Rural Community Assistance Partnership Data Collection ... · Project outcomes are new in DCS 2.0. Outcomes are the expected results of the project. The possible outcomes for a given

Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Data Collection System 2.0

User’s Manual

DCS2.RCAP.ORG

January 2016

ii

Contents

Introducing RCAP Data Collection System (DCS) 2.0 ............................................... 1

System Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Accessibility ................................................................................................................................................. 1

New Concepts ............................................................................................................................................ 1

Roles ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Outcomes .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Dashboards .............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Data Validation ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Accessing the DCS 2.0 ........................................................................................................... 4

Logging in for the first time .................................................................................................................. 4

Accessing DCS 2.0 ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Changing your password ....................................................................................................................... 4

When you’re locked out ......................................................................................................................... 5

Forgot your password? ........................................................................................................................... 6

Using the Built-In Help Features ....................................................................................... 8

Page-Level Instructions ........................................................................................................................... 8

Tooltips ......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Tooltips for Certain Lists ......................................................................................................................... 9

The Dashboard ...................................................................................................................... 10

Dashboard for National Manager ..................................................................................................... 10

Dashboard for Regional Manager .................................................................................................... 11

Dashboard for TAP ................................................................................................................................. 12

Enrolling a New Project ...................................................................................................... 13

Details.......................................................................................................................................................... 13

Demographics .......................................................................................................................................... 16

Contacts ...................................................................................................................................................... 17

iii

Search for existing contact .............................................................................................................................. 18

Add a new contact .............................................................................................................................................. 18

Tasks ............................................................................................................................................................ 20

Save .............................................................................................................................................................. 28

Managing Your Projects .................................................................................................... 30

Updating a Project ............................................................................................................... 31

Details.......................................................................................................................................................... 31

Adding Outcomes and Assistance Types to a Project .......................................................................... 32

Demographics .......................................................................................................................................... 33

Editing Demographics ....................................................................................................................................... 34

Adding Demographics from additional zip codes ................................................................................. 35

Status ........................................................................................................................................................... 36

Parameters ................................................................................................................................................. 36

Funding ....................................................................................................................................................... 37

Save Funding Program Information Without Selecting Tasks ........................................................... 39

Review and Select Tasks and Subtasks ....................................................................................................... 40

Contacts ...................................................................................................................................................... 48

Add a Contact to the Project .......................................................................................................................... 48

Tasks ............................................................................................................................................................ 50

Completing Subtasks ......................................................................................................................................... 58

Adding and Completing Activities................................................................................................................ 59

Changing the Task Status ................................................................................................................................ 59

Adding Tasks and Subtasks ............................................................................................................................. 61

Leveraged Funds ..................................................................................................................................... 61

Application ............................................................................................................................................................ 61

Award ...................................................................................................................................................................... 62

History ......................................................................................................................................................... 63

Files .............................................................................................................................................................. 63

Ownership (National Managers only) .............................................................................................. 64

iv

Managing Contacts ............................................................................................................. 65

Search for existing contact .............................................................................................................................. 65

Quick View ............................................................................................................................................................. 65

Editing Contacts ...................................................................................................................................... 68

Removing Contacts ............................................................................................................................................ 68

Managing NPAs .................................................................................................................... 69

Adding a new NPA ................................................................................................................................. 69

Editing an NPA ......................................................................................................................................... 72

Running Reports ................................................................................................................... 77

Ad Hoc Report ......................................................................................................................................... 77

Filters ....................................................................................................................................................................... 77

Fields ........................................................................................................................................................................ 78

EPA 1 Report ............................................................................................................................................. 79

EPA 2 Report ............................................................................................................................................. 82

HHS-OCS Report ..................................................................................................................................... 84

NPA Detail Report................................................................................................................................... 85

Project Detail Report ............................................................................................................................. 86

TAP Detail Report.................................................................................................................................... 86

USDA Report ............................................................................................................................................. 87

Working with Tables ............................................................................................................ 90

Table Query Identification ............................................................................................................................... 90

Sorting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 90

Working with Filters ........................................................................................................................................... 90

Data Grouping ...................................................................................................................................................... 91

Exporting Data ..................................................................................................................................................... 92

v

Tables

Roles and Access Privileges in DCS 2.0. .................................................................................................................. 2

Project Details Fields and Descriptions ................................................................................................................ 13

Assistance Types and Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 15

Demographics Fields and Descriptions ............................................................................................................... 16

Contact Fields and Descriptions ............................................................................................................................. 18

Tasks and Definitions .................................................................................................................................................. 20

Project Detail Fields and Descriptions .................................................................................................................. 31

Outcomes and Assistance Types Fields and Descriptions ............................................................................ 32

Demographics Fields and Descriptions ............................................................................................................... 33

Project Status Fields and Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 36

Parameters Fields and Descriptions ...................................................................................................................... 37

Assistance Types and Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 38




Activity Fields and Descriptions .............................................................................................................................. 59

Task Status Fields and Descriptions ...................................................................................................................... 59

Upload File(s) Fields and Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 60


1

Introducing RCAP Data Collection System (DCS) 2.0

System Overview The RCAP Data Collection System (DCS) 2.0 is a new system for RCAP, reengineered to a new

platform to adhere to current standards of system programming and user interface. This version

introduces some new concepts, delivers more behind-the-scenes processing, is more dynamic,

and provides an improved user experience.

Its core mission remains the same: to collect and organize data associated with your work on

projects funded by federal, state, and local programs. DCS was redesigned with several new

goals:

Make it easier for you to record your project activities.

Standardize (or “normalize” in database jargon) the data captured in the system.

Enhance managers’ ability to quantify and accurately report on the work that is done by

the staff

Accessibility RCAP DCS 2.0 is completely web-based. That means

No software for you to download, install, or update.

24/7 availability from anywhere…field, office, home, train

Data is always current, always backed up, and no synching required

New Concepts Version 2.0 of the DCS incorporates some concepts that may be new to RCAP staff. These

concepts are described in this section to help you understand better how the system works.

ROLES

We are all used to thinking about ourselves and others in terms of roles; in fact, most of us play

different roles depending on the social or professional or family context in which we find

ourselves at any given moment. You may act at different times in the roles of spouse, parent,

adult child, manager, high school coach, field staff; you’re still the same person but your

responsibilities and the expectations of others differ according to the role you assume in specific

contexts.

DCS 2.0 is modeled on the concept of roles. There are four different roles in DCS that help to

organize the system in terms of the work each user needs to accomplish and what tools or

features are needed to accomplish that work.

The basic role in DCS—in fact, a role that every user in the system shares—is TAP, short for

Technical Assistance Provider. If you remember the core DCS mission, to collect and organize

2

data associated with work on projects, you’ll see that the role of TAP is integral. All the tools,

data, and features needed to accomplish a TAP’s work are available to every user in the system.

The other roles integrate the role of TAP while providing access to additional tools, data, and

features. The availability of certain tools, data, and features is what we refer to as access

privileges.

All new users are automatically assigned the role of TAP. The other roles are explicitly assigned

to users by a manager who has administrator privileges. The following table identifies the access

privileges granted to each role.

Roles and Access Privileges in DCS 2.0.

Role Access Privileges

TAP Full access to

Their own projects

Their own non-project activities (NPAs)

TAP dashboard

Manage Contacts

Their own NPA Detail report, Project Detail report, and TAP

Detail report.

Regional Manager Full access to

All TAP access privileges

Full access to all projects in their regions

Regional Manager dashboard

All reports with their region’s data

Customizable access to

Any of the management functions including Create New

User, Manage Users

Funding Entities and Add Funding Program, for their regions

only

National Manager Full access to


All projects, management functions, and reports

National Manager dashboard

Restricted Manager Full access to


Customizable access to

Any of the management functions including Create New

User, Manage Users

Funding Entities and Add Funding Program, for their regions

only

Read-only or read/write access to all projects within selected

states or regions

3

OUTCOMES

Project outcomes are new in DCS 2.0. Outcomes are the expected results of the project. The

possible outcomes for a given project are determined by the funding program that underwrites

the project, so the list you see in Add Project or Edit Project may differ from project to project.

The selected project outcomes are reported on in RCAP’s reports to funding entities.

DASHBOARDS

A dashboard is a monitoring tool that summarizes information and provides real-time status on

key entities such as projects, funding programs, and TAP activities.

DCS 2.0 includes three dashboards: one for TAPs, one for Regional Managers, and one for

National Managers. The dashboard is by default your landing page after you log in to the

system.

DATA VALIDATION

The data collected in DC S 2.0 is one of RCAP’s most valuable organizational assets, and every

effort is made to ensure that the data collected is accurate, complete, and reliable. The system

applies different levels of data validation to help improve data accuracy and completeness. This

validation leads to more precise and intelligent reporting, the output of the system. The levels of

data validation are

Required fields – On any given input page, you cannot save until all required fields are

filled in.

Data types and formats – Some entry fields require specific data types, such as dates

and numbers, and data formats, such as phone numbers and email addresses.

Data comparisons – The system checks for logical relationships between different fields;

for example, you cannot enroll a project with a start date that is outside the funding

program’s funding period.

4

Accessing the DCS 2.0

Logging in for the first time You can gain access to the system only when after a manager creates a user account for you and

identifies your role (see Version 2.0 of the DCS incorporates some concepts that may be new to

RCAP staff. These concepts are described in this section to help you understand better how the

system works.

Roles) and access privileges. That means that you will only be able to access the pages and data

that you’ve been given permission to see; pages that you do not have permission to access are

not shown in your menu.

When your account is created, you will receive a system-generated email from RCAP DCS 2.0.

If you do not receive an email from RCAP DCS 2.0 within 15 minutes after your account

was created, check your spam folder. If you still can’t find it, contact your manager or

national office for help.

Copy the initial password and click on the link in the email. The login page will open in your

browser. Your DCS 2.0 user ID is your email address. Enter your email address and the password

you copied from the email, then click the button. You’ll be taken to the Dashboard.

DCS 2.0 passwords must be eight characters long. You can use uppercase letters,

lowercase letters, numbers, and/or special characters in any combination.

Before you do anything else, change your password to something more human-friendly.

Accessing DCS 2.0 After the first time you log in, you can log into the DCS by entering dcs2.rcap.org in the browser

address bar. It would help to bookmark the page in your browser.

Changing your password It’s important to know that passwords are secured in several ways in the DCS 2.0 system:

Whenever you type a password in a textbox, anywhere in the system, your password is

always displayed as masked characters; so for example, an eight-character password

would be displayed as eight dots in the textbox:

No one—including your manager, your national managers, even yourself—no one can

see or retrieve your password.

http://dcs2.rcap.org/

5

Even in the database, passwords are encrypted; the database administrator cannot see

your password.

You can never retrieve your password; you can only submit a request to the system for a

temporary password, to be changed by you to a password of your choice once you’ve

logged in.

Anytime you receive a system-generated password by email, you should always log in using the

system password and then change your password right away. You can do this by clicking on

Change Password in the Account Management menu. A new page displays, with your email

address and current password already entered. Enter your new password, then enter it again to

confirm you’ve typed it correctly.

DCS 2.0 passwords must be at least eight characters long. You can use uppercase letters,

lowercase letters, numbers, and/or special characters in any combination.

Click on the button: you should see a confirmation on the page that your

password has been successfully changed. You should also receive an email from RCAP DCS 2.0

advising you that your password has been changed. As long as you were the one who changed

it, no further action is needed.

When you’re locked out After five unsuccessful login attempts, you will see a message that you have been locked out.

When this happens, notify your manager; it’s a simple matter for him or her to unlock your

account. Once you’re unlocked, try again from the Login page or, better yet, click on Forgot your

password? in the Login box.

6

Forgot your password? If you can’t access the system because you’ve forgotten your password, just click on Forgot your

password? in the login box.

A new box will display, asking you to enter your email address:

The email address you enter must be the email address assigned to your DCS user

account.

After you enter your email address and click the button, the page displays a message

stating that a new password has been sent to your email address. Check your inbox for the

email from RCAP DCS 2.0, providing an auto-generated password.

If you do not receive an email from RCAP DCS 2.0 within 15 minutes after submitting the

Forgot Password request, check your spam folder. If you still can’t find it, contact your

manager or national office for help.

