Topic

Funded Research Reports, Including RIS & FIS

Who is this for?

Understanding how to access and understand funded research reports is integral to the following roles.

  • Professors, Faculty Members
  • Librarians
  • Research Team Members
  • Research or Financial Administrators

What do I need before I can begin?

The MRF, MROL, RIS & FIS Systems

The Research Information System (RIS) and Financial Information System (FIS) systems are sub-components of the Administrative Management System (AMS).  My Research Online (MROL) and My Research Funds (MRF) are web-based tools to access information pulled from RIS and FIS.
 

My Research On Line (MROL)

MROL is a web-based portal for viewing purposes only. MROL is a self-service resource Principal Investigators (PI) and Project Managers (PM) use to access information about their research accounts including current funds available and expenditure details. For more information, see the MROL webpage.
 

My Research Funds (MRF)

MRF is a web-based portal for viewing purposes only. MRF is a self-service resource PIs, PMs, and other roles use to access the University of Toronto Research Account (UTRAC). UTRAC is an online system that provides essential information about a funded research award based on the Sponsor’s funding agreement. For more information, see the MRF webpage.
 

Research Information System (RIS)

RIS contains data on all research grants administered by the University of Toronto (U of T) and through the affiliated hospitals. The primary functions of RIS with respect to research funding include the following.

  • Organizes information used to administer the research funding, such as details about PIs, research sponsors, research projects, sponsor programs.
  • Facilitates access to a range of award tools that summarize key research funding information, including the following.
    • Awarded Application Report – Researcher by Expertise
    • Awards by Faculty/Department
    • Awards by Sponsor
    • Co- PI’s Report by Faculty or Department
    • Award Report by Department / Researcher (PI and Co PI)a
    • Sponsor List
    • Award Report - Grant End Date
    • Funded Research Digest (FReD) Batch Report

For more information on each of these RIS award reports, please refer to the RIS Award Reports Tutorial.
 

Financial Information System (FIS)

FIS is the main repository of data used at U of T for financial management and reporting functions. The primary functions of FIS include the following.

  • Recording of all financial transactions in general ledger accounts
  • Generating financial reports to meet management and statutory requirements
  • Controlling overall spending through budgetary controls embedded in the system
  • Generating the university’s financial statements

For more details, please see Financial Services: Financial Information System

Commonly Used Research Reporting Tools

University of Toronto Research Account (UTRAC)

UTRAC is an online tool that summarizes key details of a research award or agreement, such as the following.

  • Fund number and funds centre
  • Budget
  • Eligibility of expenses
  • Sponsor terms and conditions such as research progress reporting deadlines, financial reporting requirements, and terms of payment
  • Contact information for the Research Officer and the Research Accountant within the Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI) responsible for the research award
  • Any amendments or changes to terms and conditions

For more details, including how to access UTRAC, visit the My Research Funds webpage.
 

Funded Research Digest (FReD) Batch Report & UTRAC List Report

The FReD Batch report includes the following.

  • A group of FReD/UTRAC numbers and the related PIs
  • The entire amount of installments for each award
  • Research project title, and other significant details (such as the Sponsor/Program Number, PI’s email and award completion date) related to the research project.
     

Users can also display and export a supplementary report from the UTRAC Search List that includes much of the same information as the FReD Batch Report in addition to information such as Fund Status.
 

How to Access FReD Batch Report

BOs can access and run FReD batch reports in two ways: via RIS and Fiori Launch Pad (FLP).

  1. Via RIS - Awards Report >> FReD Batch Report
    RIS file directory with FReD Batch Report highlighted
      To learn more about this report, please refer to the RIS Awards Reports Tutorial.
  2. Via FLP - RIS Reports tab >> FReD Batch Report
    Screen shot of FLP RIS Reports dashboard
     

How to export UTRAC List Report

BOs can access the supplementary UTRAC list report from the UTRAC Search List.

  1. Click the gear icon and select the data fields you want to include in the report.
  2. Click the export to excel button to generate the report.
    Image of UTRAC Search List
     

Commonly Used Financial Reporting Tools

Funding: Funds Centre or Fund Report

This FIS report includes the following details.

  • Total budget released for the research fund and funds centre combination
  • Total expense posting
  • Total revenue posted at the time the report is generated
  • Financial position of a research fund (e.g. if the fund is in a surplus or deficit position)
     

How to Access the Funding: Funds Centre or Fund Report

BOs can access this report in two ways: via FIS and Fiori Launch Pad (FLP).

  1. Via FIS - Accounting >> Funds Management >> Information Systems >> Fund Management Section (UofT Reports) >> Financial Summary Reports
    RIS file structure with Funding, Funds Center or Fund highlighted
    Please refer to the Financial Summary Report Section for more information on how to run this report.
     
  2. Via FLP - Financial Reports tab >> Funding: Funds Centre or fund
    Screen grab of FLP financial reports tab
     

Revenue Received and Receivable View on the Funding: Fund Balance Report

The Revenue Received and Receivable view was added to the Funding: Funds Center or Fund Report to show if the payment had been received from the research sponsor when the revenue payment method is through an invoice. This is an option given to the report’s user to identify how much has been collected from the research sponsor as of a given time.
 

How to Access the Funding: Fund Centre or Fund Report: Revenue Received and Receivable View

To access this report, please see How to Use the Received vs. Receivable View.
 

Research Funds Summary Report (RFSR)

The RFSR is a comprehensive AMS report providing a real-time overview of a unit’s research funding.

The report combines data contained in both the FIS and RIS modules and links directly to a number of other commonly used reports such as the Funding Fund Centre/Fund Balance Report and the FReD Batch Report. The expansive scope of the RFSR eliminates the need to run multiple smaller reports and makes it an essential research funding reporting tool.

The RFSR contains the following details.

  • The number of active research funds administered by a specific department and the current balance of those funds
  • The end date of each fund and flags various conditions including upcoming fund end dates
  • The financial position of a restricted research fund (i.e. deficit or surplus)
  • Each award’s VPRI Research Officer and Research Accountant
     

How to Access the Research Funds Summary Report

BOs can access this report in two ways: via FIS and Fiori Launch Pad (FLP).

  1. Via FIS - Accounting >> Funds Management >> Information Systems >> Fund Management Section (UofT Reports) >> Financial Summary Reports
    RIS File structure with Research Funds Summary Report highlighted
      To learn more about this report, please refer to the RFSR user guide.
     
  2. Via FLP - RIS Reports tab >> Research Funds Summary Report
    Screen shot of FLP RIS Reports dashboard
     

Status PI Monthly Report Review by PI

The Status PI Monthly Report Review by PI provides BOs with a simple and accurate way to verify which PIs are reviewing their monthly statements via MROL. It shows the specific accounts and periods that have been reviewed over the grant year.
 

How to Access the Status PI Monthly Report Review by PI

BOs can access this report via FIS by navigating through the following steps. 

Accounting >> Fund Management >> Information System >> Fund Management Section (UofT Reports) >> Month end reports
RIS file structure with Status PI Monthly Report Review by PI highlighted

To access and learn more about this report please refer to the Status PI Monthly Report Review by PI report.

Other Reporting Tools

For instructions on other available reporting tools, please see RIS Award Reports Tutorial.

Forms & Downloads

VPRI Role

  • Identify tools, develop reports
  • Guide and support users on how to access, use and generate reports

VPRI Contacts

Staff

Annaliza Co

Research Financial Systems Specialist
Portfolio Operations (PO)
(416) 978-1786

Staff

Other Resources