the defined conditional logic rules. See ➡️ Conditional Logic Basics.

Data View

Data View in Next refers to the areas of a cycle where intake forms, review feedback, and award information are viewed. The data views can be customized to show various forms and/or form fields, and filtered by things like status and progress. See ➡️ Data Views.

Default Cycle

The name of the award cycle pre-built into every program. The Default Cycle can be fully customized. See ➡️ Award Cycle Basics.

Disbursement

A payment sent to an awardee as part of their award. Disbursements are typically scheduled on the Award Agreement and can depend on progress reports, meaning a report must be submitted before the payment is released. See ➡️ Set Up Progress Report and Disbursement Schedules on an Award Agreement Template.

Eligibility Form

A form applicants complete to determine whether they can move forward with an application. Informative eligibility lets anyone apply; Preventative eligibility only lets applicants who meet the rules apply. See ➡️ Eligibility Forms.

Feedback Type

How reviewers evaluate applications in a review round: Scoring (weighted criteria), Voting (a simple yes/no), or a Custom Feedback Form you build. See ➡️ Feedback Types and Setup in a Review Round.

Filtering

A way to narrow a list of records so it only shows those that meet the criteria you set, such as status or a form field response. See ➡️ Sort & Filter Applications (Intake & Review Rounds).

Intake Round 1

The name of the first round of the workflow pre-built into every cycle. Intake rounds each have their own deadline for submissions, as well as an Intake form for that specific intake round. See ➡️ Set Up an Intake Round.

Member Types

This section defines the types of member roles that are included in the program. The Program Owner can also be reassigned on this screen by a current Program Owner or by an Organization Owner. See ➡️ Set Up Program Member Types and ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions.

Organization

"Organization" can have two meanings in Next:

• Your organization (admin account): The home for your entire Next account and the top level of Next (see Organization Level below). All of your programs live under your organization, and Organization Owners manage its settings, members, and programs. See ➡️ Quick Guide to the Organization Level.
   
• An applicant organization: An entity, such as a nonprofit, school, or company, that applies to a program using an Organization Profile. See ➡️ Applying as an Organization.

Organization Level

The top level of Next, where all of your organization's programs live. From here, Organization Owners manage programs, the Participant Network, budgets, analytics, users, and organization-wide settings that apply across every program, such as profile forms, global fields, branding, and integrations. See ➡️ Quick Guide to the Organization Level.

Organization Owner

The role that manages the entire organization account. Organization Owners can create programs, manage organization settings and members, and access every program, but cannot finalize awards. See ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions.

Participant Network

A list of every registered applicant in your organization, both individuals and organizations. It shows when each profile was created, how many applications they've submitted, and any pending membership requests. See ➡️ See Pending Membership Requests in Your Participant Network.

Profile Form

A form that collects basic information about applicants, completed or confirmed before they start an application. There are two types, Individual and Organization. Profile Forms are set up at the organization level by Organization Owners and apply across all programs. See ➡️ About Profile Forms.

Program

A single opportunity your organization runs, such as a grant, scholarship, fellowship, or award. Each program lives under your organization and has its own settings, program members, and one or more award cycles. Your organization can run as many programs as it needs. See ➡️ Quick Guide to the Program Level.

Program Level

The level of Next where you manage a single program, including its award cycles, program info, program members, and program settings. Forms, rounds, and awards are set up within each cycle. See ➡️ Quick Guide to the Program Level.

Program Manager

A role for people who help run and build a program. Program Managers have access to all program and cycle settings, but cannot advance applications past the first review round, finalize awards, notify awardees, or change the Program Owner. See ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions.

Program Members

A list of all invited and active members of a program. The Program Members section is also where new members are invited into the program or members are removed. See ➡️ Add New Program Members and ➡️ Remove Program Members.

Program Owner

The role that leads a program end-to-end and makes final award decisions. Each program has only one Program Owner, and only that person can finalize awards and notify awardees. See ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions and ➡️ Change (Reassign) the Program Owner for a Program.

Program Settings

This area provides access to program-specific configurations, including Program Info, Program Inbox, Program URLs, and Member Types. Cycle-specific configurations are managed separately in Cycle Settings. See ➡️ Manage Your Program Settings.

Program Setup

Located within Program Settings, Program Setup is the starting point when setting up any program. Here, main elements of the program are defined including: the program name, description, program type, the program’s URL, and setting up all program award names. See ➡️ Create a New Program.