7

Copy the new password from the email message, making sure to copy all the characters, both

leading and trailing. Then return to dcs2.rcap.org, enter your email address, and paste in the

copied password, then click Log In.

Once again, before you do anything else, change your password to something more human-

friendly.

http://dcs2.rcap.org/

8

Using the Built-In Help Features

In addition to providing this User Manual as a PDF (available via a link in the DCS 2.0 menu bar

under Help), the system offers detailed help and instructions in context, right on the page.

These instructions usually provide you with all the information you need to correctly enter your

data and work in the page.

Page-Level Instructions Every entry page provides instructions for how to enter information and work with the features

on the page. The example below shows the Add Project wizard, which guides you sequentially

through the steps of enrolling a new project. At the top are general instructions related to

working in the wizard. Below, the wizard also provides directions specifically related to the entry

fields for the active step.

Tooltips

Each entry field, or control, on data entry pages has a small information icon to the right of

it. Just hold the mouse over the icon; a definition or description of the field appears as a popup

tooltip. The tooltip also indicates when a field is required; that is, when you must enter or select

an option in the field in order to save.

9

Tooltips for Certain Lists Dropdown lists for Assistance Types, Infrastructure Types, NPA Types, and Tribal Types also

feature tooltips, not just for the control, but also for the items in the list. Holding or hovering

your mouse cursor over a list item pops up a tooltip for that item.

10

The Dashboard

The Dashboard is the landing page—the first page you land on once you log in to the DCS 2.0.

This page gives you a data snapshot related to projects you are entitled to see.

There are three dashboards in DCS 2.0: one for National Managers, one for Regional Managers,

and one for TAPS. The dashboard you’ll see depends on the role you belong to in DCS 2.0. Each

dashboard has a button for adding a new project.

Dashboard for National Manager Below is a sample view of the dashboard that will be displayed if you have permissions as a

National Manager.

A National Manager will be able to see all the active projects for each funding program. This

data is displayed in the first section of the dashboard and includes all the projects nationally.

Each funding program is shown with the active projects for that funding program, and each

funding program is linked to the Manage Projects view filtered by that funding program.

The second section of the dashboard is a summary of demographics and leveraged funds data.

It shows the total population served, minority population served, low income population served,

percentage of low income population served, and leveraged funding received for all active

projects.

To learn how to sort the columns in the table, see Sorting.

11

Dashboard for Regional Manager Below is a sample view of the dashboard that will be displayed if you have permissions as a

Regional Manager.

A Regional Manager will be able to see all the active projects per funding program. This data is

displayed in the first section of the dashboard and includes all the projects in the user’s region.

Each funding program is shown with the active projects for that funding program, and each

funding program is linked to the Manage Projects page, filtered by that funding program.

The second section of the dashboard is the Staff Activity report, which lists all the users in the

region and their names, their login IDs (email addresses), and their last login date. This data is

sorted by Name. All other fields are sortable by clicking the column name.

The third/final section of the dashboard is summary of demographics and leveraged funds data.

It shows a summary of the total population served, minority population served, low income

population served, percentage of low income population served, and leveraged funding

received for all active projects. This data is aggregated for the user’s region.

To learn how to sort columns in the tables, see Sorting.

12

Dashboard for TAP Below is a sample view of the dashboard that will be displayed if you are a TAP and are not

granted permissions as a National or Regional manager.

This dashboard has four data sections.

The first section lists My Projects. It includes all the projects that the TAP created or owns, and

shows only active projects. Projects whose funding expires within the next 30 days and projects

with expired funding are indicated in red font. This data table is sorted by Project Name. All

other fields are sortable by clicking the column name.

The second section of the dashboard shows a list of projects with active tasks older than 6

months. This data table is sorted by Project Name. All other fields are sortable by clicking the

column name.

The third section of the dashboard shows a list of projects with pending leveraged funds

applications. This data table is sorted by Project Name. All other fields are sortable by clicking

the column name.

The fourth section shows a list of Funding Programs with their Quarterly report submission

deadlines, sorted by the Next Deadline field. This lists the funding programs with a count of

projects belonging to that funding program and the next deadline date.


13

Enrolling a New Project

A project is a unit of work supported by a funder within the constructs of a funding program.

Projects help to define, describe, and report on the technical assistance you provide. A project

assists one or more communities and is supported by a funding program or a succession of

funding programs. A single project can span multiple years.

To enroll a new project,

1. Click on Add Project in the DCS Modules menu or

2. Click on the button in the Dashboard.

RCAP DCS 2.0 features a “wizard” or “assistant” for to help you enroll a new project. The wizard

is a user interface that leads you through a series of steps that must be completed in order to

create and save the project in the database. In order to save a new project in the RCAP DCS 2.0

database, you will need to complete all five steps of the wizard: Details, Demographics, Contacts,

Tasks, and Save. Each step is under a separate tab. Note that, if you leave this wizard without

completing all steps, your work will not be saved. Also to protect your work, use the Next and

Previous buttons to navigate back and forth through the wizard.

The Add Project wizard helps you set up a new project with the minimal structure. After

you’ve enrolled the project, you will be able to edit it; identify additional outcomes and

assistance types; set up tasks, subtasks, and activities; and record your work

accomplishments in the Edit Project page (see Updating a Project).

Each step in the wizard is described below.

Details In this step, you provide the baseline details of the new project. All fields on this page are

required fields; you will not be able to move to the next step until all required fields are

completed.

Enter information for each field as described in the table below, working your way down from

top to bottom. This is because available options in some dropdown boxes are dependent on the

selections you make in the previous dropdown box.

Project Details Fields and Descriptions

Field Name Description Required?

Initial date The project enrollment date, the date work on the

project begins. The initial date of the project must

occur on or after the start date of the funding

project.

Yes

14


Funding program The name of the funding program that supports this

project. One funding program may be in effect for

many years. Conversely, a project may be funded by

more than one funding program in succession;

you'll find more info on the Edit Project page.

Yes

Outcomes One or more results or end products expected of

this project. Because the desired outcomes are

established by the funding program, this dropdown

box will list no options until you select the funding

program. Click the checkbox next to one or more

outcomes that apply to your project in the

dropdown box. Possible outcomes are

Compliance w/ State & Fed Regulations

Financial Sustainability

Improved Coordination Among

Communities

Improved Environmental Health

Improved Public Health

Increased Managerial Capacity

Yes

Assistance type The primary type or types of work to be done on

this project. The assistance types relate to the

outcomes; this dropdown box will list no options

until you select one or more outcomes in the

dropdown box above. Click the checkbox next to

one or more assistance types relevant to this work,

or click on Check all to select all assistance types. A

complete list of assistance types and their

definitions is provided below.

Yes

Infrastructure type Select the primary type of system being supported

through RCAP's assistance on this project. The list of

infrastructure types is always the same and is not

dependent on any previous selections. Infrastructure

types are

Drinking Water – Drinking water

infrastructure

Waste water – Sewer, septic, or other

infrastructure (a.k.a. Clean Water

infrastructure)

Water/Waste – Both water and wastewater

infrastructure in the same project

Individual well

Yes

Is this tribal? Choose Yes or No to indicate whether the

population served by this project is tribal. If you

choose Yes, a dropdown box will appear, where

you'll choose the level of recognition for this tribal

entity. Once you've selected the level of recognition,

Yes

15


or if you clicked No, you will be able to move to the

next step in the wizard.

Tribal type (visible only

when Is this tribal? is

checked)

Select the highest level of government that

recognizes the tribe. Tribal types are

Federal – Federally recognized Indian tribal

State – Tribe recognized by the state, but

not the Federal government

Other – Tribe recognized by other

government, but not state or Federal

government

Self-identified – Tribe not recognized by

Federal or state governments, but does self-

identify

Yes

Assistance Types and Definitions

Assistance Type Definition

Community and Leadership

Development

Focused on leadership development, outreach,

community organizing, or other activities designed to

improve community residents' abilities to make informed

decisions

Compliance and Environmental

Health

Assistance aimed at developing strategies for complying

with regulatory rulings and environmentally related

health issues

Emergency Preparedness,

Response & Recovery

Assistance focused on helping a community recover

from or prepare for natural or other environmentally or

human-caused disasters

Facilities Development Assistance to secure new facilities, or for substantial

expansion or renovation of existing facilities

Management and Finance Assistance to meet managerial and financial capacity

guidelines, usually directed at system managers and

directors of existing systems, as well as assistance to help

set up management systems, bookkeeping, budgeting,

rate setting, financial reporting, etc.

Operations and Maintenance Assistance aimed at improving the day-to-day operation

of the system, including diagnosis of operational

problems/processes and operator training

RCAP Loan Fund Loans provided from an RCAP region's revolving loan

fund to a community or other entity

Short Term Project Assistance provided to a community to resolve a specific

short-term problem or meet a particular need. Long-

term onsite assistance is not contemplated (best for fee-

for-service contracts)

16


Source Water Protection For projects whose sole purpose is to protect drinking

water supplies

Next step => Once you’ve entered all required information, click on the

button at the bottom right of the wizard to move to the next step. If you missed any of the

required fields in this step, the wizard will return you to the Details tab, with a list in red text at

the bottom, indicating the missing data.

Demographics In this step, you identify the demographics of the population served in this project.

Demographics are retrieved from the U.S. Census database, based on the zip code(s) you enter.

This is a two-step process:

1. Provide one or more zip codes within the geographical area served, using commas to

separate multiple zip codes, then click on the button. DCS checks the

database and returns a list of towns, cities, and other communities in those zip codes.

This list contains pertinent information, most importantly the PlaceId, which is the key

parameter that is passed to the U.S. Census website to retrieve demographics.

You cannot enter zip codes from two or more states. All zip codes you enter

must be in the same state.

2. From this list, click the checkbox for every town, city, or community assisted by your

project, then click on the button.

When the demographics data is returned, you can change any of the data as you think

necessary, based on your familiarity with the community. (If you need to revert to the U.S.

Census demographics, just click the Get Places button again.) The demographics fields are

described in the table below.

Demographics Fields and Descriptions


Total population

served

Number of members of the community who

will directly benefit from the work of this

project. When modified, both low-income and

minority percentages also change.

Yes

17


Low income

population

Number of people who are at or below the

poverty level as retrieved from Census data or

survey.

Yes

Minority

population

Number of people in the target population who

are not identified as white or one-race (or white

alone) in the Census race category.

Yes

Tribal population Number of all people in the target population

who are identified as tribal.

No

Number of

households

From Census, income survey, or other source

for population served.

Yes

Persons per

household

Average number of people in each household.

From Census or income survey.

Yes

Median income The income amount that divides the income

distribution for the target population into two

equal groups, half having income above that

amount, and half having income below that

amount. Derived from Census data or income

survey.

Yes

Primary county Primary county (or counties) for the project

places.

Yes

Primary

Congressional

district

The primary congressional district wherein the

project is being implemented.

Yes

Next step => All the demographics fields except Tribal population are required fields. Once the

demographics fields are populated, click on the button at the bottom right of

the wizard to move to the next step.

If you missed any of the required fields in this step, the wizard will return you to the

Demographics tab.

If you need to return to a previous step, click on the button at the

bottom right of the wizard.

Contacts All contacts are globally managed in DCS 2.0. That means that, no matter where a new contact

is created, he or she will be added to the centralized Contacts database and the contact

information will be available to all users. In fact, anyone can edit a contact’s information (with

the exception of RCAP staff contacts; RCAP staff info can only be edited with proper permissions

on the Manage Users page).

18

Each project requires at least one contact each for community POC and RCAP staff. As the

creator of this project, you are added by default as RCAP staff; you should see your name under

Contacts added to the project.

For other contacts, you can either search for existing contacts or you can add new contacts.

SEARCH FOR EXISTING CONTACT

It’s a good idea to search to see if your contact is already in the database. To do this, select a

state, select a contact type, or enter the contact’s first or last name.

You can enter only a state or contact type to initiate a search. But you cannot search on a

contact’s first or last name alone; you must also select a state or type in conjunction with

a name.

After selecting/entering your search criteria, click on the button. All contacts meeting

your search criteria are displayed in a table, showing the name, contact type, and city of each

contact returned.

To select an existing contact, click on the green plus sign . The contact’s name will appear

under . A relationship between the contact and the

project has now been established.

ADD A NEW CONTACT

If you’re sure your project contact is not already in the database, click on the by clicking the Add

New Contact icon.

