PM for Research Projects · Available now

Keep research work and its evidence together.

Research project management here centers on a work package owned by a research organization and linked to a funded project. A package carries a record number, subject, due date, budgeted hours, owner, revision and lifecycle status.

Start now Download Proto

No per-user fees
Manual work is free
Configure it in Proto

OverviewActive Work Packages

Research Projects PM · Work packages

Active Work Packages

Work packages in one list

New work package

Work packages in view

Total budget hours

Planned

Active

Planned2

Participant recruitment protocolWetland restoration monitoring

23 Oct

Laboratory assay validationCommunity nutrition pathways

26 Oct

Add

Active2

Baseline survey developmentCommunity nutrition pathways

01 Nov

Interview coding frameworkSoil resilience field trial

12 Oct

Add

Review2

Water sample field collectionPublic transit equity review

03 Nov

Interim data analysisPublic transit equity review

12 Oct

Add

Participant recruitment protocolWork packages · WP-22630

Planned

OwnerElias Moreno

CounterpartyWetland restoration monitoring

Due at23 Oct

Budget hours11

Revision940

Evidence reviewWP-22630 · Participant recruitment protocol

An Independent Reviewer decides on the package revision and supporting evidence.

Waiting for Independent Reviewer

ApproveReturn

Example screen with sample data

Tables, ready to use: 10
Saved views: 12
Roles with set permissions: 6
Reports and dashboards: 8

Features

Research work in context

Every feature works on the same records. Pick one to see the screen your team works in.

Projects and organizations

Keep each funded project, research organization and staff membership tied to the work they own.

Organization
Funded project
Membership

Organizations
Projects
Team members
Users
Work packages

Explore projects and organizations

OverviewPackages Awaiting Review

Research Projects PM · Projects and organizations

Packages Awaiting Review

Acceptance waits for the research coordinator

New

Record number	Subject	Status	Revision	Owner	Due at
WP-87949	Participant recruitment protocol	Review	360	Leo Fischer	29 Oct
WP-17304	Baseline survey development	Review	800	Priya Nair	17 Oct
WP-82383	Water sample field collection	Review	90	Mina Varga	25 Oct
WP-13077	Laboratory assay validation	Review	100	Tomas Silva	11 Oct
WP-82149	Interview coding framework	Review	460	Sofia Haddad	28 Oct

6 of 6 records

Participant recruitment protocolWork packages · WP-87949

Review

Revision360

OwnerLeo Fischer

Due at29 Oct

Example screen with sample data

Work packages

Plan and follow the bounded unit of research work through review and acceptance.

Scope
Baseline
Review

Work packages
Projects
Organizations
Team members
Tasks
Review decisions

Explore work packages

OverviewMy Work Packages

Research Projects PM · Work packages

My Work Packages

Work packages

New

Record number	Subject	Owner	Status	Due at	Budget hours
WP-13195	Participant recruitment protocol	Amara Diallo	Draft	15 Oct	6
WP-75464	Baseline survey development	Priya Nair	Planned	17 Oct	9
WP-78095	Water sample field collection	Nadia Rahman	Active	27 Oct	12
WP-94056	Laboratory assay validation	Sofia Haddad	Review	12 Oct	16
WP-55172	Interview coding framework	Tomas Silva	Accepted	12 Oct	8

6 of 6 records

Participant recruitment protocolWork packages · WP-13195

Draft

OwnerAmara Diallo

Due at15 Oct

Budget hours6

Example screen with sample data

Tasks and hours

Keep dependent task lines and planned versus actual hours under the right work package.

