Administrators can add the Applicant-Driven Routing Steps section as an additional requirement to any place in the form. This area allows applicants to enter email address(es) of individuals that will be the first reviewers (i.e., approvers) on their submission.

Use the Applicant-Driven Routing Steps (ADRS) feature to automatically populate the review assignment(s) for the first routing step(s) of each application. 

• The reviewer listed in the step will be automatically assigned and notified upon submission of the application. 
• They will receive the email message from the Review Request email template, so you may want to edit that notification before collecting your first submissions.

Notes: 
- Enabling this feature will automatically accept applications into the review process.
- Administrators will not be able to return applications to applicants for edits, unless they specifically edit the Applicant-Driven step to be a Return for Revisions step, or add another Return for Revisions step later in their routing workflow.
- If applications need to be edited in an opportunity that uses ADRS and you don't want to return directly to the applicant for revisions, administrators can always edit on the applicant's behalf, or have them re-submit a new application.
- If an applicant enters an incorrect approver, administrators can delete the incorrect one and re-assign the correct approver.

Administrator Set Up (Requirements Page)

In the expanded toolbar on the left side, add by selecting Applicant-Driven Routing Steps as shown below.

Once added to the desired location in the form, the Settings panel immediately opens on the righthand side of the screen:

Default Configuration

1. Edit the field label to describe the overall section (optional).

2. Edit the description to provide more detailed instructions to the applicants (optional).

3. Enter the number of steps needed.

4. Fill in label(s).

Custom Configuration Example

Administrator Set Up (Routing Steps Page)

From the creation process, click Next or the Routing Steps button to configure the reviewer portion of the approvals.

Set up the step(s) like any other Routing Step, but some information will be set up for you:

A: Disable Accept or Return Applcation - This box will be checked and disabled, indicating that as applications are submitted, they will proceed directly to the approvers identified in the Applicant-Driven Routing Step(s) for each application.

B: Routing Step Name - Autofilled from label you entered on Requirements page. Leave as is.

C: Step Order - Set by order from the Requirements page. Cannot be edited.

D: Step Type - Prefilled as Approve/Do Not Approve but can be changed to any other routing step type. Consider:

• Form Designer Routing Step - If approvers need to fill out specific fields or upload files (e.g., letters) as part of their approval
• Return for Revisions Routing Step - To give the approver the power to return the application back to the applicant for edits.

E: Review Deadline - Because the review assignments are made as applications are submitted, a review deadline must be entered.

• If your process has defined review dates, leave as Specific Date and then pick a date prior to the next review step (e.g., a committee meeting date).
• If your process is rolling, choose Offset Date from the dropdown and then enter the number of days/weeks/months. The deadline will then be calculated based on when the application is submitted.

Finish configuring the rest of the routing step:

• Reviewer Instructions: Clarify what the approvers should do and how to look at the application (click the PDF button at the top to download or view on screen).
• Step Options: Read each to make sure the options are appropriate for your workflow. Note that multiple ADRS will be set to run concurrently by default.
• Routing Step Recap: This option is rarely used for ADRS because it would essentially email the approver back their own review comments in PDF form.

Applicant View

• The applicant will see a text field for each approver.
• They must enter one email address for each field.

Have more questions about this topic? Go to the Community Forum to pose the question to other users or submit a support ticket to InfoReady.