A series of fields for entering the contact info is displayed in the right column. Enter as much

information as possible about the contact. The contact info fields are described in the table

below.

Contact Fields and Descriptions


Type The list of contact types is predefined. Make sure

your project has at least one Community contact

and one RCAP Staff contact.

Yes

First Name The contact’s first name Yes

Last Name The contact’s last name Yes

Title Title or position within the company, agency, or

organization

No

Organization Name of the contact's company, agency,

organization, or employer

No

Address 1 Line 1 of the contact's mailing address; street

number and name

No

19


Address 2 Line 2 of the contact’s mailing address; for instance,

room or suite number

No

City City where the contact resides or works No

State State where the contact resides or works No

Zip Five-digit zip code No

Website URL of a website associated with the contact No

Cell phone The contact’s 10-digit cell phone number, beginning

with the area code. Enter the 10 digits of the phone

number without punctuation (i.e., dashes,

parentheses). The number will be formatted

automatically.

Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

Office phone

Ext.

The contact/s 10-digit office phone number,

beginning with the area code. Enter the 10 digits of

the phone number without punctuation (i.e., dashes,


automatically.

The contact’s extension within the office telephone

system

Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

No

Email Email address Yes

When you’ve finished entering all the pertinent contact info, click on the button at the

bottom of the column.

Contacts are uniquely identified in the system by email address. When you try to save a

contact, DCS 2.0 will first check the database to make sure the email address you’ve

entered does not already exist. If it finds the email address in the Contact database, it

will pop up a message alerting you that the contact already exists. In that case, you will

have to conduct a search of the Contacts database and add the existing contact to the

project.

The system will notify you that the contact has been successfully added, and the new contact’s

name will appear under .

Next step => Once you’ve added a Community contact to the project, you can add another

contact if needed. When you’re satisfied with the list of contacts, click on the Next button at the

bottom right of the wizard to move to the next step.

If you failed to add a Community contact in this step, the wizard will return you to the

Contacts tab.

If you need to return to this or any previous step, click on the button at

the bottom right of the wizard.

20

Tasks Every project consists of a set of tasks to be performed. The set of tasks to be associated with

your project will be based on the assistance type you selected in the Details step.

The complete list of tasks and their definitions is provided in the table below.

Tasks and Definitions

Task Definition

Assist with Application:

Certificate of Convenience and

Necessity

Help utility apply for a CCN (certificate issued by an

agency granting a company authority to operate a public

service)

Assist with Application: Form

New Legal Entity or District

Help community/utility apply to set up a legal entity or

special district to conduct business

Assist with Application: Grant or

Loan Application

Assist with Application: Permits

or Licenses

Help community/utility apply for those permits or licenses

required for them to operate (NPDES, business licenses,

etc.)

Assist with Application: Rate

Increase

Help community/utility prepare supporting

documentation for and apply for a rate increase

Assist with Application: Water

Rights/Source Approval

Help community apply for permission to use a particular

water source, or ensure it has rights to water from source

Conduct Community Outreach:

Public Educational Materials

Produce printed or electronic materials to educate public

about issue related to utility


Public Meeting

Hold information session, town hall, forum, or other event

that is open to the public


Recycling Program Kickoff

Hold public event to celebrate the start of a new recycling

program and to promote the value of recycling


Stakeholder Group/Task Force

Identify motivated local leaders and form groups to get

input from cross-section of community

21

Task Definition

Develop/Update Plan: Asset

Management Plan

Prepare new or edit existing plan to help

community/utility manage its physical infrastructure in a

cost-effective way

Develop/Update Plan: Capability

Assurance Plan

Plan to demonstrate that the community has adequate

TMF capability to build a new system

Develop/Update Plan:

Community Development Plan

For communities looking at how environmental

infrastructure fits into broader community development

efforts


Corrective Action Plan

Plan that describes how a regulatory violation will be

remedied and justifies why this remedial method has

been chosen

Develop/Update Plan: Cross-

Connection Control Plan

Plan to manage or eliminate actual or potential

connections between a potable and non-potable water

supply


Disaster/Debris Management

Plan

Review community’s vulnerability to disaster and consider

their response, specifically in handling debris issues


Emergency Response Plan

Plan that describes the actions that a community water

system would take in response to various major events

Develop/Update Plan: Facility

Closure Plan

Plan that describes how a facility will be shut down and

how it will be managed after it has been closed

Develop/Update Plan: Financing

Plan

Plan that describes where the community/utility will get

funds, and how community/utility will pay back any loans


Integrated Solid Waste

Management Plan

Plan to prevent, recycle, and manage solid waste most

effectively to protect human health and the environment


Management Plan

Plan that describes the way the utility is organized as a

business (business plan)--governance, HR, etc.


Operations and Maintenance

Plan

Plan that describes technical operation of the utility and

preventive maintenance necessary to keep it operating

smoothly

22

Task Definition

Develop/Update Plan: Recycling

Plan

Plan to divert recyclables from the waste stream, collect

them, process them, and sell them

Develop/Update Plan: Regional

Collaboration Plan

Plan about how best to pursue regionalization/shared

services--can be for one community or many

Develop/Update Plan: Sampling

Plan

Plan to ensure that water samples are taken and tested

correctly


Watershed/Source Water

Protection Plan

Plan to protect the raw sources of drinking water from

potential sources of contamination (PSOCs)

Develop/Update Plan: Wellhead

Protection Plan

Pollution prevention plan to protect underground sources

of drinking water

Draw/Update Maps Help community build or update maps to identify assets

and/or threats to the water supply

Facilitate Construction:

Monitoring and Assistance

Ensure project is running smoothly, serve as a safeguard

against unscrupulous engineers/contractors

Facilitate Construction: New

Connections

Help the utility to get new customers hooked up to the

system

Facilitate Construction: Pre-

Construction

Planning/Budgeting

Help the community plan for and budget realistically for

an expansion, upgrade, or other construction project


Repair/Replace/Purchase

Equipment

Help community/utility purchase and install new

equipment or repair/replace outdated equipment

Facilitate Construction: Rights of

Way/Easements

Ensure that community/utility has the legal rights to the

property needed for the project

Make Recommendations:

Insurance Recommendation

Review insurance coverages and make formal

recommendations


Process Recommendation

Identify areas of concern in the treatment and distribution

systems and recommend solutions

Monitor Grant/Loan Funding:

Administer Grant/Loan

Administer the funds on behalf of the community (for

example, RCAP appointed as CDBG grant administrator)

23

Task Definition


Comply with Terms of Loan

Help community/utility to comply with terms of the loan,

including RD Letters of Conditions


Refinance Loan

Help community/utility refinance an existing loan

Negotiate/Establish Contract:

Inter-Municipal Agreement

Contractual agreement among many communities

(examples: regionalization, shared services, WARNs, etc.)


RFP/RFQ for Goods

Assist community through bidding process, including

writing request for proposals, soliciting bids, and

selecting vendor


RFP/RFQ for Services



selecting vendor


Source Water Contract

Contractual agreement in which one community/utility

purchases drinking water from another community/utility


Utility Management Contract

Contractual agreement for the utility to be operated

and/or managed by an outside entity


Waste Water Treatment

Contract

Contractual agreement in which one community/utility

pays another community/utility to collect and treat

wastewater

On-site Training: Board Training Training for board members of project community only (if

other boards invited, report under NPA System Trainings)

On-site Training: Community

Training

Training for public (including well owners) in the project

community only (if other communities invited, report

under NPA)

On-site Training: Operator

Training

Training for operator(s) of project community only (if

other operators invited, report under NPA System

Trainings)

24

Task Definition

On-site Training: Other Staff

Training

Training for non-operator staff of project community only

(if other communities invited, report under NPA System

Trainings)

Perform Analysis: ADA

Assessment

Help community/utility comply with the Americans with

Disabilities Act

Perform Analysis:

Attitudes/Interest Survey

Determine level of willingness/desire in community to

support and pay for needed improvements

Perform Analysis: Budget

Analysis

Analyze existing budget or establish a written budget

and/or projected future budgets

Perform Analysis: Energy Audit Analysis of energy usage for facility or operation and

identification of possible energy conservation

opportunities

Perform Analysis: Environmental

Assessment

Help to complete/review environmental assessment or

other environmental report

Perform Analysis: Feasibility

Study

Determine whether implementing new programs and/or

expanding is feasible

Perform Analysis: Hydraulic

Computer Analysis

Conduct hydraulic computer analysis on the transmission

and distribution system

Perform Analysis:

Hydrogeologic Survey

Study the subsurface hydrologic and geologic conditions

in an area or location and their impact on groundwater

supplies

Perform Analysis: Income Study Document the actual income level of

residents/households in the community

Perform Analysis: Infiltration

and Inflow Study

Determine the risks to the collection system and/or

treatment process caused by excess infiltration and inflow

Perform Analysis: Operations

and Maintenance Evaluation

Analyze and optimize policies and procedures in place for

the technical operation of the system

Perform Analysis: Pressure

Survey

Conduct pressure survey on the distribution system

25

Task Definition

Perform Analysis: Private Well

Risk Assessment

Perform Analysis: Rate Study Analyze existing rate structure, determine appropriate

rates, and/or make rate recommendation

Perform Analysis: Sanitary

Survey

Help community prepare for sanitary survey, conduct

sanitary survey, and/or correct deficiencies identified by

survey

Perform Analysis: Septic Survey

Perform Analysis: Source Water

Assessment

Analyze potential or existing sources of raw water and

evaluate their risk for contamination

Perform Analysis: System

Inspection

On-site inspection of the system's physical attributes or

interviews with utility staff about the system

Perform Analysis: Technical

Engineering Evaluation

Initial TMF Assessment Complete RCAP's proprietary TMF Assessment

spreadsheet and upload the completed Excel file into the

DCS

Perform Analysis: Vulnerability

Assessment

Perform Analysis: Waste

Characterization Study/Waste

Audit

Perform Analysis: Water Audit

Prepare Report: Consumer

Confidence Report

Help utility prepare and distribute Consumer Confidence

Reports

Prepare Report: Financial

Reports

Help community/utility prepare for, develop, and submit

required financial reports

Prepare Report: Monthly

Operational Report


required operational reports

Prepare Report: Other Reports Help community/utility prepare for, develop, and submit

other required reports

Prepare Report: State

Environmental Quality Report


required state environmental quality reports

26

Task Definition

Produce Materials:

Bookkeeping/Billing System

Work with community/utility to establish a billing and

bookkeeping system while keeping consumer records

private

Produce Materials:

Documentation

Assist community/utility to develop adequate

recordkeeping system and establish/maintain needed

written documentation

Produce Materials: Manuals Prepare manual for project community's use (if made for

general use, report as NPA Materials Produced)

Produce Materials: Public

Notices

Assist community to prepare public notices (e.g. boil

orders, etc.)

Produce Materials:

Publications/Tools/Training

Modules

Prepare guide, template, training module, or other tool

for project community to use (if made for general use,

report as NPA)

RCAP Plans: Annual Work Plan Plan for what RCAP region and community will

accomplish in specific 12 month period

RCAP Plans: TA Work

Plan/Community Service

Agreement

RCAP region's agreement with community outlining

terms of RCAP's assistance--spans whole life of project

Revolving Loan Fund: Award

Loan

Make a loan to a community/utility from one of the RCAP

region's loan funds

Revolving Loan Fund: Monitor

Loan Recipient

Monitor community/utility that has received loan from

RCAP region's loan fund to ensure repayments are made

Write/Update

Policies/Procedures: Job

Descriptions/Hiring

Draft, review, and/or amend community's personnel

policies and prepare/review written job descriptions for

all positions

Write/Update

Policies/Procedures: Managerial

Draft, review, and/or amend policies/procedures related

to management of utility (e.g. board policies, purchasing,

etc.)

27

Task Definition

Write/Update

Policies/Procedures: Operational

Draft, review, and/or amend policies/procedures related

to operation and maintenance of system (e.g. exercising

valves, etc.)

Write/Update

Policies/Procedures: Ordinances

or Bylaws

Draft, review, and/or amend community ordinances or

utility bylaws

Closing TMF Assessment Complete RCAP's proprietary TMF Assessment

spreadsheet and upload the completed Excel file into the

DCS

RCAP Plans: Project Service

Period

This task is a place to keep the narrative overview of the

project as a replacement for the Project Service Period in

DCS 1.0, but does not replace the need to also track

additional tasks on this list.

