Overview

This article provides instructions on how a Program Owner or Program Manager creates Award Agreement Templates available for use during the award process in Next.

🎥 Quick Video Walkthrough 

Watch this short video for a quick intro to award agreements before diving into the steps below.

Award Agreement Templates

Adding awards to a program cycle in Next includes three steps:

1. Naming the awards: Award Names
2. Defining the award details per program cycle: Award Setup
3. Providing any terms that awardees must accept to receive a specific award: (this article)

Although not necessary, award agreements are typically utilized, as they outline reporting and communication expectations to award recipients.  

Next allows for multiple, fully customizable award agreements per program cycle, covering the full range from individual custom agreements to bulk agreements that are sent to many.  

Regardless of whether an agreement is intended for only one recipient or one hundred recipients, each agreement must have its own template before the agreements can be added to the information sent to award recipients.

To create an Award Agreement Template: 

1. Logged in as the Program Owner or a Program Manager, select the Open button to the desired program to set up the award agreement templates.

2. Select Program Settings from the left panel menu.

3. Select All Award Cycles from the left panel menu.

4. Select the Open button for the desired program cycle.

5. Select Award from the left panel menu to reveal the submenu.

6. Select Agreement from the left panel menu.

7. On the Award Agreement Templates page, any existing agreement templates either in draft form or published, will show here.  To create a new template, select the Create New button.

8. A new template shows on the page; select the Open button to create the content.

9. There are four default form fields on the agreement template:

a. Rich Text Editor

b. Upload Required Documents

c. Progress Report Schedule

d. Disbursement Schedule

The only configuration option available in the Configure Fields cog wheel icon for these four default fields is to hide them if they are not needed as part of the agreement; they cannot be deleted.  More information on each of these fields is provided below.

10. Rename the template as needed.  (Please see the article titled Rename a Form for those instructions.)

--- IMPORTANT ---

The template will save automatically when changes are made.  The Publish button is selected after the template is completely set up and is different from saving.  Please see the steps below for more information.

11. Add and configure any additional required fields to the template.  (Please see the article titled Add a Form Field for more information.)

Rich Text Editor Default Form Field

The Rich Text Editor default form field provides an area to add details about the award agreement terms and conditions, including any related links or images. 

Add or edit the contents of the Rich Text Editor

1. Select anywhere within the box to make the field actively editable.  The dotted line around the form field along with the field label showing indicates the form field is active.

2. Once the form field is active, add or edit the contents as needed.
3. When finished, select the Save button.

Hide the Rich Text Editor if it is not needed

1. Select anywhere within the box to make the form field actively editable.  

2. Select the Configure Field cog wheel icon.

3. On the panel that slides open from the right side of the screen, toggle the Hide field? to Yes.

4. To close the panel, select the Done button.

5. Select the field’s Save button.

Move the Rich Text Editor

The Rich Text Editor form field is repositionable like any other form field.  Please see the article titled Move Form Fields for more information.

Using Static and Dynamic Variables to Personalize your Award Agreement

Enhance your award agreements by using variables that automatically insert personalized data. This feature helps create professional, customized award agreements without manual editing.

Types of Variables

Static Variables: Consistent program information from your settings such as Program Name, Cycle Name, and Award Amount that remains the same across all agreements.

Dynamic Variables: Personalized applicant information pulled directly from Profile and Intake Forms. Nearly all question types are available for insertion, including text fields, multiple-choice responses, and dates. 

Adding Variables to Your Agreement

1. Place your cursor at the desired location within the Rich Text Editor
2. To add a Static Variable:
   • Select the appropriate program setting field (Program Name, Cycle Name, Award Amount)
   • The static value will appear immediately in your template
3. To add a Dynamic Variable:
   • Select the source form (Profile Form or one of your Intake Forms)
   • Choose the specific field you want to include from that form

2. The variable will appear as a placeholder in your template in this format: {{variable_name}}
3. When the agreement is sent to your awardee, all variables will automatically populate with the appropriate data
4. Click Save to preserve your changes

Upload Required Documents Default Form Field

The Upload Required Documents default form field allows award recipients to upload supporting documents that may be required when entering into the final award agreement.  

For example, if a signature is needed on a form, the awardee can sign the form, and then upload the signed document using this field.

Configure the Upload Required Documents field

1. Select anywhere within the form field to make it actively editable.  The dotted line around the form field along with the field label showing, indicates the form field is active.

2. Rename the Upload Required Documents form field as needed. 

3. Add help text as needed.

4. When finished, select the Save button.

Hide the Upload Required Documents field if it is not needed

The steps to hide the Upload Required Documents field are the same as hiding the Rich Text Editor field, after selecting the Configure Field cog wheel icon when the Upload Required Documents form field is active.

Move the Upload Required Documents field

The Upload Required Documents form field is repositionable like any other form field.  Please see the article titled Move Form Fields for more information.

Progress Report Schedule Default Form Field

The Progress Report Schedule form field on the Award Agreement Template establishes the reporting expectations for award recipients to the organization giving the award.

Configure the Progress Report Schedule field

1. Select anywhere within the form field to make it actively editable.  The dotted line around the form field along with the field label showing, indicates the form field is active.

2. Select the appropriate time zone from Time Zone dropdown; the Time Zone is related to the due date of the reports that award recipients submit for this award agreement.  

3. Select the appropriate Report Form to schedule.  Please note that if no Post Award Report Forms have been created, nothing will show in this dropdown.  (Please see the article titled Create New Post Award Report Form for more information about creating that form.)

