There are various ways of communicating information and asking questions within AWARD. The methods used vary depending on which type of Project it is and the users involved (Project Managers, Stakeholders and Assessors, and Suppliers where appropriate). This topic describes which methods are used in which Project.
You access Issues, Authority Queries, Clarifications, Notifications, Messages and Tasks from the Communication option on the toolbar in the Project. The ones that are available depend on the type of Project, whether they are enabled for the Project/Exercise, and the role of the User.
There are Access Logs on each of these items which allow Project Managers/Project Support to view who has read each communication.
Standard Evaluation Projects
- Issues - can be created by Assessors, Stakeholders and Project Managers. Assessors and Stakeholders can only create Issues if they are also assigned to Questions. Intended primarily for Assessors to ask questions about certain aspects of the evaluation. Once the Project Manager has responded, the Issue is automatically closed and the Assessor cannot add any further responses.
Data Room Projects
- Notifications – in Data Rooms there are two types of Notification. There are Notices which are used to send information to all Suppliers, for example letting them know that the portal is now open for them to submit their responses, and there are Document Change Notifications which automatically accompany any changes to Documents, such as when they are Published or Invalidated and also contain links to these Documents. Document Change Notifications also go to all Suppliers and cannot be responded to.
- Clarifications – intended for Suppliers to ask questions about any aspect of their response or about the information they are expected to supply. Can be created only by Suppliers. Can only be responded to by Project Managers. Once a Project Manager has responded, the Clarification is automatically closed and the Supplier cannot add any further responses. When responding to the Clarification the Project Manager gets the option to also send a Notification as part of the response to the Supplier (for example, if they think the information will be of use to all Suppliers). Answers can still be updated and Suppliers can be notified of updates when the Clarification is closed.
- Authority Queries – intended for Project Managers to ask questions of Suppliers. Can be created only by Project Managers. Can only be responded to by Suppliers. Once a Supplier has responded, the Authority Query is set to Answered and the Project Manager cannot add any further responses. Suppliers can still update their answer and attach and remove Documents up until the Project Manager sets the Query to Complete. Stakeholders can view the Authority Queries but cannot respond to them.
Supplier Interaction Projects
- Issues - intended primarily for Assessors to ask questions about certain aspects of the evaluation, for example, Questions, Submissions or Documents. Can be created by Assessors, Stakeholders and Project Managers. Once a Project Manager has responded, the Issue is automatically closed and the Assessor cannot add any further responses. Issues can be linked to Authority Queries.
- Notifications – these are Notices that are used to send information to all Suppliers, for example letting them know that the portal is now open for them to submit their responses. Can be created only by Project Managers. These are a form of one way communication only; they cannot be responded to by any User.
- Clarifications – intended for Suppliers to ask questions about any aspect of their response or about the information they are expected to supply. Can be created only by Suppliers. Can only be responded to by Project Managers. Once a Project Manager has responded, the Clarification is automatically closed and the Supplier cannot add any further responses. When responding to the Clarification the Project Manager gets the option to also send a Notification as part of the response to the Supplier (for example, if they think the information will be of use to all Suppliers). Answers can still be updated and Suppliers can be notified of updates when the Clarification is closed.
- Authority Queries – intended for Project Managers to ask questions of Suppliers. Can be created only by Project Managers. Can only be responded to by Suppliers. Once a Supplier has responded, the Authority Query is set to Answered and the Project Manager cannot add any further responses. Suppliers can still update their answer and attach and remove Documents up until the Project Manager sets the Query to Complete. Stakeholders can view the Authority Queries but cannot respond to them. Assessors cannot see Authority Queries, however, Authority Queries can be linked to Issues by the Project Manager, which allows the Assessors to see an edited version (if necessary) of the Supplier’s response.
Weighting Projects
- Issues - can be created by Assessors, Stakeholders and Project Managers. Assessors and Stakeholders can only create Issues if they are also assigned to Questions. Intended primarily for Assessors to ask questions about certain aspects of the evaluation. Once the Project Manager has responded, the Issue is automatically closed and the Assessor cannot add any further responses.
Value for Money Projects
- None of the above are available in Value for Money Projects.
All Projects
- Tasks – can be used to ask questions of internal teams such as subject matter experts or legal teams. By enabling Tasks on a Work Group, you can then create Tasks to ask questions and get responses from the members of that Work Group. It is possible for all members of the Work Group and the project management team to enter comments forming a discussion thread. Tasks can also be created from Issues and Clarifications.
- Messages - these are used to send general information to selected internal Project Users. Can be created only by Administrators/Project Managers/Project Support. These are a form of one way communication only; they cannot be responded to by any User. They cannot be created or sent by Suppliers. Emails will also be sent to the selected recipients.