To select the tasks you will perform, click on the

button. A table will appear, listing all tasks associated with the project's assistance type. A

description is provided for each task in the list.

Some tasks include subtasks; click on the black triangle in the first column of a task to expand its

associated subtasks:

Click the checkmark for all tasks that you will be performing for your project community (you

can always add tasks later when updating a project). You must select at least one task. The first

and last tasks, Initial TMF Assessment and Closing TMF Assessment, respectively, are required

for every project; the checkmarks for these two tasks are grayed out and cannot be

unchecked.

You can also click on any of the subtasks to add them to your project. If you’ve selected a task

that has subtasks, you must select at least one subtask.

28

Next step => Once you’ve selected all tasks and subtasks relevant to your project, click on the

button at the bottom right of the wizard to move to the next step.

If you failed to add a task in this step, or if you failed to click on at least one subtask for

any selected task that has subtasks, the wizard will return you to the Tasks tab.

If you need to return to this or any previous step, click on the button at

the bottom right of the wizard.

Save You’ve arrived at the last step for enrolling a project.

You may provide the name of a referral for this project, although this is an optional field. Type

the name of the individual or agency who referred the community and/or project for assistance

in the Referral textbox. The textbox is not a required field and no data validation is performed.

The final step before saving is to give the project a name. RCAP's recommended naming

convention for projects is:

Community Name + 2-letter Infrastructure Type code + last 2 digits of the year (initial

date)

Click on the link to generate a name for your project following this

convention. Then click on the link to make sure the

project name does not already existing in the database.

If the project name already exists, DCS 2.0 will pop up an error message. Modify the name or

enter a different one.

29

Once you’ve completed this step, click on the button. Your project will be

enrolled. To update the project and record your work in accomplishing the tasks, click on

Manage Projects in the DCS Modules menu.

30

Managing Your Projects

Once you’ve enrolled a project using the wizard, you will have to access it through your projects

list; you cannot return to the wizard.

To access, edit, and record work in your projects, click on Manage Projects in the DCS Modules

menu. The table on your Manage Projects page shows all projects—active, completed, and

cancelled—for which you are the owner. In addition, depending on your role and the privileges

assigned to you, you may also have read/write or read-only access to other projects, for

instance, those of other TAPs in your region.

The table shows the name of the project, the funding program supporting it, the start date,

status, geographical area (zip codes) served, and the state in which the project is conducted.

Note also that a count of projects is shown in the bottom row of the table.

To view or edit a project, click on the icon in the first column to open the project editor and

follow the instructions for updating a project.


To learn how to filter the data in the table, see Working with Filters.

31

Updating a Project

You can view and edit a project by clicking on the icon in the Manage Projects page. This

opens the project editor.

You can update any project for which you are the owner. In addition, National Managers

have full read/write access to all projects, and Regional Managers have full read/write

access to all projects within their region. Restricted Managers may be explicitly granted

full read/write access or read-only access to all projects within selected states or regions.

The Edit Project page organizes all the data associated with a project into eleven tabs:

You can click on any of these tabs to see and update its associated data—unlike the Add Project

wizard, where you have to proceed through each step (or tab) in sequential order.

Each tab in the Edit Project page is described below.

Details This tab presents the details of the project as defined when the project was created. The fields

shown in the Details tab are described in the table below; the table also indicates whether and

how fields can be edited.

Project Detail Fields and Descriptions

Field Name Description Edit

Project name The name assigned to the project. The name usually

includes the Community Name, Infrastructure Type

code, and the two-digit year of the project creation.

Not editable

TAP The TAP user who created or who currently owns

the project

Can be changed by

National Managers

only, via Ownership

tab

Initial date The project enrollment date, the date work on the

project begins.

Not editable

Completion date The date the technical assistance work on this

project is completed.

Can be

added/changed on the

Status tab

Funding program The name of the project’s current funding program.

One funding program may be in effect for many

years; conversely, one project may be funded by

more than one funding program in succession.

Can be changed on

the Funding tab

32

Field Name Description Edit

Outcomes One or more results expected of this project. Not editable, but

outcomes can be

added by clicking on

the Add additional

outcomes or

assistance types

button

Assistance type The primary type or types of work to be done by the

TAP(s) involved with this project. The assistance

types relate to the outcomes.

Not editable, but

assistance types can

be added by clicking

on the Add additional

outcomes or

assistance types

button

Infrastructure type The primary type of system being supported

through RCAP's assistance on this project.

Not editable

Tribal Indicates whether the population served by this

project is tribal.

Not editable

Referral The name of the individual or agency who referred

the community and/or project to the TAP for

assistance.

Not editable

ADDING OUTCOMES AND ASSISTANCE TYPES TO A PROJECT

Outcomes that are within the parameters of the funding program can be added, and assistance

types corresponding to the outcomes can be added.

Click on the button to add outcomes

and/or assistance types. This pops up a new window, with the fields described in the table

below.

Outcomes and Assistance Types Fields and Descriptions

Field Name Descriptions Required?

Outcomes One or more results or end products expected of

this project. Because the desired outcomes are

established by the funding program, this dropdown

box will list no options until you select the funding

program. Click the checkbox next to one or more

outcomes that apply to your project in the

dropdown box. Possible outcomes are

Compliance w/ State & Fed Regulations

Financial Sustainability

Improved Coordination Among

Communities

Additional outcomes

not required

33

Field Name Descriptions Required?

Improved Environmental Health

Improved Public Health

Increased Managerial Capacity

Assistance type The primary type or types of work to be done on

this project. The assistance types relate to the

outcomes; this dropdown box will list no options

until you select one or more outcomes in the

dropdown box above. Click the checkbox next to

one or more assistance types relevant to this work,

or click on Check all to select all assistance types. A

complete list of assistance types and their

definitions is provided below.

Additional assistance

types not require

Select one or more outcomes first, in order to see available assistance types.

Remember that you will not be able to remove these outcomes and/or assistance types

once you’ve saved them.

Click on the button. You’ll see another popup indicating that the information was

saved successfully.

Updating the outcomes and/or assistance types on this tab creates a history record in

the History tab.

To close the Additional outcomes and/or assistance types window, click on the button in

the top right of the window.

Demographics This tab shows the demographics of the population served in this project, derived from U.S.

Census data or income survey (and possibly adjusted by you when you enrolled the project).

The demographics fields are described in the table below.

Demographics Fields and Descriptions


Total population

served

Number of members of the community who

will directly benefit from the work of this

project. When modified, both low-income and

minority percentages also change.

Yes

Low income

population

Number of people who are at or below the

poverty level as retrieved from Census data or

survey.

Yes

34


Minority

population

Number of people in the target population who

are not identified as white or one-race (or white

alone) in the Census race category.

Yes

Tribal population Number of all people in the target population

who are identified as tribal.

No

Number of

households

From Census, income survey, or other source

for population served.

Yes

Persons per

household

Average number of people in each household.

From Census or income survey.

Yes

Median income The income amount that divides the income

distribution for the target population into two

equal groups, half having income above that

amount, and half having income below that

amount. Derived from Census data or income

survey.

Yes

Primary county Primary county (or counties) for the project

places.

Yes

Primary

Congressional

district

The primary congressional district wherein the

project is being implemented.

Yes

Click on the button to revise the demographics of your project. Click on the symbol

to retrieve demographics from additional zip codes.

EDITING DEMOGRAPHICS

Clicking the button changes the read-only fields to text boxes. You can change any of

the data as you think necessary, based on your knowledge of the community served. The

following fields cannot be edited:

Persons per household. DCS 2.0 calculates this field by dividing the total population by

the number of households. Note that, if you change either total population or number

of households, the Persons per household field will change only after you save the

demographics.

Congressional district. This field cannot be changed after the project is enrolled.

When you’ve made your changes, click on the button. The textboxes will

revert to read-only fields and the button will revert to the button.

35

Editing the demographics this tab creates a history record in the History tab.

ADDING DEMOGRAPHICS FROM ADDITIONAL ZIP CODES

Clicking the symbol pops up the Add Zip Codes window. The zip codes previously entered

for the project are shown at the top of the window. Note that each occurrence of a zip code

represents a town, city, or other community assisted by the project; thus, you may see the same

zip code repeated here, because one or more communities have the same zip code.

Adding demographics to the project is a three-step process:

1. In the New zip codes textbox, provide one or more zip codes, using commas to separate

multiple zip codes, then click on the button. A list is displayed of all the

towns, cities, and communities in the zip codes previously entered as well as those in the

new zip codes.

The checkboxes next to towns, cities, and communities within previously selected

zip codes grayed out and cannot be unchecked.

This list contains pertinent information, most importantly the PlaceId, which is the key

parameter that is passed to the U.S. Census website to retrieve demographics.

You cannot enter zip codes from two or more states. All zip codes you enter

must be in the same state.

2. From this list, click the checkbox for every town, city, or community to be added to your

project, then click on the button. A list of demographics describing

the population—such as total population and number of households, minority and low-

income population—will be returned, in textboxes.

3. The demographics shown are aggregates of both the previously entered and the new zip

codes. Edit them as needed, then click on the button.

You’ll see another popup indicating that the information was saved successfully.

Adding zip codes to the project creates a history record in the History tab.

Adding towns, cities, or communities to the project does not change the name of the

project.

To close the Add Zip Codes window, click on the button in the top right of the window.

36

Status There are three possible project statuses: Active, Completed, or Cancelled. You can change the

project status to Completed or Cancelled on this tab.

Once a project is marked as completed or cancelled, the status cannot be changed back to

Active.

The status fields are described in the table below.

Project Status Fields and Descriptions


Current status The current status of the project. All projects are

automatically assigned a status of Active upon

project enrollment.

Read-only

Completion date This field will display as “N/A” until the project is

marked as completed.

Read-only

Note Enter a note as to why the status changed. Will

become part of the status history.

No

New status Upon project creation, the status is Active. The only

other options available are Cancelled and

Completed. The status cannot be changed back to

Active once you've cancelled or completed the

project.

To change the status to Completed, you must first mark all tasks as completed in the Tasks tab.

Once that condition is met and you change the project status to Completed in the New status

dropdown box, a date picker will be displayed. Select or enter the project completion date and

add a note, if desired, then and click on the button.

The project must be completed before or on the funding program's end date.

To cancel a project, select Cancelled in the New status dropdown box and click on the

button.

After you change a project’s status, a record will be created in the Status change history table at

the bottom of the Status tab and in the project history table in the History tab (although you

may have to refresh the page to see it there).

Parameters The number of water or waste water connections, or households in the case of solid waste

projects, in the community served by the work of the project, before as well as after completion

of the technical assistance. Whether or not the number of connections changes as a result of the

37

work of the project, it is important to enter both before and after numbers so that RCAP may

report to funders the number of connections served and added. Be sure to update these

numbers if you used estimates when you enrolled the project.

The parameter fields are described in the table below.

Parameters Fields and Descriptions


Before Number of connections (or households) before the

start of the project.

Yes

After Number of connections (or households) after the

completion of the project.

No

Click on the button. You’ll see another popup indicating that the information was

saved successfully.

Entering or changing the number of connections on this tab creates a history record in

the History tab.

Funding Multiple funding programs may be associated with a project that spans several years. However,

there can be only one active funding program; as a funding program expires, another funding

program can succeed it, but their timeframes cannot overlap.

The funding history table provides a record of every funding program associated with the

project, with the start date for the funding program (From), the date the funding ended (To),

and the date the funding program was added and the email address of the TAP who added it

(Modified By).

Each funding program has its own set of possible outcomes and related assistance types and

tasks. When you select a new funding program to replace an expiring one, you must select new

outcomes and assistance types for the project, based on the strictures of the new funding

program; the old outcomes and assistance types will be deleted to make way for the new.

However, and this is important, tasks and subtasks are not deleted, as you very likely have

reported work activities for those prior tasks. All that is preserved, but you will have the

opportunity to add tasks to your project. You can do that either here or in the Tasks tab.

Below the funding history table are the fields where you will enter the information for the new

funding program. These fields are described in the table below.

Funding program fields and descriptions


Change funding

program

Select the name of the new funding program. One

funding program may be in effect for many years.

