Action flow configuration

In Good Grants, action flow allows for a task or notification to be sent to an individual named within an application, the applicant themselves, a manager in the account, or a specified email address collected within the submission (learn more in our Understanding action flow guide).

To configure an action flow stage, you'll need:

• for tasks and notifications being sent to an individual named within the application, fields to collect their name and email address 
• fields within your application form for the action flow recipient to view and/or edit
• notifications to be sent at each stage of the action flow; i.e. to alert the recipient of a task, to confirm that their decision has been submitted, etc. 
• content to be displayed in support of each action stage if necessary
• the action flow configuration itself

Create review notifications

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Communications > Notifications
2. Create a New notification
3. Choose the Action stage started trigger for notifications that can be sent when an action stage starts
   
4. In the email body, be sure to use the {review_url} merge field to include a link directly to the review page
   
   
   • If the reviewer will be a registered user, they will need to log in to view the review page
   • If the reviewer is someone mentioned in the application form and they are not a registered user, then anyone with that generated review link will be able to access the page
5. Click Save when finished

You can also refer to general instructions for configuring notifications.

Tip: signed in users will also see an alert bubble to signal that an action task needs their attention. This badge will disappear when the user has completed their action stage(s).  

Create an action flow stage

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Action flow > Settings
2. Click New action stage and choose your desired form if multiple have been configured
3. Give the action stage a name (this is for internal reference only, name it based on its purpose (i.e. Manager approval, Internal vetting, etc...)
4. Under 'Outcome' choose whether this action stage is a task or a notification only
   
   Important: to learn about regional regulations and limitations association with SMS, check out our dedicated guide: SMS limitations. 
5. Choose a Start stage option; this controls how the action stage is triggered
   
   • Stage is started by application submission will trigger the action flow to begin as soon as the applicant submits their application.
   • Started by another stage allows you to piggyback multiple actions onto one another.
   • Not selecting an option means that the action stage must be initiated manually.
6. Choose whether the action is to be conducted by a manager, or by a person nominated in the application (i.e. 3rd party person)
   
   Important: if more than one user is tasked with the action flow, only the last submitted decision is displayed. If you require e.g. two managers to review, then set up two review stages sequentially (you might also consider a qualifying reviewing stage instead).
   • For action by manager(s), check all the managers who should be given the task.
   • For action by a person nominated in the application form, a name field and a recipient address field are required in the application fields
     
     Note: the recipient address field may be added as any of the following field types: email, phone number (for mobile numbers only), or a drop-down or radio button field in which the field's value is a valid email address or mobile number. SMS/mobile action tasks are a feature of the Enterprise plan. If the recipient is already a user in your account they must sign in to complete the task. 
     Note: if you have multiple people involved with action flow stages, consider also using automated tags. You can apply a specific tag to applications based on the decision made during each action stage. This will assist you, greatly, with management tasks such as searching for applications, analysis activities and on-going follow-up activities.
7. If you have a notification prepared for this action stage already, select it under Send stage start notification— otherwise leave it blank and you can come back and add it later, ensuring that the {review_url} merge field is included.
   
   If the action is an internal task, such as by grant managers, you can choose not to send a notification as managers can access all requests via Action flow > Manage tasks or Action applications from the main menu, however, no notification means no one is notified, therefore, grant managers will need to periodically visit the 'Manage actions' view to see if there are any new actions requiring attention.
   

Configure what the reviewer gets to see

On the Action page tab, select which fields to show to the user/reviewer. Field access is a list of all application fields in order of appearance (tab then field order).

• Fields marked as 'Read' will be visible to the task recipient.
• Fields marked as 'Write' will be editable by the task recipient.
• Fields marked as 'Required' must have input whether this be by the task recipient or the original applicant. 

If you have informative and/or instructional content already prepared in a content block with the location 'Action flow page' for this stage, select it from the Content block dropdown list— otherwise, leave it blank and you can come back and add it later. For instructions on creating a content block, see our dedicated guide. 

Configure the 'Proceed' and 'Stop' action buttons

On the Proceed/Stop tab, add the button labels for the Proceed action and Stop action buttons, these are the text-based names applied to the buttons and seen by the end-user/reviewer. The Process status and Stop status is required, too, you will need to complete the status fields before the system will let you save.

The Proceed status and Stop status are used to help you find and manage the decisions as applied by the end-user/reviewer. Make sure each action stage you create has unique Proceed and Stop status values.

The Hide stop action will prevent a user from seeing or interacting with the stop action button, requiring them to proceed

The Validate fields will verify that all fields have been completed correctly if the user selects the stop action 

Add informational content to review pages

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Content > Content blocks
2. Create a New content block
3. Choose the content location Action flow page
4. After creating and saving your content, return to the action stage configuration to choose the content block so it can be displayed on the action page for the user to see

Set the action flow deadline

To define when the action flow task must be completed by the reviewer, you'll need to set an deadline. Here's how:

1. Go to Settings > Applications > Rounds in the Manage workspace
2. Click on your program's application round (named 'Application open period' by default)
3. Set a Review / resubmission ends date and time
4. Click Save when finished

View and export action flow data

All data collected during the action flow process is stored within an application itself, but is not accessible by the applicant or applicant views like the applicant PDF. Should you need to view or export this data, you have a few options.

• Navigate to Applications in the Manage workspace and click on the application to see the data
• Create an export via the Applications view; see: Ultimate guide to exports
• Download a PDF that includes the application flow data; see: Downloading a PDF that includes action flow data

Video overview