Submission periods are key to the process of collecting accurate and usable 
outputs/outcomes information via the Researchfish platform. The action of PI's clicking 
the Submit button confirms that their reported information is up to date, accurate/correct 
and gives the Funder permission to use the data submitted.

Clear communications are essential in running a successful submission period:

• Start communications early to allow sufficient time to notify your researchers (at 
least 2-3 months prior to your submission period).

• View our communication Funder Top Tips and RO Top Tips documents for key items 
to include when communicating with your researchers.

• View our Communication Templates Document which can be used alongside 
Researchfish Top Tips Documents, Funders Internal Comms and Implementation 
plan.

• Point researchers to our publicly available help site here where researchers can 
access the most up-to-date user guide and videos.

Steps for setting up your submission period:

• Pick a date: 

o Create your own submission period start and end dates or align your next one 
with a multi-funder submission period.
o Optimal duration for a submission period is 4-6 weeks

• Refresh your data:

o Either update your award details manually in the platform, or for bulk 
updates via the RHT uploader (please see section below for more 
information on RHTs).

• Researchfish platform set up:

o Create your submission period in the platform, add your awards and assign 
any additional questions (if applicable to your organisation).

• Invitations: 

o Send out invitations via the Researchfish platform to grant your PIs access to 
their awards ahead of the submission period start date.

Please contact your Customer Success Manager or our customer success team in general 
via a.penkala@elsevier.com if you have any queries about preparing for your submission 
period or would like any assistance with your communication plans.

Note: If your organisation is aligning to the upcoming 2025 UK Multi-Funder Submission 
period and is planning to make updates to Award details in Researchfish in bulk via an RHT 
Template, we advise that you submit your RHT by 20 November 2024. This guideline is to 
accommodate Research Organisations’ (ROs) wishes to review and submit any final updates 
to Funders about award or PI details before the submission period opens.

Click here to view the RHT guidance document.

We encourage Funders to make use of the 'Other Location' field in the Researchfish platform 
where applicable and if this information is known. If you do this for awards based at more 
than one RO, then it will allow all the ROs to see and upload outputs for the award (as long 
as you have indicated that the award details can be shared with ROs). You can add this 
either through the platform, or by sending a separate data update request after your RHT 
has been processed.

It is possible to manually add and update award information on the Researchfish platform. 
However, you can use an “RHT” (Respondent Hierarchy Table) when changes/updates need 
to be made to your awards in bulk.

Click here to navigate to the RHT uploader page where you can find the template & submit 
for upload when ready.

RHT lead time: we have a 2 working week SLA for this to update on the platform after 
passing initial validation process checks. Please keep a look out for failed uploads on the 
“My Downloads” page once you’ve submitted your RHT- there is a column on the far right of 
the download that explains which errors need to be rectified if there are any. You will also 
receive an email informing you if the RHT you have uploaded failed/passed the initial 
validation check- please look out for emails coming from admin@researchfish.com once 
you’ve submitted your updated RHT.

Please note that if there are issues with the RHT that require further feedback from you to 
resolve, then this may mean that RHT takes more than two calendar weeks to complete 
which is why we ask that all UK organisations have made use of this by the 20 November 
2024 to ensure that all the awards will be added/updated and this will be available for ROs to 
help them with their local activity.

Please send any queries to support@researchfish.com

Do we have the most up to date and correct contact details for your organisation?

All organisations that use the Researchfish platform are asked to provide contact details for 
their organisation on the “Our Community” page of the Researchfish platform. The 
information on this page is used by other organisations that subscribe to Researchfish, 
researchers and our staff to contact you regarding Researchfish related queries, and is of 
significant importance during submission windows.

Here are instructions on how to update details held on the Researchfish Our Community 
Page:

1. Login to the Researchfish platform here

2. In the menu on the left-hand side scroll down to the 'General Admin' section

3. Select the option 'Organisation Details' in the General Admin section

4. Scroll down to the contact details section and select the option 'Website Contact 
Details'

5. Complete the section and select the 'Save Changes' button

Please send any queries to support@researchfish.com

If you are a Funder or Researchfish Explorer subscriber, you have the option to add funder-specific guidance text to the Researchfish platform to help your researchers with reporting. This will be visible to your PIs at the top of the individual Award page in the platform. 

If you currently make use of this feature, please review your guidance text and let us know if 
there are any updates you would like us to make to these prior to your next submission 
period.

If you would like more information on funder specific guidance options available, please 
contact your Customer Success Manager or support@researchfish.com

Recording and Support Documentation

Thank you to those who attended Researchfish Interoperability Webinar held by Product 
Manager, Colin Millerchip with support from Chief Analyst, Gavin Reddick. For more 
information about how we are increasing interoperability between ROs and Researchfish, 
and specifically how ROs can now upload publications, datasets, software, audio, video, 
and images even if they don’t know the funder and grant attribution, see the product 
documentation and the accompanying video.

Research Organisations only: Publications Interoperability Uploader function reminder

All Research Organisations using Researchfish now have access to the outcomes uploader 
to help interoperability between RO systems and Researchfish. The uploader tool is 
available to enable you to upload publications and other outcomes on behalf of your 
researchers to help with their reporting. Please note, like in previous years, the outcomes 
uploader tool will be turned off for the last 4 weeks of the UK Multi Funder Submission 
Period.

Please send any queries to support@researchfish.com

Please join us for the Funding Organisations 
Webinar on 26th November from 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Funders Register Here

We are hosting a Webinar for all Research 
Organisations on 28th November from 
12:00pm- 1:30pm

Research Orgs Register Here

We’ll host live webinars for PIs and delegates 
from Nov 28th till March on a weekly basis 
every Thursday at 10 am UK time.

Researchers Register Here

Over the last 12 months we have been progressing a thorough review of the common 
question set used within the Researchfish platform. The focus of which is to simplify the 
question set, and re-use data that already exists elsewhere to reduce the reporting burden 
on researchers. This is being done very carefully, relying on feedback from users at all levels 
and with full consultation with clients. Our sincere thanks to all of those who have been 
involved in this project so far.

We wanted to give you an update on progress prior to the submission periods, outline the 
areas of change and where you will be able to find more detailed information.

The table below shows the sections of the question set that have been reviewed so far and 
outlines the improvements for each.

Further details of all of these changes (including timings for implementation) will be made 
available on the Knowledgebase and via your Customer Success Manager. Please do let us 
know (via b.sherbon@elsevier.com) if you have any questions or wish to be involved in the 
consultation of any of the remaining sections of the question set.

Funders/Researchfish Explorer subscribers were recently contacted by their Customer 
Success Manager with an update about the outcome of the Awards and Recognition 
Question Set review. 

Researchfish Explorer subscribers who do not wish to collect information in this section now 
have the opportunity to opt out of asking their researchers to report against this outcome 
section in the platform to reduce researcher reporting burden. 

If your organisation would like to opt out of asking researchers to report outcomes in the 
‘Awards and Recognition’ section in time for the UK Multi Funder Submission Period, please 
contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager to formally confirm your decision to opt 
out by Friday 31st October 2024. 

Guidance on changes to ‘Awards & Recognition’ reporting requirements can be found in the 
Researchfish platform here.

Our next closure dates align with upcoming UK Bank Holidays which are:

• Wednesday 25th of December

• Thursday 26th of December

Please note that there will be limited Researchfish support available during the above dates, 
however, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Support Team via support@researchfish.com and we'll address your query as soon as possible.