Yes

38


Conversely, a project may be funded by more than

one funding program in succession. The period of

one funding program may not overlap the period of

a subsequent funding program.

Outcomes One or more results expected of this project.

Because the desired outcomes are established by

the funding program, this dropdown box will list no

options until you select the funding program. Click

the checkbox next to one or more applicable

outcomes in the dropdown box.

Yes

Assistance types The primary type or types of work to be done by the

TAP(s) involved with this project. The assistance

types relate to the outcomes; this dropdown box will

list no options until you select one or more

outcomes. Click the checkbox next to one or more

assistance types relevant to this work. For more

information, mouse over the name of each

assistance type in the dropdown box.

Yes

Start date for new

funding

Enter the date this additional funding program

begins.

Yes

End date for old

funding

Enter the date the prior funding program ended. Yes

After you select the new funding program, the Outcomes dropdown box will show the possible

outcomes for that program. Select one or more outcomes.

The Assistance types dropdown box will be populated only after you have selected at least one

outcome. The assistance types are described in the table below.

Assistance Types and Definitions


Community and Leadership

Development

Focused on leadership development, outreach,

community organizing, or other activities designed to

improve community residents' abilities to make

informed decisions

Compliance and Environmental

Health

Assistance aimed at developing strategies for

complying with regulatory rulings and

environmentally related health issues

Emergency Preparedness,

Response & Recovery

Assistance focused on helping a community recover

from or prepare for natural or other environmentally

or human-caused disasters

Facilities Development Assistance to secure new facilities, or for substantial

expansion or renovation of existing facilities

39


Management and Finance Assistance to meet managerial and financial capacity

guidelines, usually directed at system managers and

directors of existing systems, as well as assistance to

help set up management systems, bookkeeping,

budgeting, rate setting, financial reporting, etc.

Operations and Maintenance Assistance aimed at improving the day-to-day

operation of the system, including diagnosis of

operational problems/processes and operator training

RCAP Loan Fund Loans provided from an RCAP region's revolving loan

fund to a community or other entity

Short Term Project Assistance provided to a community to resolve a

specific short-term problem or meet a particular need.

Long-term onsite assistance is not contemplated (best

for fee-for-service contracts)

Source Water Protection For projects whose sole purpose is to protect drinking

water supplies

When you select an assistance type or types, the list of tasks associated with the

assistance types will be shown at the bottom of the page. Read more about this below.

You must also enter a completion date for the old (expiring) program and a start date for the

new funding program. The dates you select must meet the following rules:

The old funding program ends before the new program begins.

The old funding program end date comes after the old funding program’s start date.

Having made these selections, you can either

Save the information related to the new funding program without selecting the tasks,

or

Review and select appropriate tasks and subtasks associated with the new assistance

types at the bottom of the page before saving.

SAVE FUNDING PROGRAM INFORMATION WITHOUT SELECTING TASKS

After completing the funding program name, outcomes, assistance types, and date fields, click

on the button. A new history record is created in the funding history table, and the end

date is added to the history record for the previous funding program.

40

REVIEW AND SELECT TASKS AND SUBTASKS

After completing the funding program name, outcomes, assistance types, and date fields,

choose tasks and subtasks that apply to the new funding program. The list of possible tasks is

shown below the funding program fields and button.

A complete list of tasks and their definitions is provided in the table below.

Some tasks include subtasks; click on the black triangle in the first column of a task to expand its

associated subtasks:

Click the checkmark for all tasks that you will be performing for your project. You must select at

least one task. The first and last tasks, Initial TMF Assessment and Closing TMF Assessment,

respectively, are required for every project; the checkmarks for these two tasks are grayed out

and cannot be unchecked.

You can also click on any of the subtasks to add them to your project. If you’ve selected a task

that has subtasks, you must select at least one subtask.

After making all your selections, click on either of the two buttons on the page. A new

history record is created in the funding history table, and the end date is added to the history

record for the previous funding program.


Task Definition



Necessity


agency granting a company authority to operate a

public service)

41

Task Definition



Help community/utility apply to set up a legal entity

or special district to conduct business


Loan Application


or Licenses

Help community/utility apply for those permits or

licenses required for them to operate (NPDES,

business licenses, etc.)


Increase





Help community apply for permission to use a

particular water source, or ensure it has rights to

water from source



Produce printed or electronic materials to educate

public about issue related to utility


Public Meeting

Hold information session, town hall, forum, or other

event that is open to the public



Hold public event to celebrate the start of a new

recycling program and to promote the value of

recycling



Identify motivated local leaders and form groups to

get input from cross-section of community


Management Plan


community/utility manage its physical infrastructure

in a cost-effective way


Assurance Plan

Plan to demonstrate that the community has

adequate TMF capability to build a new system




infrastructure fits into broader community

development efforts

42

Task Definition





been chosen




connections between a potable and non-potable

water supply



Plan

Review community’s vulnerability to disaster and

consider their response, specifically in handling debris

issues



Plan that describes the actions that a community

water system would take in response to various major

events


Closure Plan

Plan that describes how a facility will be shut down

and how it will be managed after it has been closed


Plan

Plan that describes where the community/utility will

get funds, and how community/utility will pay back

any loans



Management Plan


effectively to protect human health and the

environment


Management Plan

Plan that describes the way the utility is organized as

a business (business plan)--governance, HR, etc.



Plan

Plan that describes technical operation of the utility

and preventive maintenance necessary to keep it

operating smoothly


Plan

Plan to divert recyclables from the waste stream,

collect them, process them, and sell them


Collaboration Plan




Plan

Plan to ensure that water samples are taken and

tested correctly



Protection Plan



43

Task Definition


Protection Plan

Pollution prevention plan to protect underground

sources of drinking water

Draw/Update Maps Help community build or update maps to identify

assets and/or threats to the water supply



Ensure project is running smoothly, serve as a

safeguard against unscrupulous engineers/contractors


Connections

Help the utility to get new customers hooked up to

the system


Construction

Planning/Budgeting

Help the community plan for and budget realistically

for an expansion, upgrade, or other construction

project



Equipment




Way/Easements

Ensure that community/utility has the legal rights to

the property needed for the project




recommendations



Identify areas of concern in the treatment and

distribution systems and recommend solutions




example, RCAP appointed as CDBG grant

administrator)



Help community/utility to comply with terms of the

loan, including RD Letters of Conditions


Refinance Loan





(examples: regionalization, shared services, WARNs,

etc.)


RFP/RFQ for Goods



selecting vendor

44

Task Definition





selecting vendor



Contractual agreement in which one

community/utility purchases drinking water from

another community/utility







Contract


community/utility pays another community/utility to

collect and treat wastewater

On-site Training: Board Training Training for board members of project community

only (if other boards invited, report under NPA

System Trainings)


Training

Training for public (including well owners) in the

project community only (if other communities invited,

report under NPA)


Training



Trainings)


Training

Training for non-operator staff of project community

only (if other communities invited, report under NPA

System Trainings)


Assessment

Help community/utility comply with the Americans

with Disabilities Act

Perform Analysis:





Analysis



45

Task Definition



opportunities


Assessment

Help to complete/review environmental assessment

or other environmental report


Study

Determine whether implementing new programs

and/or expanding is feasible


Computer Analysis

Conduct hydraulic computer analysis on the

transmission and distribution system

Perform Analysis:


Study the subsurface hydrologic and geologic

conditions in an area or location and their impact on

groundwater supplies




and Inflow Study


treatment process caused by excess infiltration and

inflow



Analyze and optimize policies and procedures in place

for the technical operation of the system


Survey



Risk Assessment




Survey


sanitary survey, and/or correct deficiencies identified

by survey


46

Task Definition


Assessment




Inspection

On-site inspection of the system's physical attributes

or interviews with utility staff about the system




spreadsheet and upload the completed Excel file into

the DCS


Assessment



Audit



Confidence Report

Help utility prepare and distribute Consumer

Confidence Reports


Reports

Help community/utility prepare for, develop, and

submit required financial reports


Operational Report


submit required operational reports

Prepare Report: Other Reports Help community/utility prepare for, develop, and

submit other required reports




submit required state environmental quality reports

Produce Materials:




private

Produce Materials:

Documentation




47

Task Definition

Produce Materials: Manuals Prepare manual for project community's use (if made

for general use, report as NPA Materials Produced)


Notices


orders, etc.)

Produce Materials:


Modules

Prepare guide, template, training module, or other

tool for project community to use (if made for general

use, report as NPA)



RCAP Plans: TA Work


Agreement


terms of RCAP's assistance--spans whole life of

project


Loan

Make a loan to a community/utility from one of the

RCAP region's loan funds


Loan Recipient

Monitor community/utility that has received loan

from RCAP region's loan fund to ensure repayments

are made

Write/Update


Descriptions/Hiring


policies and prepare/review written job descriptions

for all positions

Write/Update


Draft, review, and/or amend policies/procedures

related to management of utility (e.g. board policies,

purchasing, etc.)

Write/Update



related to operation and maintenance of system (e.g.

exercising valves, etc.)

Write/Update


or Bylaws


utility bylaws



the DCS

48

Task Definition


Period

This task is a place to keep the narrative overview of

the project as a replacement for the Project Service

Period in DCS 1.0, but does not replace the need to

also track additional tasks on this list.

Contacts All contacts are globally managed in DCS 2.0. That means that, no matter where a new contact

is created, he or she will be added to the centralized Contacts database and the contact




All contacts already associated with the project are shown in the Contacts tab. The Contacts

table gives the name of the contact, the contact type, and the contact’s city, state, and zip code.

Here’s what you can do in the existing contacts table:

Click on in the first column to see the contact type, title, full address,

phone numbers, website, and email address.

Click on the button in the second column to edit the contact information.

Click on the in the last column to remove the contact from the project.

Removing the contact here does not delete the contact from the DCS 2.0

database; it only removes the relationship between the contact and the project.

ADD A CONTACT TO THE PROJECT

To add a contact by clicking on the icon above and to the right of the table. This pops up

an Add Contact window. This window has two tabs: Existing and New.

Existing tab

It’s a good idea to search to see if your contact is already in the database. To do this, click on

the Existing tab, select a state, select a contact type, or enter the contact’s first or last name.



a name.

49

After selecting/entering your search criteria, click on the button. All contacts meeting

your search criteria are displayed in a table, showing the name, contact type, and city/state/zip

code of each contact returned.



a name.

To select an existing contact, click on the green plus sign . A popup appears, indicating the

contact has been added to the project. Click the to close the message and return to

the Add Contact popup window.

Click on the button in the top right of the Add Contact window to close the popup window

and return to the Edit Project/Contacts tab. The new contact should appear in the Contacts

table.

New tab

If you’re sure your project contact is not already in the database, click on the New tab.

You cannot create a new contact in this window for an RCAP staff member. Only a

manager with permissions to access the Manage Users page can create an RCAP staff

contact.

A series of fields for entering the contact info is displayed. Enter as much information as

possible about the contact. The contact info fields are described in the table below.






Yes




organization

No



No


number and name

No



No


50









automatically.

Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

Office phone

Ext.





automatically.


system

Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

No


When you’ve finished entering all the pertinent contact info, click on the button.

A popup appears, indicating the contact has been added to the project. Click the to

close the message and return to the Add Contact window.




will pop up a message alerting you that the contact already exists. In that case, you will

have to search for the contact in the Existing tab

Click on the button in the top right of the Add Contact window to close the popup window

and return to the Edit Project/Contacts tab. The new contact should appear in the Contacts

table.

Tasks On this tab, you record all the work you do to execute and complete the project. Every project

consists of tasks to be accomplished during the project period; some tasks may be further

divided into subtasks. Tasks and subtasks are predefined and are related to the assistance type.

The complete list of tasks and their definitions is provided in the table below.

51


Task Definition



Necessity


agency granting a company authority to operate a

public service)



Help community/utility apply to set up a legal entity

or special district to conduct business


Loan Application


or Licenses

Help community/utility apply for those permits or

licenses required for them to operate (NPDES,

business licenses, etc.)