Lines
Dependencies
Effort

Tasks
Work packages
Research milestones
Record attachments

Explore tasks and hours

OverviewTask Effort

Research Projects PM · Tasks and hours

Task Effort

Tasks

New

Parent	Line number	Task name	Planned hours	Actual hours	Due at
Interim data analysis	270	Finalize consent language	1	2	29 Oct
Interim data analysis	390	Pilot baseline questionnaire	7	10	19 Oct
Baseline survey development	750	Collect estuary site samples	11	11	11 Oct
Laboratory assay validation	910	Run assay control batch	5	5	03 Nov
Interview coding framework	380	Code first interview set	3	1	26 Oct

6 of 6 records

Finalize consent languageTasks · TSK-55814

ParentInterim data analysis

Line number270

Planned hours1

Actual hours2

Due at29 Oct

Example screen with sample data

Milestones and grants

Tie grant milestone submissions and completion evidence to the work package revision.

Submission
Decision
Completion

Research milestones
Work packages
Tasks
Record attachments
Review decisions
Organizations

Explore milestones and grants

OverviewSubmitted Milestones

Research Projects PM · Milestones and grants

Submitted Milestones

Approval waits for the independent reviewer

New

Status	Grant reference	Due at	Completed studies	Approval reference	Parent
Submitted	GRANT-2026-041	04 Nov	120	IRB-2026-114	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-052	19 Oct	230	IRB-2026-127	Participant recruitment protocol
Submitted	GRANT-2026-063	11 Oct	80	ETH-2026-038	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-074	02 Nov	140	ETH-2026-044	Water sample field collection
Submitted	GRANT-2026-085	27 Oct	70	IRB-2026-152	Laboratory assay validation

6 of 6 records

GRANT-2026-041Research milestones · RM-86860

Submitted

Due at04 Nov

Completed studies120

Approval referenceIRB-2026-114

ParentLaboratory assay validation

Revision200

Example screen with sample data

Evidence and review

Keep scoped attachments and independent decisions tied to a package revision.

Attachments
Review request
Decision

Record attachments
Review decisions
Work packages
Team members
Tasks

Explore evidence and review

OverviewEvidence Attachments

Research Projects PM · Evidence and review

Evidence Attachments

Record attachments

New

Parent	Title	Evidence type	Visibility	Uploaded at	Uploaded by
Baseline survey development	Approved study protocol	Ethics approval	Shared	18 Oct	Mina Varga
Baseline survey development	Consent form, version 3	Consent form	Shared	03 Nov	Leo Fischer
Laboratory assay validation	Field sampling log	Field log	Shared	13 Oct	Leo Fischer
Community findings workshop	Assay validation report	Lab report	Shared	14 Oct	Priya Nair
Interview coding framework	Interview codebook	Analysis memo	Shared	26 Oct	Nadia Rahman

6 of 6 records

Approved study protocolRecord attachments · RA-16672

Shared

ParentBaseline survey development

Evidence typeEthics approval

Uploaded at18 Oct

Uploaded byMina Varga

Example screen with sample data

Operations overview

See work package progress, task effort, reviews and operation exceptions across organizations.

Lifecycle
Effort
Exceptions

Operation receipts
Work packages
Tasks
Review decisions
Research milestones
Record attachments

Explore operations overview

OverviewOperation Exceptions

Research Projects PM · Operations overview

Operation Exceptions

Operation receipts

New

Parent	Action	Expected revision	Result state	Occurred at	Failure reason
Interview coding framework	Submit ethics packet	750	Failed	02 Nov	Ethics approval has expired
Water sample field collection	Approve field protocol	280	Needs review	17 Oct	Consent form version is outdated
Interim data analysis	Request data correction	390	Failed	03 Nov	Field log is incomplete
Participant recruitment protocol	Accept milestone evidence	310	Needs review	21 Oct	Assay controls are missing
Participant recruitment protocol	Record grant decision	260	Failed	11 Oct	Reviewer conflict is unresolved

6 of 6 records

Submit ethics packetOperation receipts · OR-25619

Failed

ParentInterview coding framework

Expected revision750

Occurred at02 Nov

Failure reasonEthics approval has expired

External referenceIRB-2026-114

Example screen with sample data

Process

From package plan to grant milestone

Work package to reviewed milestone ships ready to use. 2 steps need a named approval before the work moves on: Evidence review (Independent Reviewer) and Milestone approval (Independent Reviewer).

