Contents

• Overview 
• What is an Award Cycle? 
• Step-By-Step Instructions
  • Step 1: Access Award Cycles
  • Step 2: Create a New Award Cycle 
  • Step 3: Set Up Your New Award Cycle
  • Step 4: Activate Test Mode 
  • Step 5: Publish Your Cycle 
    • Before You Begin: Close Previous Cycle 
    • Instructions to Publish Your Cycle

Overview

This article shows Program Admins how to set up their next annual Award Cycle in Next. 

What is an Award Cycle? 

An Award Cycle is the period of time when applications are collected, reviewed, and awards are given to applicants. For a deeper look, see ➡️Award Cycle Basics. 

• What are Annual Award Cycles? 
  • Many programs run award cycles once per year, such as 2027-2028 and 2028-2029. After the previous cycle closes, Program Admins need to create and set up the next cycle.
• Who can create and set up new Award Cycles? 
  • Organization Owners
  • Program Owners 
  • Program Managers

Step-By-Step Instructions 

Step 1: Access All Award Cycles 

1. Logged in as the Program Owner or Program Manager, select the program you need.

2. On the Program page, click Program Settings at the bottom of the left-hand menu. 

3. Click All Award Cycles in the left-hand menu. 

Step 2: Create a New Award Cycle: Choose Your Setup Path

• There are two ways to create a new award cycle. Use the table to choose the setup path that fits your program's needs, then follow the linked instructions to create your cycle.
   

Step 3: Set Up Your New Award Cycle 

♻️ If Duplicated: If you duplicated (copied) a cycle, you’ll only need to review and update the items listed below.

🆕 If Brand New: If you created a new, blank cycle, you’re starting from scratch and will need to create or set up most of the items below. 
 

1. Program Members

• Review and Update Program Member Types 

• Add or Remove Program Members (if staff changed)
  
  ➡️Help Articles: Program Member Types | Add New Program Members | Remove Program Members
   

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2. Program Info 

• Update Program Info to reflect the new cycle year, if necessary 
   

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3. Cycle Name 

• Rename the Award Cycle 
  ➡️Help Article: Rename an Award Cycle.
   

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4. Cycle Setup (cycle description and features) 

• ♻️If Duplicated: Review the existing cycle setup 

• 🆕If Brand New: Set up the new cycle 
  
  ➡️Quick Start Video: How to Create an Award Cycle 
   

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5. Forms (Eligibility, Intake, Request, Custom Review Feedback) 

• ♻️If Duplicated: Review and update all forms as needed 
  • Update form names (if name is year/cycle specific)
  • Edit questions that refer to specific years 
  • Add, modify, or remove questions as appropriate 
    • 📌Note: Adding or removing questions from a Custom Feedback Review form may affect calculated scores. After making changes, check and update any calculated value fields as needed. 

• 🆕If Brand New: Create all forms relevant to the program 
  
  ➡️Help Articles: Eligibility Forms | Intake Forms | Request Forms | Custom Review Feedback Forms
   

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6. Workflow (Intake and Review Rounds)

For Testing: Set up your workflow so you can test it from the applicant, admin, and/or reviewer perspective.

• ♻️If Duplicated: 
  • Set new deadlines for Intake Rounds
  • (Optional) Set new deadlines for Review Rounds. (This triggers reminder communications to reviewers as the deadline approaches). 
     
• 🆕If Brand New: 
  • Set up Intake and Review Rounds. 

For both cycle types: 

• Assign Reviewers for Testing: Assign yourself as a reviewer to Review Rounds. (You can also assign additional test reviewers, if desired). 
   
• If You Need to Delete Rounds:  If you added extra Intake or Review Rounds that you no longer need, you can delete them before testing or publishing (and, for deadline-based cycles, also during testing):
   
  • In the Workflow Builder, click the gear icon next to the Test/Publish buttons in the upper-right corner.
  • Select Delete Rounds. 
  • Red minus icons will appear next to the rounds that can be deleted. 
  • Select the minus icon next to the round(s) you want to delete.

📌Note (For Publishing): 

After testing, you’ll return to this workflow before publishing your program to:

• Update all deadlines. 

• Assign official reviewers for the live cycle. 
  
  ➡️Help Articles: Set Up an Intake Round | Set up a Review Round | Assign Reviewers to Review Rounds
   

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7. Awards & Award Agreements 

⚠️IMPORTANT: If there are new or different award types to issue in this cycle, you must add them to the Award Listing section in Program Setup. See instructions here ➡️ Set Up a Program > Award Listing. 

• ♻️If Duplicated: 
  • Review and edit your Award Setup, if needed. 
  • Review your Award Agreement(s) and Progress Report Form(s)
     
• 🆕If Brand New: 
  • Set up your Award(s). 

  • Create your Award Agreement(s), Progress Report Form(s), and Reporting Schedule, if relevant. 
    
    ➡️ Help Articles: Award Setup | Award Agreements | Progress Report Form(s) 
     

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8. Communications

• ♻️If Duplicated: Review the existing communications setup. 
   
• 🆕If Brand New: Set up communications for new cycle
  
  ➡️Help Article: Communications Setup 
   

Step 4: Activate Test Mode 

⚠️ Test Mode can only be entered once per cycle.

Test Mode helps you catch issues before publishing. Once your cycle is published, most settings can’t be changed. 

• Use Test Mode to:
  • Walk through the workflow as an applicant, reviewer, and/or admin
  • Catch errors in your forms or workflow
  • Make final adjustments to your program/cycle before going live
• To test your cycle, follow these steps: ➡️Activate Test Mode. 
• For more testing tips, see ➡️ Test Mode Best Practices
   

Step 5: Publish Your Cycle

Before You Begin: Close Previous Cycle

Only one cycle per program can be in “Active Workflow” status at a time. Before publishing a new cycle, you must close the previous cycle. 

⚠️IMPORTANT: Before closing a cycle, review this article carefully for instructions and important details about what happens ➡️ Closing an Award Cycle. Closing a cycle prematurely can affect applicant statuses. 

• Deadline-Based Cycles: The previous cycle must have the status “Awarding in Progress” or “Awarding Closed.” 
   
• Rolling Cycles: The previous cycle must have the status “Awarding Closed.”
  
  📌 Note: You can still complete post-award activities in closed cycles (e.g., post-award reports, reimbursement expenses, award agreement amendments) 

Instructions to Publish Your Cycle

For step-by-step instructions on publishing your cycle and what can or cannot be changed after publishing, see ➡️ How to Publish an Award Cycle. 

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