Supported through the Office of Research and Technology Management (ORTM), Sparta is Case Western Reserve University’s suite of electronic research administration systems. Below are answers to some common questions that may help you navigate these tools. Learn more about tools and applications for research.
Getting users set up in SpartaAgreements, Grants and COI is a two-step process:
- First, users need to create/fill out their own profile by logging into Spiderweb.
- Once that is complete, a department administrator (DA) can request the creation of user accounts.
Full instructions with screenshots are available on Canvas. Learn how to add a new user (single sign-on and DUO required).
Profile changes to SpartaGrants/COI/Agreements need to be done in Spiderweb. Go to "My Profile” then click “Update Profile.”
Updates will automatically be sent to SpartaGrants/COI/Agreements the following morning.
Proposals and Awards, as well as Award Mods and Award Mod Requests (AMR) have separate tabs in SpartaGrants. Make sure that you are entering your search criteria in the search bar of the appropriate tab. More information and training is available on the SpartaGrants Training summary site and on Canvas.
Additionally, if someone sent you a link to a proposal, but you are not able to open that link, ask them to check the Reviewers tab to ensure you are listed in the Approvers or Administrative Editors for that department. If you’re not listed, but should have access to this department for your role, email sparta@case.edu to be added as an editor.
Fill out the SpartaIRB New User Request Form. Accounts are generally created within 3-5 business days of receiving the request.
If the person has a Sparta account, it’s likely they don’t have the appropriate roles. Please email sparta@case.edu and ask to get their roles adjusted. Please provide full name and their case id (abc123) in your request.
If a person’s access needs to mimic another existing user, please add that other user's ID to your Sparta request.
Email sparta@case.edu with the name of the person, their case id (abc123) and what approval level they should be in (Level 1/2/3). If a person’s access needs to mimic another existing user, please add that other user's ID to your Sparta request.
You can find detailed instructions, with screenshots, on our Canvas site. Learn how to add a new sponsor (single sign-on required).
In short:
- When starting your Funding Proposal (FP), use the TBD sponsor
- Fill out question 5a with the name of the future sponsor
- Finish the rest of the questions, then click Continue
- You will notice a new section has appeared on the left “Request New Sponsor”
- Complete your FP form and the Request New Sponsor section
- The ORA office will receive this information, and will notify you once the sponsor is created
For urgent requests, please email newsponsorrequests@case.edu.
- If the affiliate does not have a CWRU network ID (abc123), request an Affiliate Network ID.
- If they have a network ID, determine if they also have a CWRU employee ID
- If they do not have an employee ID, email sparta@case.edu and request to generate a temporary employee ID
- Once they have both a network ID and an employee ID, follow the steps in the “How do I request a SpartaAgreements, Grants and COI account?” section above, for the request process through Spiderweb.
Please note, once proposals are awarded, you must obtain a permanent employee ID for affiliate personnel. For further guidance on acquiring a permanent employee ID, reach out to the research administrator of your department OR contact the specialist listed on the Funding Proposal.
If they are a student, staff or faculty of University Hospitals (UH) or CWRU, they will need to request a SpartaIRB account (see section "How can I get a SpartaIRB account?" above). People who are not CWRU or UH students, staff or faculty should be added on the external team member sheet. Completing CREC does not automatically create a SpartaIRB account.
To access the most recent version of the protocol template documents, please go to the SpartaIRB Library. The documents are located under the Templates tab. Note that this link takes you directly into the SpartaIRB application. You must have a SpartaIRB account in order to access SpartaIRB. (see section "How can I get a SpartaIRB account?" above)
Notifications use the preferred email listed in the SpartaIRB user profile. If there is a typo in the email listed in your profile, the messages won't be delivered. Contact the Sparta applications support team at sparta@case.edu for help updating your email address, or if your email is correct but you are still not getting notifications.
For further information, explore CWRU IRB Guidance and Resources, or email cwru-irb@case.edu.
Please contact the COI team at cwrucoi@case.edu, or review COI processes and procedures.