Approval provides teams
the ability to manage
the acceptance of certain
data entered into TolaActivity
###Approvals
Approval provides teams the ability to manage the acceptance of certain data entered into the system and do not transfer as approvals in other systems, like the agency's procurement system or financial systems
#####States of Approvals * progress * awaiting approval * approved * rejected.
#####Tola Activity Forms with Approvals * Sites
- Stakeholders
- Indicators
- Project Initiations & Project Tracking Forms
####Approvers Anyone can approve Sites, Stakeholders, and Indicators. (Sites are usually reviewed and managed by field managers or community mobilizers, Stakeholders by program officers, and Indicators by M&E managers ).
Project Initiations & Project Tracking Forms can only be approved by users in the Approvers group.
#####Approvers Group To assign someone as an Approver in Tola Activity, they need to be added to the Approvers group in the Admin Console.
#####Approval Notifications When a Initiations & Project Tracking Forms is set to “Awaiting Approval” the email notification goes out to all Approvers in the country letting them know the Project Initiations & Project Tracking Forms is ready to be approved. Approval email notifications are not (currently) limited by fund codes or Programs.
####Limiting TolaActivity Approvals Teams can limit approvals in Tola Activity on Initiations & Project Tracking Forms by turning on “Tola Approval Authority budget limits” for certain programs and assigning specific budget limits to specific Approvers in the Admin Console. See screencast
#####Tola Approval Authority The budget limit set for each approver is decided separately by each country team depending on the complexity of their programs.
#####Project Initiation Approvals Once a Project Initiation is approved a Project Tracking form will be created, and the Project Agreement will be set to read-only once that Project Completion is saved.
###FAQ: Tola Activity Approvals
####What does it mean to approve a Site?
GPS coordinates are correct * Correct office code is linked
####What does it mean to approve a Stakeholder?
Review stakeholder name and contact information * Formal written statement is added * Standardized stakeholder codes are added where relevant (e.g. for WoS)
####What does it mean to approve an Indicator?
Indicators match with the logframe * Indicators are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) * Indicator targets are added and are realistic * Relevant disaggregations are added * Reporting frequency is added, this is mandatory
####What is the difference between reviewing and approving?
#####Field verification * Usually done by field program officer * Executive Summary and Description and Justification tab is reviewed * Field staff will verify that the correct sites and stakeholders are added * Relevant documents are attached e.g. agreements, MoUs, Bill of quantity (BoQ), Purchase Request (PR)
#####MEL review * Usually done by M&E manager * The M&E tab is reviewed * Ensure the indicators are relevant to the project * Ensure periodic targets added match with the life of program (LOP) target.
#####Finance review * Usually done by field finance officer or finance manager * Budget and components tab is reviewed * Estimated budget for each component should add up to the total project budget * Match budget amount with attached
#####BoQ/PR Approval * Usually done by program manager * Overall program objectives and budget is in line with program plan
####What happens when a Project Initiation is rejected? Rejected PAs are archived