General
What are “non-ratings-based awards?”
Non-ratings-based awards include monetary and non-monetary awards (Time Off and/or Cash) which are not linked to employee PMAP ratings, such as Special Act Awards. Currently, POP does not include QSIs.
Am I required to use the new Awards Web Form?
Not currently. The first iteration of POP: Awards is a pilot. The benefits of the Awards Web Form (such as seamless communication, built-in business logic to detect discrepancies, potential errors, and the ability to track awards status, etc.). We highly encourage ICs to use the Awards Web Form and provide feedback for future enhancements.
Can I submit awards over $10,000 using the Awards Web Form?
No, any non-ratings-based award valued at $10,000+ will be tracked outside of the POP Awards process, typically using either Special Pay and/or Senior Level Pay.
What happens with cumulative awards that exceed $5,000?
If the award is between the threshold of $50.00-$10,000, the award can be submitted using the Awards Web Form. If your IC has a different threshold; this will need internal approval and will be handled outside of the system.
If you have questions about your IC award thresholds, we recommend discussing it with your EO or Awards SME.
What types of employees are included and or excluded from the Awards Web Form?
Use the Awards Web Form for current NIH Federal Employees only.
Excluded Employees Include: The Employee Lookup excludes the following employee types for both Individual and Group Awards: Contractors, Volunteers, Commissioned Corps staff & supervisors, former/recently separated employees, and Pay Plans ZZ, CC, & EI.
Senior Executive (SES) and Top 5 Employees are excluded from Individual Award Employee Lookups, as Individual awards for these employees should be submitted via the Senior Level Review process to the Office of Human Resources.
Are signatures required to enter awards?
You do not need signatures in the Awards Web Form. The assumption is by the time you are ready to enter the award into the Web Form, the award should already be approved based on your internal IC process. We are currently not offering any solution or comments on specific IC processes due to ARPS.
If an employee departs NIH, can the Web Form still be used to submit an award?
No, if an employee has left NIH you will not be able to submit an award for that employee through the Web Form. If you would like to submit an award for a departed employee, work with your Servicing CSD Branch directly.
If an employee departs from my IC but transfers to another IC, can I submit an award for that employee?
Absolutely! The nominating IC can nominate and submit awards for employees outside of their IC using the Web Form.
How do I submit cross-IC awards?
You would submit the award via the web form.
How can I add attachments using the Awards Web Form?
After submitting an award, IC users may add attachments (e.g. Justification, NIH-2833 form, etc.) to be included with their award submission to HR from the Confirmation section.
Note: Documents of any type (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.) can be attached. There is no size limit for attached files however, it is recommended that the total size of all files you attach be under 50MB (most commonly attached documents tend to be less than 1MB).
How can I upload attachments before I submit the award?
Once you submit an award, you’ll be prompted to upload attachments prior to closing the award request on the web form.
How many employees can be included in group award?
The maximum number of employees you can include in a group award is 50.
Can automated notifications be turned off and on?
Automated notification emails go out to the indicated Email Notification Recipients and are unable to be fully disabled. We encourage IC staff who wish to be aware (and have approval from their EO or EO’s Designee) of the status of award actions to request access the award-related reports in WiTS via report subscription.
How are group nominees who receive both a cash and time off award handled?
ICs will have to submit two award requests using the Web Form. These are considered two separate actions, even if it is for the same event.
Will I be able to see awards that other people in my IC have submitted?
You can only see the awards that you have submitted to HR in your own “Awards Submission” page, however, if you have access to run WiTS Reports you can run the Non-Ratings-Based Awards Report or the Status Report to see all awards submitted by your IC.
Is the NIH-2833 form still required?
No, ICs do not have to submit the NIH-2833 nomination form when using the Awards Web Form. However, ICs may add attachment(s) in the Confirmation section when they submit awards if they wish.
Can I submit multiple awards for a nominee with the same effective date?
The web form will let you submit multiple awards for the same nominee. However, the awards effective date may be changed by OHR to ensure awards with the same effective date are not rejected by the payroll system. Awards must have unique effective dates and can be dates within the same pay period.
How can I provide feedback?
After submitting an award using the Web Form, a survey link will be provided on the Confirmation page at end. IC users can provide feedback about their experience and how they’d like to improve POP: Awards. We encourage all Web Form users to utilize this survey and help make this tool the best it can be!
Additional feedback avenues are listed below:
- Email or call your Servicing CSD Branch
- Complete the WiTS Climate Survey in the Fall
- Email us at POP@nih.gov
- Tell your EO/IC Leadership
Access and Support
How do I access the Awards Web Form to submit awards?
The Awards Web Form is accessed via the HR Request page. From the HR Request page click on the "Submit An Award Nomination" tile.
How do I request access to the Awards Web Form?
If you need access to the Awards Web Form you will need to submit an HRSA (HR Systems Access) request and receive approval from your Executive Officer (EO) or the EO’s Designee. To request access to your Awards Web Form, submit a "Get Access to an HR System" ticket.
How do I request access to the related WiTS Awards Reports?
Access to WiTS reporting can be requested via an HR Systems Access ticket. Go to the HR Request page.
- Get an email approval from your EO or EO designee (you’ll want to attach to your request ticket)
- Click on the first tile: "Get Access To An HR System"
- Fill out the form- Select ‘New Access’ and Select WiTS as the system (a new tab appears at the top)
- If you have access to the Senior Level Pay form or the Awards form, you would submit a ‘Modify access’ ticket.
- For the WiTS tab:
- Network Login is your alias/NIH username (last name and middle/first initial)
- For IC Data Access- select your IC
- For Web Viewer Access- select Web Report Viewer
- For Web Request Access- Select N/A
- Attach your approval email;
- Submit your request.
- Our HR Systems Support team may reach out to you or your IC approver for confirmation that you can have access to the WiTS IC reports. Just to clarify, this will give you access to only reports, not to the actual WiTS system.
Once access is granted, you can access the WiTS IC report list from the WiTS homepage- right hand ‘External Links’ section. There is an Awards Report and a Non-Ratings Based Awards Report. You’ll want to pull the latter, for awards submitted to HR after May 11, 2020.
Is this a report that you will be running on a regular basis? Learn more about automated report delivery via the WiTS Report Subscription Service.
Is this a report that you will be running on a regular basis?
Learn more about automated report delivery via the WiTS Report Subscription Service.
Is there a number limit on who can access the system?
There is no limit on the number of IC users who can have access to the Awards Web Form. As long as the EO (or EO Designee) approves the IC access.
How can I get technical support for the web form?
For HR Systems related assistance, please submit a support ticket.
Where can I get information on establishing a POP: Awards interconnection with OHR?
The Workflow information Tracking System (WiTS) offers interconnections with IC systems who wish to transmit non-ratings-based awards to the Office of Human Resources via a REST API interconnection. Please contact TheWiTSProjectTeam@nih.gov to inquire about establishing a system interconnection with your IC.
How can I find out more information about POP: Awards?
To find out more information about POP: Awards, visit the POP Web Page. If you have more specific questions or concerns, you can always email us at POP@nih.gov.
Contact Us
Who do I contact about POP?
Have a Question or Want to Learn More? Send an e-mail to POP@nih.gov!