Drag a card to another stage, or focus it and use the arrow keys. It updates to match the stage.

Project scope

Link each package to its research organization and funded project.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630
Project scope
Package plan

Set the owner, due date, hours and task sequence.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630 · Package Owner
Package planBy Package Owner
Task execution

Record completed work and actual effort against the plan.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630 · Research Coordinator
Task executionBy Research Coordinator
Evidence review

Bring the package revision and supporting files to an independent reviewer.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630 · Research Coordinator
Evidence reviewBy Research Coordinator
ApprovalAn Independent Reviewer decides on the package revision and supporting evidence.
Milestone submission

Submit grant details against the supporting package.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630 · Grant Manager
Milestone submissionBy Grant Manager
Milestone approval

Record the reviewer decision before completion.

Participant recruitment protocolWP-22630 · Independent Reviewer
Milestone approvalBy Independent Reviewer
ApprovalAn Independent Reviewer decides whether the submitted milestone evidence can proceed.

Start with Package planning

Inside a record

References your team can verify

Open any work package to see its operation receipts, the roles that work on it, its process stages and its approvals on one page.

1
Record details
Owner, Counterparty, Due at and Budget hours.
2
Operation receipts
Each line is linked to this work package.
3
Who works on it
Admin, Research Coordinator and Package Owner, each with their own permissions.
4
Process stages
Project scope and Package plan, with the role that acts.
5
Approvals
Evidence review and Milestone approval, with who decides.

Active Work PackagesParticipant recruitment protocol

Research Projects PM · Work packages

Participant recruitment protocol

Wetland restoration monitoring · Planned

Log activity

Record details

OwnerElias Moreno

CounterpartyWetland restoration monitoring

Due at23 Oct

Budget hours11

Operation receipts

Participant recruitment protocol

Parent	Action	Expected revision
Interview coding framework	Submit ethics packet	750
Water sample field collection	Approve field protocol	280
Interim data analysis	Request data correction	390

Operation receipts: 6
Total expected revision: 2,510

Who works on it

AdminManage Organizations, Projects, team members, Users
Research CoordinatorManage work packages, Tasks, record attachments
Package OwnerManage work packages, Tasks, record attachments

Process stages

Project scope
Package planPackage Owner

Approvals

Evidence reviewIndependent Reviewer
Approved
Milestone approvalIndependent Reviewer
Waiting

Example screen with sample data

Approvals

Decisions tied to the right revision

OverviewApprovals

Research Projects PM · Overview

Approvals

Signed in as Independent Reviewer

Waiting for you

4 To review1 Overdue2 Decided todayOnly mine

0 selectedApproveReturn

RM-86860GRANT-2026-041
IRB-2026-114Requested by Admin
Submitted1dActions
RM-63146GRANT-2026-052
IRB-2026-127Requested by Admin
Submitted4dActions
RM-59499GRANT-2026-063
ETH-2026-038Requested by Admin
Submitted3dActions
RM-17671GRANT-2026-074
ETH-2026-044Requested by Admin
Submitted6dActions

Who approves what

	Decision	Approver
	Evidence reviewBring the package revision and supporting files to an independent reviewer.	Independent Reviewer
	Milestone approvalRecord the reviewer decision before completion.	Independent Reviewer
	Approve work packages, research milestones	Independent Reviewer

3 approval rules · set per role in Proto

Example screen with sample data

Who can approve what

Roles

A workspace for each role

Everyone opens Research Projects PM to the work that is theirs. Pick a role to see what it starts with.

Admin

Maintains organization membership and access to research records.

Manage Organizations, Projects, team members, Users
View work packages, Tasks, research milestones, record attachments, review decisions, operation receipts

Independent Reviewer

Decides whether a package revision and its supporting evidence can proceed.