4. Give the report a name.  

--- REMEMBER ---

The Progress Report Schedule uses the selected Report Form for a specific reporting period.  Report Forms can be used multiple times over many reporting periods.

5. Select the time period that the report is covering.  For example, a report capturing data from January would have a Reporting Period of January 1 to January 31.

6. Select the due date and time.  Remember that the time is associated with the Time Zone selected above.

7. Once the report schedule for that report is completely set up, select the check mark icon to save it.

After a report schedule is saved, it cannot be edited.  If a mistake is made and the report schedule needs to be changed, it needs to be deleted, then a new one created with the correct information.

8. When another report schedule is required for the award agreement, select the + Add Report button.

9. Repeat the steps above to create the next report schedule.

10. When all reports are scheduled for this specific Award Agreement Template, select the Save button for the Progress Report Schedule field.

Hide the Progress Report Schedule field if it is not needed

The steps to hide the Progress Report Schedule field are the same as hiding the Rich Text Editor field, after selecting the Configure Field cog wheel icon when the Progress Report Schedule form field is active.

If no reporting is needed, hiding the Progress Report Schedule field will also hide the Dependencies column in the Disbursement Schedule field below, as the disbursements will not be dependent on any reporting.

Move the Progress Report Schedule field

The Progress Report Schedule form field is repositionable like any other form field.  Please see the article titled Move Form Fields for more information.

Disbursement Schedule Default Form Field

The Disbursement Schedule form field establishes when disbursements are sent for awards assigned with the corresponding Award Agreement Template. 

Configure the Disbursement field

1. Select anywhere within the form field to make it actively editable.  The dotted line around the form field along with the field label showing, indicates the form field is active.

2. Name the disbursement:

a. Select inside the Title field.

b. Enter a desired title for the disbursement.

c. Select anywhere outside the field to accept the name.

3. Select the paper clip icon in the Dependencies column to open a configuration window.

--- IMPORTANT ---

If there are no progress reports set up in the Progress Report Schedule field above, the Dependencies option will not be available to configure; dependencies are only used and configured when progress reports are set up.

a. Select the checkbox to the left of applicable report names to mark them as a dependency for the disbursement; this means the report(s) must be submitted for the disbursement to execute.

b. Select the Add Report Form button to confirm the set up of the dependencies.

c. Notice the number of dependencies is noted on the Dependencies button.

--- REMEMBER ---

Disbursement schedules do not need to have any dependencies to be set up; if no dependencies are needed, this field can be left blank.

4. Enter the disbursement amount in the Amount field.

5. In the Duration of Disbursement column, enter the time frame where the disbursement is valid; if it the disbursement is a one-time payment as is common with scholarships, select a duration that aligns with the period of time when awards are distributed.

--- REMEMBER ---

The Duration of Disbursement is almost exclusively used with grants and defines the time period when the disbursement is valid or when the awardee can use the funds, it may not be relevant to other types of monetary awards.

6. In the Initiate column, enter the date when the disbursement will begin or be sent.

7. Once a disbursement schedule is completely set up, select the check mark icon to save it.

After a disbursement schedule is saved, it cannot be edited.  If a mistake is made and the report schedule needs to be changed, it needs to be deleted, then a new one created with the correct information.

8. When another disbursement is required for the award agreement, select the + Add Disbursement button.

--- REMEMBER ---

Disbursement schedules within the same Award Agreement Template can have different dependencies (including no dependencies), duration of disbursement, and initiate dates.

9. Repeat the steps above to create the next disbursement schedule.
10. When all disbursements are scheduled for this specific Award Agreement Template, select the Save button for the Disbursement Schedule field.

Hide the Disbursement Schedule field if it is not needed

The steps to hide the Disbursement Schedule field are the same as hiding the Rich Text Editor field, after selecting the Configure Field cog wheel icon when the Disbursement Schedule form field is active.

Move the Disbursement Schedule field

The Disbursement Schedule form field is repositionable like any other form field.  Please see the article titled Move Form Fields for more information.

Acknowledgment Statement

The Acknowledgement Statement is a required element of the Award Agreement Template and cannot be moved or hidden.  However, the statement is editable.

To edit the Acknowledgement Statement:

1. Select the Edit icon above the statement.

2. Edit the text as needed in the text box.
3. Select the Save button when finished.

--- REMEMBER ---

The text on the Decline and Accept buttons is not editable.

Preview the Award Agreement Template

Once the Award Agreement Template is complete, it can be previewed to see how it will appear to award recipients by selecting the Preview button.

The preview shows the full Award Agreement Template including all form fields that are not hidden.

If a disbursement schedule is set up with reporting dependencies, they can also be previewed by selecting the Dependencies icon from the preview window.

If there are multiple report forms required for a disbursement, they will each show as a button and can be previewed if selected.

To close the dependent report forms preview, select anywhere outside of the preview window. 

To close the preview of the Award Agreement, select anywhere outside of the preview window.

Publish the Award Agreement Template

When the Award Agreement Template is finished, it should be published and made available to send to award recipients.

To publish an Award Agreement Template:

1. Select the Publish button in the upper right corner of the screen.

2. On the confirmation popup, select the Submit button.

3. A notification briefly appears on the screen confirming the publication of the template.

--- IMPORTANT ---

Published Award Agreement Templates cannot be edited, so be sure it is completely set up before publishing.  If a mistake is made, simply duplicate the agreement and edit the new one without having to start over with a blank template.

Create as many Award Agreement Templates as needed for the awards in the program cycle.

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