Increase





Help community apply for permission to use a

particular water source, or ensure it has rights to

water from source



Produce printed or electronic materials to educate

public about issue related to utility


Public Meeting

Hold information session, town hall, forum, or other

event that is open to the public



Hold public event to celebrate the start of a new

recycling program and to promote the value of

recycling



Identify motivated local leaders and form groups to

get input from cross-section of community


Management Plan


community/utility manage its physical infrastructure

in a cost-effective way


Assurance Plan

Plan to demonstrate that the community has

adequate TMF capability to build a new system

52

Task Definition




infrastructure fits into broader community

development efforts





been chosen




connections between a potable and non-potable

water supply



Plan

Review community’s vulnerability to disaster and

consider their response, specifically in handling debris

issues



Plan that describes the actions that a community

water system would take in response to various major

events


Closure Plan

Plan that describes how a facility will be shut down

and how it will be managed after it has been closed


Plan

Plan that describes where the community/utility will

get funds, and how community/utility will pay back

any loans



Management Plan


effectively to protect human health and the

environment


Management Plan

Plan that describes the way the utility is organized as

a business (business plan)--governance, HR, etc.



Plan

Plan that describes technical operation of the utility

and preventive maintenance necessary to keep it

operating smoothly


Plan

Plan to divert recyclables from the waste stream,

collect them, process them, and sell them


Collaboration Plan



53

Task Definition


Plan

Plan to ensure that water samples are taken and

tested correctly



Protection Plan




Protection Plan

Pollution prevention plan to protect underground

sources of drinking water

Draw/Update Maps Help community build or update maps to identify

assets and/or threats to the water supply



Ensure project is running smoothly, serve as a

safeguard against unscrupulous engineers/contractors


Connections

Help the utility to get new customers hooked up to

the system


Construction

Planning/Budgeting

Help the community plan for and budget realistically

for an expansion, upgrade, or other construction

project



Equipment




Way/Easements

Ensure that community/utility has the legal rights to

the property needed for the project




recommendations



Identify areas of concern in the treatment and

distribution systems and recommend solutions




example, RCAP appointed as CDBG grant

administrator)



Help community/utility to comply with terms of the

loan, including RD Letters of Conditions


Refinance Loan


54

Task Definition




(examples: regionalization, shared services, WARNs,

etc.)


RFP/RFQ for Goods



selecting vendor





selecting vendor




community/utility purchases drinking water from

another community/utility







Contract


community/utility pays another community/utility to

collect and treat wastewater

On-site Training: Board Training Training for board members of project community

only (if other boards invited, report under NPA

System Trainings)


Training

Training for public (includes well owners) in the

project community only (if other communities invited,

report under NPA)


Training



Trainings)


Training

Training for non-operator staff of project community

only (if other communities invited, report under NPA

System Trainings)


Assessment

Help community/utility comply with the Americans

with Disabilities Act

55

Task Definition

Perform Analysis:





Analysis





opportunities


Assessment

Help to complete/review environmental assessment

or other environmental report


Study

Determine whether implementing new programs

and/or expanding is feasible


Computer Analysis

Conduct hydraulic computer analysis on the

transmission and distribution system

Perform Analysis:


Study the subsurface hydrologic and geologic

conditions in an area or location and their impact on

groundwater supplies




and Inflow Study


treatment process caused by excess infiltration and

inflow



Analyze and optimize policies and procedures in place

for the technical operation of the system


Survey



Risk Assessment



56

Task Definition


Survey


sanitary survey, and/or correct deficiencies identified

by survey



Assessment




Inspection

On-site inspection of the system's physical attributes

or interviews with utility staff about the system





the DCS


Assessment



Audit



Confidence Report

Help utility prepare and distribute Consumer

Confidence Reports


Reports


submit required financial reports


Operational Report


submit required operational reports

Prepare Report: Other Reports Help community/utility prepare for, develop, and

submit other required reports




submit required state environmental quality reports

Produce Materials:




private

57

Task Definition

Produce Materials:

Documentation




Produce Materials: Manuals Prepare manual for project community's use (if made

for general use, report as NPA Materials Produced)


Notices


orders, etc.)

Produce Materials:


Modules

Prepare guide, template, training module, or other

tool for project community to use (if made for general

use, report as NPA)



RCAP Plans: TA Work


Agreement


terms of RCAP's assistance--spans whole life of

project


Loan

Make a loan to a community/utility from one of the

RCAP region's loan funds


Loan Recipient

Monitor community/utility that has received loan

from RCAP region's loan fund to ensure repayments

are made

Write/Update


Descriptions/Hiring


policies and prepare/review written job descriptions

for all positions

Write/Update



related to management of utility (e.g. board policies,

purchasing, etc.)

Write/Update



related to operation and maintenance of system (e.g.

exercising valves, etc.)

Write/Update


or Bylaws


utility bylaws

58

Task Definition



the DCS


Period

This task is a place to keep the narrative overview of

the project as a replacement for the Project Service

Period in DCS 1.0, but does not replace the need to

also track additional tasks on this list.

Tasks and subtasks were first selected when the project was created; these tasks and any others

you’ve added since project enrollment are listed in the table on the Tasks tab. Here’s what you

can do in the table:

Click on the button in the first column to see any subtasks associated with the task

and mark subtasks as completed when you’re finished the subtask. You can also see

activities performed, add an activity, or mark an activity as completed.

Click on under the task name to see the definition of the task.

Click on in the second column to see records of changes to the

task status.

Click on the button to edit the task; that is, to change the task status and upload

documents as task output.

You can also add tasks or subtasks to this project by clicking on the

button.

COMPLETING SUBTASKS

After expanding a task by clicking on the button in the first column of the tasks table, you

will see a list of all subtasks selected for the task (not all tasks have subtasks). Record the

completion of a subtask by clicking on the white checkmark in the green circle, the first column

of the subtask row.

This creates a subtask status history record, showing the status as Completed, the date you

marked it completed, and your email address.

59

ADDING AND COMPLETING ACTIVITIES

An activity is the lowest breakdown of work, so you can begin recording your work by clicking

on in the row below the tasks and subtasks. An inline activity

editor opens.

A series of fields for entering the contact info is displayed in the editor. The activity fields are


Activity Fields and Descriptions


Activity Activity related to performing this task. Yes

Description Enter a brief description of the activity. No

Date Date you performed the activity. No

Hours Hours spent on this activity No

Select an activity from the dropdown box, provide details in the Description textbox, and select

or enter the date. You can optionally enter the number of hours you worked to accomplish the

activity. When finished, click on the in the bottom right of the activity box to save. The task

row collapses. Click on the in the first column of the task to expand it again; you should see

the activity, your description, date completed, and the completed status with your email address

and the date as recorded by the system in the Activity section of the task.

CHANGING THE TASK STATUS

To change the status of a task from Active to either Cancelled or Completed, click on the icon

to the right of the status to open a task editor above the table. A series of fields for entering the

contact info is displayed in the editor. The task status fields are described in the table below.

Task Status Fields and Descriptions


Task Name of the selected task. Not editable

60


Status Indicates the current status of the task. Yes

Start date Date the project was enrolled, unless updated with a

task status change.

Yes

End date Date you complete this task. No

Note Notation regarding the task status change. The

note will become part of the task history. You can

resize the textbox by dragging on the lower right

corner.

No

Add task output Add a file as the output of a task. The output is

required if the task to mark the task completed.

Required when the

task is marked as

completed.

Change the status to Completed or To mark a task as Cancelled, update the task start date if

needed, and add an end date. You can optionally provide details of your work in the Note

textbox.

To mark a task as Completed

You must upload a document as the task output before you can save. Click on

. The Upload File(s) window opens. The fields in the Upload File(s)

window are described in the table below.

Upload File(s) Fields and Descriptions


Category RCAP-defined list. Yes

Note Any comment or other note you want to add. No

File/Select Shows the file name after you have selected a file

for upload. Click the Select button to browse for the

file.

Yes

Select a category, add a note if desired, and click the Select button (or just click in the

File textbox) to browse for the file you want to upload. After upload, the filename will

appear. If you’ve uploaded the wrong document, click the button. When you’ve

uploaded your file, click the button., then click the button to

close the Upload File(s) window.

To mark a task as Cancelled

All that’s required is to change the status to Cancelled.

61

When you’re finished updating the task status, click on the button. The task status

editor closes and a new task status history record is added to the table. If you’ve uploaded a

document for task output, there will be a link in the last column of the table. Click on the

link to see the document. If you need to delete the document and replace it, simply

reopen the task, click on , and follow the procedures for uploading a file.

The newly uploaded file will replace the original file as task output.

ADDING TASKS AND SUBTASKS

When you click on the button in the Tasks tab, a window pop ups,

showing the predefined tasks that can be added to the project, based on the type of assistance.

The checkmark for all tasks that you’ve already added to the project are grayed out are grayed

out and cannot be unchecked.

Click on the button in the first column to expand the task to view any subtasks associated

with the task. Click on the checkboxes for any tasks and/or subtasks you want to add to the

project, and then click on the button below the table. A popup appears, indicating the

tasks/subtasks have been added to the project. Click the to close the message and

return to the Add Additional Tasks/Subtasks popup window.

Click on the button in the top right of the Add Additional Tasks/Subtasks window to close

the popup window and return to the Tasks tab. The new task should appear in the table.

Leveraged Funds This tab allows you to track information about leveraged funds for your project. Leveraged

funds are funds that you help to secure for the community served. For instance, if you

help the community complete and submit an application for a grant or loan, you would

want to record that accomplishment.

There are two parts to a leveraged funds record, the application and the award.

APPLICATION

When an application is submitted, select the funding source applied to, the date the

application was submitted, the amount requested, and the type of funding requested.

62

All fields are required. When you click on the Save button, a project leveraged funds

history record will be created and displayed in the Project Leveraged Funds History

table.

AWARD

When funding is awarded, you can update the application to record the award.

Click on the black arrowhead in the first column of the application row to open the

awards editor. Just below the application row, click on Add new award.

Enter the amount awarded, the award date, and the type of award, then click on the

green checkmark in the bottom right of the row to save, or click on the red X to clear

the fields and close the editor.

You can enter more than one award for each application—for instance, if both a grant

and a loan were awarded—but the total amount awarded cannot exceed the amount

applied for.

63

To upload the grant or loan application acceptance and award letter or to edit any

details of the application itself, click on the pencil icon in the second column of the

application row.

The text fields above the project leveraged funds history table are populated with the

application data. Update the information and save the changes by clicking on the

button.

Upload the grant/loan acceptance letter by clicking on the attach file link and

follow the directions to add Files.

History This tab shows the project history, including changes to the

Project status as recorded on the Status tab. Project status changes are also shown in the

history table on the Status tab of the Edit Project page.

Project ownership. Only national administrators can transfer ownership of a project to

another TAP.

Demographics. History records are created when you add new zip codes and

communities and when you manually edit the demographics.

The project history table shows the type of change (that is, which tab the change was made in),

any notes appended to the change, status (if the change was to the project status), and the user

who made the change as well as the date the change was made (as recorded by the system).

Files This tab allows you to attach files of information associated with your project. Files with any of

the following file extensions are allowed:

.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .txt, .csv, .jpg, .gif, .jpeg, .png

The file size can be no larger than 10 MB.

64

You can attach files to the project by clicking on the Add new file icon .

Files that you've uploaded from this tab are shown in the first table displayed. Click on the file

type icon in the first column to view the file.

If you have uploaded the wrong document or otherwise need to overwrite the document you

have uploaded, you can click on the small red “x” in the last column to delete the file.

Files that you've uploaded from other tabs, such as task outputs and grant/loan

acceptance letters, are shown in the second table displayed. Click on the Attached file icon

in the first column to view the file. To delete these files, return to the tab where they were

originally uploaded and upload a new file as a replacement.

Ownership (National Managers only) A project is normally "owned" by the person who created it. However, National Managers can

transfer ownership to another RCAP staff member; other roles cannot see this tab, although the

change in ownership will be recorded in the project history table shown in the History tab.

National Managers change ownership of the project by selecting an RCAP staff person in the

dropdown box, then clicking on Save. The name of the new owner will appear as the TAP on the

project details page and a record will be created in the History tab.

65

Managing Contacts

All contacts are globally managed in DCS 2.0. This means that, no matter where a new contact is

created, he or she will be added to the centralized Contacts database and the contact




To Add/Manage contacts, click on Manage Contacts in the DCS Modules dropdown

menu. From the Manage Contacts page you can search for an existing contact, add a

new contact and/or manage an existing contact. A summary table of existing contacts is

displayed on this page.