This is the first screen this role sees.

OverviewSubmitted Milestones

Submitted Milestones

Research milestones · Independent Reviewer

Status	Grant reference	Due at	Completed studies	Approval reference	Parent
Submitted	GRANT-2026-041	04 Nov	120	IRB-2026-114	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-052	19 Oct	230	IRB-2026-127	Participant recruitment protocol
Submitted	GRANT-2026-063	11 Oct	80	ETH-2026-038	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-074	02 Nov	140	ETH-2026-044	Water sample field collection
Submitted	GRANT-2026-085	27 Oct	70	IRB-2026-152	Laboratory assay validation

6 of 6 records

Example screen with sample data

Grant Manager

Owns grant milestone submission and follows its decision trail.

This is the first screen this role sees.

OverviewSubmitted Milestones

Submitted Milestones

Research milestones · Grant Manager

Status	Grant reference	Due at	Completed studies	Approval reference	Parent
Submitted	GRANT-2026-041	04 Nov	120	IRB-2026-114	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-052	19 Oct	230	IRB-2026-127	Participant recruitment protocol
Submitted	GRANT-2026-063	11 Oct	80	ETH-2026-038	Laboratory assay validation
Submitted	GRANT-2026-074	02 Nov	140	ETH-2026-044	Water sample field collection
Submitted	GRANT-2026-085	27 Oct	70	IRB-2026-152	Laboratory assay validation

6 of 6 records

Example screen with sample data

Roles and permissions

Reports

See effort and review progress

Ask concrete questions about package progress, task effort, milestones and exceptions.

Overview

Research Projects PM · Overview

Research Projects PM dashboard

This quarter

Research milestones in view

Total completed studies

710

Submitted

Due at within 14 days

Work packages by status

How far records got this quarter

Stage	Reached	Step
Draft	45
Planned	18	40%
Active	5	28%
Review	1	20%

Budget hours by status

Sample totals per stage

2.0k0

-4000Draft

-6000Planned

2.0kActive

-3000Review

-1000Accepted

Example screen with sample data

All reports and dashboards

Who it's for

Built around funded research work

See how Research Projects PM fits your kind of team.

University research offices

Coordinate funded study work across research groups and independent review.

Research institutes

Follow multi-team research work from package plan to evidence decision.

Consortium research programs

Keep participating organizations and funded work packages distinct in a shared operating view.

Controls

Trace exceptions to their source

Each stage of work package to reviewed milestone names the role that acts and the status it records, so a change is never anonymous.

OverviewWork package to reviewed milestone

Research Projects PM · Process

Work package to reviewed milestone

Each stage, the role that acts and the status it records

Process stages

Approval steps

Roles involved

Tables touched

Package plan

Package Owner

StatusDraft → Planned

RecordsWork packages, Projects

Task execution

Research Coordinator, Package Owner

StatusPlanned → Active

Evidence reviewApproval

Research Coordinator, Independent Reviewer

StatusActive → Review

RecordsReview decisions

Work package to reviewed milestone

Start
Package planDraft → Planned
Work packages
Step
Task executionPlanned → Active
Research Coordinator
Approval
Evidence reviewActive → Review
Review decisions
Step
Package acceptanceReview → Accepted
Tasks
Approval
Milestone submissionDraft → Submitted
Grant Manager

Example screen with sample data

See each stage in detail

AI agent

Prepare the case with Proto

Use Proto to prepare research project records and bring decisions to the right people.

It can

Package Owner: Prepare a package plan, task lines and an evidence checklist for the owner to review.
Research Coordinator: Summarize packages in Review with their owner, due date and current revision.
Independent Reviewer: Bring the package, task progress and attachments together for a decision on a named revision.
Grant Manager: Prepare a submitted milestone case with its grant reference and supporting package context.

