Users in the Proposals module of ERA may have noticed that there are now multiple separate activities available for sending an email from an ERA Funding Proposal (FP) site (see screenshots below).
RAs should continue to use the “Notify PNT” activity when communicating with the assigned GCO Reviewer on a specific FP.
The “Send Email” activity could be used to follow-up with investigators and department reviewers who have not yet approved the FP, or to follow-up with the RA Contact on the proposal if/when you also want to be able to cc the RA’s team or other stakeholders on the message.
Below are instructions and best practices for using the “Send Email” activity:
- DO NOT USE the internal contact fields (“recipient(s) by role on this Proposal” and/or “Other ASU Recipients”), as there is currently a system issue with those fields where recipients will not be able to see who sent the message to them. Instead, enter ALL recipients as “External Recipients.”
- Individual ASU email addresses, Public mailbox addresses, and distribution list (DL) addresses can be entered as “External Recipients”.
- Emails to “External Recipients” will show the ASU email address of the user who ran the “Send Email” activity as the sender (e.g., [email protected]). Any attachments will be included as regular attachments to the email.
- Emails to individuals selected in the “recipient(s) by role on this Proposal” and “Other ASU Recipients” fields will show [email protected] as the sender. Any attachments will be included as hyperlinks only.
- Select the “Proposal Approval Follow-up (Investigator or Department Reviewer)” template, if applicable
- Edit the Subject line and/or Body of the Message, as needed
- Ensure the FP # is included in the Subject line
- Add your signature block at the end of the Body
- Make sure to check the box for “9. Include project table with link”, otherwise the recipient will not receive a link to take them directly into the ERA FP.
- It is recommended to ALWAYS check the box to include the project table with link, to ensure that the recipient can identify and quickly navigate to the proposal your message pertains to
- Any messages sent using the “Send Email” activity will populate in the FP History
Again, RAs should NOT use “Send Email” to contact PNT. Instead, please continue to use “Notify PNT” for any communication with PNT GCO’s related to a specific proposal in ERA.