Program Staff

A role for people who need view-only access to a program. Program Staff can view the program, applications, and reviewer feedback, and can complete reviews assigned to them. They cannot access Program Settings or Cycle Settings, advance applications, or use Admin Controls. See ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions.

Progress Report

A report awardees submit during their award period to show they're meeting the terms of their agreement. Progress reports are scheduled on the Award Agreement, each with a reporting period and due date. See ➡️ Set Up Progress Report and Disbursement Schedules on an Award Agreement Template.

Publish

After a cycle is built and fully tested, it is ready to be published live to applicants. Once a cycle is published, the program will show on the host organization’s list of programs. Changes or edits to the cycle will have some limitations after publishing, which is why thorough testing in Test Mode is highly recommended. See ➡️ Test Mode vs. Publish and ➡️ What Can and Cannot Be Changed After Publishing an Award Cycle.

Review Assignment

When an application package has been designated to one or more reviewers to assess. See ➡️ Assign Reviewers to the Review Round and ➡️ Assign Reviewers Manually.

Review Group

A group of reviewers within a review round. Applications are assigned to groups in one of three ways:

• Randomize: Applications are split at random into a set number of groups. You need at least as many reviewers as groups.
• Use an application field: Applications are sorted into groups based on the applicant’s answer to a single-select field or a lookup field on the intake form.
• Customized groups: Each group reviews all applications using its own criteria (e.g., compliance or legal review). There must be at least two groups.

See ➡️ Creating Review Groups in a Review Round.

Reviewer

The role for people who review and score applications assigned to them. Reviewers can only see their assigned applications and can't administer the program. See ➡️ Understanding Member Types: Roles & Permissions.

Round

A round in Next is a stage in a cycle’s workflow that includes all the actions that must be completed during the stage. Common examples:

• An Intake Round refers to a stage where information is submitted by candidates and collected in a cycle. The round could include completing an application, providing letters of recommendation, and submitting an essay. See ➡️ Set Up an Intake Round.
• A Review Round refers to a stage where submissions are examined and assessed. Part of a review round could include collecting feedback from external reviewers, as well as an internal review by administrators. See ➡️ Set Up a Review Round.

Test Mode

After a cycle has been built, putting it into Test Mode allows for the full testing of all aspects of the cycle before it is made live to applicants. When in Test Mode, the cycle has a test URL, but the program will not show on the host organization’s list of programs. It is highly recommended all cycles be thoroughly tested before publishing. See ➡️ How to Activate Test Mode and ➡️ Test Mode vs. Publish.

Trigger (Communications)

The action that causes an email to send automatically in a cycle, such as an applicant submitting an application or an admin approving a progress report. An email only sends once it's added to Cycle Settings > Communications > Setup. Some emails are automatically added to the Setup, and others must be added manually. See ➡️ Email Communications Overview.

Unpublish

Taking a live (published) cycle offline to make limited edits or changes. Only some changes are allowed while a cycle is unpublished. Applicants can’t submit applications until you republish the cycle. Before unpublishing a cycle, review the full article for all implications and limitations. See ➡️ Unpublish.

User Management

The organization-level page where Organization Owners manage every user in the organization, including admins and applicants. To open it, click More > User Management in the top menu. From here, you can:

• Invite users
• Change roles
• Edit names
• Deactivate, reactivate, or delete (archive) users
• Update applicants' login emails

See ➡️ Manage Organization Users (Edit, Deactivate, Activate, Delete) and ➡️ Update an Applicant's Login Email.

Void an Award

Voiding permanently cancels an award and can't be undone. The award status changes to "Voided," the funds return to the cycle's Amount Available for awarding, and the applicant stays in Awarding so you can issue a new award if needed. The applicant is not notified when an award is voided.

Void is available in two situations, each covered in a separate article:

• During the approvals process: If an award is "In Review" or "Approved" but hasn't been sent to the recipient yet. See ➡️ How to Void an Award in the Approvals Process.
   
• After an award is reversed or declined (when "Allow Re-Awarding" is enabled in the cycle): If you've reversed an award offer or an applicant declined an award and you don't want to re-offer it. See ➡️ How to Void a "Reversed" Award. 

Workflow Builder

The area within a cycle where rounds are created and defined. Only intake rounds or review rounds can be added to the Workflow Builder. See ➡️ Navigate to the Workflow Builder.