SEARCH FOR EXISTING CONTACT

It’s a good idea to search to see if your contact is already in the database. You can quickly

search all contacts by selecting a contact type or you can enter first name, last name, or email

address in the textbox and click .

The results of your search will be displayed in the table.

QUICK VIEW

To verify your contact search result, you may want to get a quick view of the information

pertaining to a contact. Click on the green plus sign in the first column to see the

corresponding contact's address, phone number, email address, and other contact info.

If you’re sure your contact is not already in the database, click on the Add New Contact icon

in the upper right section of the page.

A window will be displayed for entering the contact information as shown below.

66

Enter as much information as possible about the contact. The contact information fields are







Yes




organization

No



No


number and name

No



No








Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

67



automatically.

Office phone

Ext.





automatically.


system

Either a cell phone

number or office

phone number is

required

No


When you’ve finished entering all the pertinent contact information, click on the

button.




will pop up a message alerting you that the contact already exists.

The system will notify you that the contact has been successfully added, and the new contact’s

information will appear in the table.



68

Editing Contacts

Edit a contact by clicking on the pencil icon in the second column to open the contact

editor.

Any edits you make to a contact's information here will flow down to all projects,

funders, or funding programs with which the contacts are associated.

REMOVING CONTACTS

A contact cannot be completely removed from the DCS 2.0 database, but it can be

deactivated so that it no longer appears in the contacts table and in lists.

To deactivate a contact, click on the Deactivate icon in the last column of the

table.

69

Managing NPAs

A Non-Project Activity, or NPA, is any work activity that is not directly related to a

project and community. For example, attending a work-related conference or workshop

or conducting training on the RCAP DCS 2.0 system are examples of NPAs. Within DCS

2.0, NPAs are documented by adding and managing NPA records.

To add/manage NPAs, click on NPAs in the DCS Modules menu. From the NPAs page

you can add a new NPA or manage an existing NPA. A summary table of existing NPAs

(if any) is displayed on this page.

Adding a new NPA To add a new NPA, click on the button

An Add/Manage NPA wizard will be activated and will prompt you to enter the Type of

Activity for the NPA. Click on the field to display a dropdown menu of the Activity Types

that can be selected.

Once selected, the Type of Activity Field cannot be changed. If you have selected the

wrong NPA type, click on the blue arrow to the right of the field to reset the Type of

Activity Field.

70

Upon selection of the NPA type, a base set of fields that must be filled in to add the

NPA data will be displayed. The TAP field defaults to your name as the logged-in user.

To learn more about each field, mouse over the info icon to the right of the field.

Clicking on the Funding Source, State, and Type of Activity fields will reveal a dropdown

of possible selection choices. The following table provides a list of the possible fields

that may be displayed based on Type of Activity selected, a description of the data to be

entered into each field, and if that field is required if displayed.


Name of advisory committee Name of committee Yes

Start date The date when the conference/workshop

began

Yes

End date The date when the conference/workshop

ended

Yes

Name of conference/workshop Name of the conference, workshop, or

training

Sponsor Name of entity providing the conference,

workshop, or training

Certification achieved Type of certification awarded

CEUs Number of Continuing Education Units

awarded

71


Funding entity met with Name of the funding entity with whom

the TAP met

Yes

Funding entity contact Name of the person at funding entity

with whom the TAP met

Yes

Material distributed Name of the materials that were

distributed

Yes

Number distributed Number of copies of the material that

were distributed

Yes

Distributed to whom Who received the materials

Publication title Name of the materials that were

produced

Yes

Location of the materials Designation of where the materials are

saved

Name of NAWMA chapter Name of the chapter (e.g. Southern

California NAWMA)

Yes

Tribal members List of tribes affiliated with the NAWMA

Entity met with Name of the organization/entity with

whom the TAP met

Yes

Entity contact Name of person at organization/entity

with whom the TAP met

Yes

Name of conference Official name of the

conference/workshop presented

at/attended (Required)

Yes

Topic of presentation Brief overview of topic of

discussion/presentation

Yes

Number of people attended Size of the audience for the presentation Yes

Sponsor Name of entity sponsoring the

conference/workshop

Certification issued Type of certification(s) issued at the

training

CEUs issued Number of continuing education credits

issued to attendees

Topic of presentation Brief overview of the topic of

discussion/presentation

Yes

Number of board members

attended

Number of small-town board members

who attended the training

Yes

Number of operators attended Number of small-town utility operators

who attended the training

Yes

Number of utility staff attended Number of small-town utility staff who

attended the training

Yes

Certifications issued Type of certification(s) issued at the

training

72


CEUs Number of continuing education credits

awarded

Name of assisted entity Name of the recipient of the assistance

(community, agency, etc.)

Yes

Description of assistance Description of the assistance provided Yes

Conference start date Start date for the conference Yes

Conference end date End date for the conference Yes

Average pre-test score Average pre-test score Yes

Average post-test score Average post-test score Yes

Systems represented Number of systems represented Yes

After entering, at a minimum, all required fields, save the NPA record by clicking on the

Button. If you don’t wish to save the NPA, click on the button.

Individual activities that were performed to accomplish an NPA can also be recorded to

fully document the NPA. To record individual activities, first save the NPA. Then return

to the NPAs page to Edit the existing NPA. Instructions for editing an NPA are provided

below.

Editing an NPA

To manage/edit NPAs, click on NPAs in the DCS Modules menu. A summary table of

existing NPAs is displayed.

Additional details of an NPA can be seen by clicking on in the last

column.

This results in expanded details that look like this:

73

Click on again to collapse the window.

To edit the details of the NPA, click on the pencil icon in the second column of the NPA

row.

This will display the Add/Manage NPA wizard page. The NPA fields are populated with

data that has already been entered and saved from a prior save/edit.

74

Modify data in the fields and then click on the button to save your

changes.

Note: the only field that cannot be modified is the Type of Activity. If a change to the Type

of Activity is required, a new NPA record must be created.

To record or view any NPA-related activities, click on the black arrowhead in the first

column. This expands the NPA row to show any activities previously logged.

75

Begin recording your activities to accomplish the NPA by clicking on Add new activity in

the row below the NPA.

Select an activity from the dropdown box, provide details in the Description textbox, and

select or enter the date.

When finished, click on the green checkmark in the bottom right of the activity box to

save. Click on the red X to cancel and close the row.

76

After you save an activity, the row collapses. Again, click on the black arrowhead to

expand the row and view the activity. The activity can be deleted by clicking on the red

X in the first column.



77

Running Reports

The DCS 2.0 has numerous reports. Each of these reports are accessible to the user based on the

role the user belongs to. The following table gives a list of reports and roles having access to the

report. Apart from access, the data shown in each of the report is based on what the user is

entitled to. For example, a regional manager might have access to a particular report but he will

only see the data belonging to the user’s region versus a national manager can see the data

belonging to all the regions.

Each of these report have filters at the top of the page to narrow down the data. Once you

select the filter options and click on search button, you should see the data. All of these reports

have export features like export to excel, export to PDF or print capabilities.

Report Name Roles

Ad Hoc Report National Manager, Regional Manager, Restricted

Manager

EPA 1 Report National Manager, Regional Manager, Restricted

Manager

EPA 2 Report National Manager, Regional Manager, Restricted

Manager

HHS-OCS Report National Manager, Regional Manager, Restricted

Manager

NPA Detail Report All roles

Project Detail Report All roles

TAP Activity Report All roles

USDA Rural Development

(Technitrain) Report

National Manager, Regional Manager, Restricted

Manager

Ad Hoc Report The Ad Hoc report provides you with the capability to design your own report to meet specific

data requirements by filtering the data and by selecting the data fields you want displayed in

your report.

At least one filter must be selected. To see all records in the database, click on Check All in any

one of the dropdown boxes. Your filter selections will be listed above the results table when you

click on the Search button.

FILTERS

Filters Description

Funding entities Government agencies or other source that provide

financial support.

78

Filters Description

Funding programs Programs associated with funding entities that

provide financial support for projects and NPA.

Regions Groupings of U.S. states and territories designated

as regions by RCAP.

States U.S. states and territories wherein project and NPA

activities are performed.

Congressional districts U.S. Congressional Districts wherein project

communities are located.

Outcomes Results or end products of project work.

Assistance types The primary types of work done by TAPs on

projects.

Infrastructure types The primary types of system being supported

through RCAP's assistance on projects.

Tribal types The highest level of government that recognizes a

tribe.

TAPs Project owners. Technical Assistance Providers

providing technical support to rural communities

via projects and NPAs.

Project attachment types Shows all projects with uploaded attachments of

the selected type(s)

Project statuses Indicates whether projects are active, completed,

or cancelled.

Start dates Range of dates within which projects were

created.

End dates Range of dates within which projects were

completed.

FIELDS

Click on the checkboxes below for the fields that you want to see in your report. Each field will

be a column in the report. Project fields and Demographics are roll-ups for a number of fields.

Click on their checkboxes to see all the fields under those entries, or just check individual fields

as needed.

Fields

Project names

Funding entities

Funding programs

Places served

States

Regions

Congressional districts

79

Fields

Project statuses

Start dates

End dates

Infrastructure types

Outcomes

Assistance types

Tasks

Subtasks

Activities

Parameters

Leverage funds received

TAPs

Population

Low income population

Minority population

Households

Median household income

Tribal?

Tribal population

The report when run shows the filters selected to generate the report. The table is sorted on

Project Name (if one of your selected fields). Click on any column heading to sort on that

column. Export the report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header

row.



To learn how to export the report, see Exporting Data.

To learn how the table is labeled, see Table Query Identification

EPA 1 Report The EPA 1 report shows different views of data reported for all projects (active, completed, and

cancelled) and NPAs supported by a selected funding program. Selecting a funding program in

the dropdown automatically generates nine tables, or views, of data for that program.

This report has following tables.

80

Table 1. Project Demographics by Region: For each region, Table 1 sums key demographic

metrics and provides counts of projects, places, and states served by the selected funding

program.

The table shows all data sorted alphabetically by region. Click on any column heading to sort on

that column. You can export this report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective

button in the right corner of the header row.

Table 2. Leveraged Funds Awarded by Project: Table 2 provides details about leveraged funds

that have been received on projects supported by the selected funding program, with a total of

all amounts received.

Click on any column heading to sort on that column. You can export the report to Excel or to a

PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the right corner of the header row.

Table 3. Project Details: Table 3 provides details of projects within each region that are funded

by the selected funding program.

The records are grouped by region. The grouping bar, in the first header row of the table,

provides additional grouping functionality: reverse the sort order of the group by clicking the

arrowhead in the group button up/down; remove the grouping altogether by clicking the x in

the group button or by dragging the button off the table; and group by another field, such as

State, by dragging the column header into the grouping bar.

Click on the arrowhead in the first column to expand/collapse the records in a region. You can

export the report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the right corner

of the header row.

Table 5. Count of Projects with Active/Completed Tasks with Assistance Type “Compliance and

Environmental Health” by State with Regional Subtotals and with National Totals: For each

region, Table 5 provides counts of active and completed tasks, by state, for projects funded by

the selected funding program that provide assistance in compliance and environmental health.




the group button or by dragging the button off the table; and group by another field, such as

State, by dragging the column header into the grouping bar.

You can export this report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header

row.

Table 6. Funder Coordination NPAs Subtotaled by Region and with National Totals: For each

region, Table 6 shows details of TAP funder coordination that has been funded by the selected

funding program and reported as an NPA.

81




the group button or by dragging the button off the table; and group by another field by

dragging the column header into the grouping bar.

Click on the arrowhead in the first column to expand/collapse the records in the group. You can

export this report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the right corner

of the header row.

Table 7. Advisory Committee Participation NPAs Subtotaled by Region and with National Totals:

For each region, Table 7 shows details of TAP advisory committee participation that has been

funded by the selected funding program and reported as an NPA.








of the header row.

Table 8. Networking/Collaboration with Other Entities NPAs Subtotaled by Region and with

National Total: For each region, Table 8 shows details of TAP networking and collaboration that

has been funded by the selected funding program and reported as an NPA.








of the header row.

Table 9. Outcomes by State: Table 9 provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of the

number of projects funded by the selected funding program that address specific outcomes. The

states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The territories are listed in the

rightmost columns, also alphabetically.

