Work packages and institutional contributions
The coordinator assigns an institution to each deliverable, report and deadline. Dependencies between packages show who is waiting for partner approval or data.
Custom Development
CRM for Research Consortia and Collaborations
A consortium coordinator needs to see who owns each work package deliverable and which materials still need partner confirmation. We’ll build a CRM to coordinate institutions, shared commitments and consolidated reporting.
What makes coordination between institutions difficult
- Dozens of partners have their own structures, contacts and reporting requirements.
- Joint projects have milestones, dependencies and owners that are hard to track across separate spreadsheets.
- Grant and financial reporting needs accurate data and regular deadline reminders for partners.
- Documents, agreements and data are shared by email and through multiple services, making versions easy to mix up.
- Participants feel isolated, and the consortium feels like a collection of separate labs.
Work packages, partner responsibilities and deliverable confirmation
These modules can be included in the project. We’ll agree on the scope and workflow rules after reviewing your processes.
Partner roles and handovers
The coordinator records changes in ownership and open dependencies. Access to a work package is handed over with the responsible institution’s approval.
Plans and verified outcomes
Separate statuses show expected outcomes, submitted materials and approvals. For grant reporting, the team can see who owns unresolved items.
Additional Features
- Versions of minutes and shared materials
- The secretary can link meeting minutes to the work package, agreed material version and institutions that need to approve it. If a document is returned for revision, the owner sees open comments and the deadline. The file link points to a repository with agreed permissions.
- Assignments after consortium meetings
- The coordinator can move a meeting decision into the relevant work package record. If another institution needs to confirm it, the assignment shows the contact, expected response and shared deadline. The meeting summary is updated after confirmation.
- Summary of approved outcomes
- The work package lead can link a publication or other deliverable to institutional contributions and the reporting period. If several packages submit the same result, the coordinator checks the shared record before counting it. Reports use the approved description and links.
CRM Workflow Examples
How teams can divide responsibilities and handle exceptions after rollout.
Collecting material for an interim report
Work package leads add verified outcomes. The secretariat sees gaps by institution and sends individual items back for clarification.
A work package lead changes
The coordinator records the handover date and open commitments. The new lead receives access to approved materials and earlier decisions.
What to Include in the First Release
We’ll start with one grant project and an upcoming reporting period. Work package leads submit evidence, finance checks statuses, and the secretariat approves the summary. We’ll cover a change of responsible institution and retention of the previous report version.
Once we agree on the requirements, we design the screens, build a pilot, and try it against the agreed use cases. We plan the rollout and follow-on modules with your team.
Discuss the First PhaseDevelopment FAQ
Can an institution see only its own work packages?
Access can be set by institution, project and role. For shared outcomes, the coordinator grants separate permissions to approved materials.
How do we handle submissions that need several approvals?
A deliverable can go through institutional, work package lead and coordinator review. Each stage records the document version, decision and comments.
How do we migrate work packages and outstanding consortium approvals?
We’ll match project codes, work packages, institutions and milestone dates. On a sample, package leads will verify the latest submitted versions, open comments and dependencies. We’ll confirm access to working materials with each institution.
What determines the scope of the first CRM release for a research consortium?
We’ll review one deliverable produced by two institutions and checked by the coordinator. The estimate depends on work package dependencies, approval stages and reporting format. The pilot will cover returning material for revision.
Let’s Discuss Your CRM
Tell us your industry, describe one process you want to automate, and let us know which tools your team already uses.