Preparing for PD: How to Find Help and Register for System Training
In addition to step-by-step guides and video tutorials that will be available online, users will have the opportunity to attend a series of system training courses — called RED U — for the Proposal Development (PD) module's rollout.
Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this blog post, changes were made to RED U’s course structure, which are now reflected here as of Oct. 7, 2025.
We’re committed to ensuring that users affected by the switch from PINS to RED’s Proposal Development (PD) module receive adequate training, guidance and resources throughout the transition.
In addition to step-by-step guides and video tutorials that will be available online, the RED Training Manager will lead a series of training sessions dubbed RED U — which will offer the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working in PD’s testing and training environment. For PD rollout, RED U will consist of the following courses:
RED U 202: Proposal Intake Form Completion
This course provides an introduction to creating a proposal in PD by completing the Intake Form. The course is intended for PIs who currently enter proposals into PINS.
RED U 203: Completing the Proposal Development Record
This course covers how to fill out the proposal Intake Form, then continues onto completing a proposal in PD, including budget basics. The course is intended for research administrators who are responsible for entering proposals into PINS.
RED U 204: Budgets in Proposal Development
This course continues building on concepts learned in RED U 203 by covering how to create a proposal budget in PD. The course covers how to enter budgets, edit budgets, and create subcontractor budgets.
Prerequisites: Completion of RED U 203 is required to attend RED U 204.
RED U 305: Proposal Approvals and Routing
This course covers how to approve a proposal in PD as a PI, research administrator, college resource officer, central office user, etc.
This training is for PIs and research administrators who currently approve proposals in PINS.
RED U 306: System-to-System (S2S) Proposal Submission
This course is for research administrators who plan to submit proposals via S2S submission or who are interested in learning more about this option in RED.
Prerequisites: Completion of RED U 203 and 204 is required to attend RED U 306.
RED U 307: Champion Introduction
This course introduces the roles and expectations of PD Champions, as well what Champions can expect from the RED implementation team.
NOTE: This training is for unit champions only.
If you’re unsure which RED U courses you should take, please refer to the table below:
| Course Title | Delivery Method | Duration | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| RED U 202: Proposal Intake Form Completion | Zoom | 45 min | PIs |
| RED U 203: Completing the Proposal Record | In-person and Zoom | 2.5 hrs | Research administrators |
| RED U 204: Proposal Budgets (Pre-requisite 203) | In-person and Zoom | 2 hrs | Research administrators |
| RED U 305: Proposal Approvals and Routing | Zoom | 30 min | Research administrators, PIs and other Approvers |
| RED U 306: S2S Proposal Submission (Pre-requisite 203 + 204) | In-person and Zoom | 1.5 hrs | Research administrators* |
| RED U 307: Champion Introduction | Zoom | 1 hr | Champions^ |
To attend RED U training sessions, you must register in advance so that our technical team can create a profile for you in our testing environment.
Each course will have an attendee limit, so please only register if you’re certain you can attend — and that you’ll need to begin working in PD during the current rollout cycle.
PD Champions will attend all RED U courses and be available as the first point of contact for questions and user support within their respective units.
Check the Research Education events calendar to see all currently scheduled RED U courses.
To learn more about PD’s phased implementation, please visit this webpage.