You can apply a filter on the Outcomes column to narrow the results. The first row in the table

provides the filter. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter button to

82

choose how you want to apply the filter. For instance, enter "health" in the filter textbox, then

click on the filter button and select "Contains" to see only outcomes with "health" in their

names. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in the filter dropdown list. You can export the Outcomes

by State report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header row.

To learn how to sort the columns in the tables, see Sorting.

To learn how to filter the data in the tables, see Working with Filters.

To learn how to export the report, see Exporting Data.

To learn how the table is labeled, see Table Query Identification.

To learn about grouping in the tables, see Data Grouping.

EPA 2 Report The EPA 2 report shows different views of data reported for all projects (active, completed, and

cancelled) and NPAs supported by a selected funding program. Selecting a funding program in

the dropdown automatically generates eight tables, or views, of data for that program.


Table 1. Project Counts by Region: Table 1 provides counts of projects in each region and the

number of states within each region where projects are being conducted.

The table shows all data sorted alphabetically by region. Click on any column heading to sort on




that have been received on projects supported by the selected funding program, with a total of

all amounts received.

Click on any column heading to sort on that column. You can export the report to Excel or to a

PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the right corner of the header row.

Table 3. Projects Details (subtotaled by region and with national totals): Table 3 provides details

of projects within each region that are funded by the selected funding program.

Click on the arrowhead in the first column to expand/collapse the records in a region. You can

export the report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the right corner

of the header row.

Table 4. NPA Conducted Training Details: For each region, Table 4 shows details of training

conducted by TAPs that has been funded by the selected funding program and reported as an

NPA.

83






Click on the arrowhead in the first column to expand/collapse the records in a group. You can


of the header row.

Table 5. Funder Coordination NPAs Subtotaled by Region and with National Totals: For each

region, Table 5 shows details of TAP funder coordination that has been funded by the selected

funding program and reported as an NPA.








of the header row.

Table 7. Networking/Collaboration with Other Entities NPAs Subtotaled by Region and with

National Totals: For each region, Table 7 shows details of TAP networking and collaboration that

has been funded by the selected funding program and reported as an NPA.








of the header row.

Table 8. Outcomes by State: Table 8 provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of the

number of projects funded by the selected funding program that address specific outcomes. The

states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The territories are listed in the

rightmost columns, also alphabetically.



84



names. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in the filter dropdown list. You can export the Outcomes

by State report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header row.

To learn how to sort the columns in a table, see Sorting.

To learn how to filter data in tables, see Working with Filters.

To learn about exporting data, see Exporting Data.

To learn about grouping in tables, see Data Grouping.

To learn how tables are labeled, see Table Query Identification.

HHS-OCS Report The HHS-OCS report shows different views of data reported for all projects (active, completed,

and cancelled) and NPAs supported by a selected funding program. Selecting a funding

program in the dropdown automatically generates six tables, or views, of data for that program.


Table B. Project Demographics by State: For each state, Table B sums key demographic metrics

and provides counts of places served by the selected funding program.

The table shows all data sorted alphabetically by state. Click on any column heading to sort on



Table C. Places by State: For each state, Table C provides counts of places within various

population ranges and other key demographic metrics for projects served by the selected

funding program.

The table shows all data sorted alphabetically by state. Click on any column heading to sort on



Table D. Assistance Types by State: Table D provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of

the number of projects funded by the selected funding program that provide each type of

assistance. The states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The territories

are listed in the rightmost columns, also alphabetically.

You can apply a filter on the Assistance Types column to narrow the results. The first row in the

table provides the filter. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter button to

choose how you want to apply the filter. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in the filter dropdown

list. You can export the report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header

row.

85

Table E. Trainings by State: Table E provides summaries of aspects of training conducted by

TAPs that has been funded by the selected funding program and reported as an NPA.

You can apply a filter on the States column to narrow the results. The first row in the table



list. You can export the report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the

right corner of the header row.

Table F. NPAs by State: Table F provides counts of certain coordination and collaboration NPAs

that has been funded by the selected funding program.

You can export the report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the


Table G. Leveraged Funds by State: Table G provides counts, by state, of projects supported by

the selected funding program that have applied for and those that have received leveraged

funds.

You can export the report to Excel or to a PDF file by clicking on the respective button in the






NPA Detail Report The NPA Detail report provides details of non-project activities (NPAs). NPAs may include short-

term technical assistance not related to any project. The information recorded for an NPA may

differ, depending on the type of NPA. Thus, the report contains fields common to all NPAs—

such as date, TAP, funding program, location, number of TAP hours spent on the activity, and a

description—as well as custom fields—such as topic of presentation, number of attendees, and

test scores for a training NPA. In addition, any activities recorded by the TAP in relation to the

NPA are also shown, with a description and date.

You can use the filters below to narrow the results. To review all NPAs, select Check All in the

NPA Type, Funding Program, State, and TAP dropdown lists. To see a more restricted group of

projects, make individual selections in each of the dropdown boxes; however, you must check at

least one entry in each of the dropdown lists. Also be sure to set a date range for the report; by

default, it is set to the most recent six months. When you're finished, click on the Search button

to run the report.

86


Project Detail Report The Project Detail report provides details about one or more project's communities,

demographics, contacts, funding history, status history, outcomes activities, tasks, subtasks, and

leveraged funds applied for and awarded.

You can use the filters below to narrow the results. To review all projects, select Check All in the

Funding Program, State, TAP, and Project dropdown lists. To see a more restricted group of

projects, make individual selections in each of the dropdown boxes; however, you must check at

least one entry in each of the dropdown lists. When you're finished, click on the Search button

to run the report.

The report when run shows the selected filters to generate the report. To print the report, click

on the printer icon in the right corner of the header row. This will display a print preview; click

on the Print button in the upper right of the print preview page to display the printer dialog.

TAP Detail Report The TAP activity report details the activities recorded in DCS 2.0 by a selected TAP

during a specific date range. Activities include

Creating a project

Completing a project

Completing a task

Completing a subtask

Completing an activity

Recording a non-project activity (NPA)

The TAPs dropdown box shows all the TAPs whose work you are authorized to review:

National Managers – All TAPs

Regional Managers – All TAPs within region

Restricted Managers – All TAPS in regions or states for which explicit access has

been granted

TAP – Self only

By default, the dropdown list shows only active TAPs. To see a list of all TAPs, both

active and deactivated, click the checkbox next to the dropdown.

To run the report, select a TAP and a start and end date, then click Run.

87

The table shows all activities sorted by date, with most recent first. Click on any column heading

to sort on that column. You can also apply column filters to narrow the results. The first row in

the table provides the filters. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter

button to choose how you want to apply the filter. For instance, in the Hours column, you could

type a number such as 10, then click on the filter button and select "GreaterThan" to see only

activities that consumed more than 10 hours of the TAP's time. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in

the filter dropdown list. You can export the TAP activity report to Excel or to a PDF file by

clicking on the respective button in the right corner of the header row.




To learn about grouping in tables, see Data Grouping.


USDA Report The USDA Rural Development report shows different views of data reported for all projects

(active, completed, and cancelled) and training supported by a selected USDA funding program.

Selecting a funding program in the dropdown automatically generates six tables, or views, of

data for that program.


Table 1. Project Outcomes by State: Table 1 provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of

the number of projects funded by the selected funding program that address specific outcomes.

The states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The territories are listed in

the rightmost columns, also alphabetically.





names. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in the filter dropdown list. You can export the report to

Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header row.

Table 2. Assistance Types by State: Table 2 provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of

the number of projects funded by the selected funding program that provide each type of

assistance. The states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The territories

are listed in the rightmost columns, also alphabetically.

You can apply a filter on the Assistance Types column to narrow the results. The first row in the

table provides the filter. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter button to

88


list. You can export the report to Excel by clicking on the button in the right corner of the header

row.

Table 3. Infrastructure Type By State: Table 3 provides counts for each U.S. state and territory of

the number of projects funded by the selected funding program that address specific

infrastructure types. The states are listed in columns alphabetically by their postal codes. The

territories are listed in the rightmost columns, also alphabetically.

You can apply a filter on the Infrastructure Types column to narrow the results. The first row in

the table provides the filter. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter button

to choose how you want to apply the filter. To clear a filter, select NoFilter in the filter dropdown

list. You can export the report to Excel by clicking on the button at the right of the header row.

Table 4. Vulnerability Assessments/Emergency Response Plans by State: Table 4 shows the

number of projects funded by the selected funding program that provide vulnerability

assessments and emergency response plans. This table displays results for each state and

territory within which these tasks are performed; when there are no projects performing these

tasks, the state or territory is not represented in the table.

You can apply a filter on the States column to narrow the results. The first row in the table






that have been received on projects supported by the selected funding program.

You can apply a filter on any of the columns to narrow the results. The first row in the table

provides the filters. Type a key word in the filter text field, then click on the filter button to




Table 6. Trainings by State: Table 6 provides summaries of aspects of training conducted by

TAPs that has been funded by the selected funding program and reported as an NPA.

You can apply a filter on the State column to narrow the results. The first row in the table






89




90

Working with Tables

When working in DCS 2.0, much of the information is displayed in tables for easier viewing or

data access. Tables in DCS 2.0 have features that make manipulating the data in the table easy.

These features and how to use them are described below.

TABLE QUERY IDENTIFICATION

When reports are generated, selected filters and the report date are shown in the header of the

table for easy identification.

SORTING

In a report or table, the column name is used for sorting data. Click on the column name field

once to sort the data in that column in ascending (A-Z) order. A small triangle will appear below

the column name field to show the sort order (ascending – triangle points up or descending-

triangle points down).

Click on the same column name field again to change the sort order from ascending to

descending (Z-A). A third click on the same column name will turn off the sort order and return

the table to its original display state.

WORKING WITH FILTERS

Each table displayed in DCS 2.0, as well as some report tables, will have some column filters.

Columns that do have filtering can be identified by the filter icon next to a selection box

below the column name field.

91

To filter by that column, enter a value in the selection box and click on the filter icon .

A list of the filtering options will be displayed as follows:

Select the desired filtering option. On selection, the table will be redisplayed reflecting the

filtering option chosen as it relates to the value that was entered in the selection box.

For example using the sample table above, to filter the data to see only projects with the text

“Genesee” in the Project Name, enter “Genesee” in the selection box under the Project Name

column name field, click on the filter icon, and select Contains. The table will be redisplayed and

will contain only those projects with “Genesee” in the Project Name.

To remove the filter and return the table to its original state, click on the filter icon and select

the top most option, NoFilter.

DATA GROUPING

Some reports have tables with data groupings. For example, the EPA 2 report contains a table

of project details grouped by region that are funded by the selected funding program. An

example of this table is shown below.

92

The Grouping for this report is by Region as shown in the heading. The small triangle to the

right of “Region” indicates the sort order (in this case ascending order A-Z) for Region. Change

the sort order by clicking on the triangle as described in Sorting above. The X next to the

sorting triangle allows you to “turn off” the grouping. For example, if you click on the X in the

sample above, the data is no longer grouped by column, but rather Region becomes a data

column in the table as shown below.

To re-group by Region or by another field, click on the column header and drag it into the table

heading row where indicated.

When a table is first displayed, all rows of data are displayed/expanded. Click on the blue

triangle in the first/leftmost column to collapse the grouping. Click again on the triangle (now

black in color) to expand the grouping.

For numerical data that is summed to totals, there are Group subtotals at the end of each data

group as wells as a Grand total presented at the very bottom of the table.

EXPORTING DATA

Data in DCS 2.0 can be easily exported to the common file formats for manipulation in Microsoft

Excel or saved as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

93

By using the Ad Hoc reporting tool or creating one of the standard reports on the Reports

Menu, create the report as described in Running Reports. Export options for the report

(MS Excel and/or PDF ) are displayed in the upper right corner of the table.

Click on the appropriate icon to download the file or follow the browser instructions for saving

the file.

Some reports present data that is not specifically formatted and is not exportable to MS Excel.

These reports can be easily printed or saved as a PDF file by clicking the printer icon

In the upper right corner of the table. Follow the print dialog box instructions to print the data

or save to a PDF file.

Documents

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Data Collection ... · Project outcomes are new in DCS 2.0. Outcomes are the expected results of the project. The possible outcomes for a given