Stays with a person

The team decides scope, evidence visibility and acceptance.
A person independent of the package owner makes the review decision.
Grant references and external effects need the authority agreed during implementation.
Proto can organize the case and surface discrepancies; it cannot supply a human approval or make an external source authoritative by itself.

Set up an agent

agent · research projects pm

Show the work packages awaiting review for this research organization.

For this package, compare planned and actual task hours and list its evidence.

Prepare the milestone submission for the grant manager to check.

Trace this operation receipt to its parent revision and linked effects.

Proto can organize the case and surface discrepancies; it cannot supply a human approval or make an external source authoritative by itself.

Integrations

Connects to the tools you use

Set up connections through ERP.AI and Proto workflows, with every change logged.

Research Projects PM
Grant authority
External operation source
Identity

Data model

Your data, in tables you can change

Every record lives in a table you can see, extend and export. Add fields or whole tables in Proto.

Browse all 10 tables

10tables

Projects and organizations5
Work packages7
Tasks and hours4
Milestones and grants6
Evidence and review5
Operations overview6

Implementation

Roll out one team at a time

Start with one team and one process, then add the rest once the basics are running.

Organization and people
Create the active research organization, funded project and team members linked to platform users. Confirm time zones and ownership.
Package plan
Enter a package with a record number, subject, due date, budgeted hours and responsible member. Add task lines and inspect dependencies.
Evidence and review
Record task progress, attach evidence with deliberate visibility and have an independent reviewer decide on the current package revision.
Grant milestone
Add a milestone under the package with its grant reference, due date, completed studies and approval reference. Rehearse submission and decision.
Operations check
Open Operations Overview and investigate a review backlog item and an operation exception using the linked records.

Read the implementation plan

Pricing

$0per user

The base account and everyday work in the ERP.AI app are free, for every user.

No per-user or per-seat fees
Viewing, editing, approving and exporting records in the app is free
Pay only for machine work: API calls, imports, workflows and AI agents
Prepaid credits from $5. Purchased credits never expire

Pricing details

Machine work rate card Included per $1 of credit

Machine work rate card
Usage	Per $1
Record reads (list, filter, get)	20,000
Search or aggregate queries	4,000
Record writes	4,000
Imported or synced records	200,000
Workflow runs	2,000
AI agent runs	2,000
Scheduled jobs or webhooks	20,000
File uploads (MB)	2,000
CSV or PDF exports	100

FAQ

Questions, answered

Scope, rollout and pricing for Research Projects PM.

All questions

How do I get started?

Click Get started, then use Proto to configure PM for Research Projects for your business. Begin with one research organization, one funded project, a work package with dependent tasks, and an independent review of its evidence.

What is the main unit of work?

A work package identifies a bounded piece of research work with an owner, funded project, due date, budgeted hours, revision and lifecycle status. Tasks, milestones, attachments and decisions connect back to it.

How do I keep project ownership clear?

Link the package to its research organization and funded project, then assign an active team member from the correct organization. Use the package record number when discussing the work.

Can I compare planned and actual effort?

Yes. Task lines record planned and actual hours under a work package. Review the line details when the comparison changes a scope or acceptance discussion.

How are dependent tasks handled?

Each task can record predecessor information along with its line number and revision. The owner and coordinator should inspect the sequence before work begins and after a scope change.

Who decides whether evidence is accepted?

An independent reviewer records an Approve, Reject or Return decision with a reason against a package revision. The coordinator checks completed task progress before package acceptance.

How are grant milestones reviewed?

The grant manager submits a milestone linked to its parent package. The reviewer checks the grant reference, due date, completed studies, approval reference and supporting package revision before a decision.

Can evidence be shared selectively?

Attachments carry Internal or Shared visibility. Decide who can make that choice and review the setting when files are added or corrected.

What happens when an operation needs attention?

An operation receipt keeps its action, expected revision, result state and references. The analyst compares its linked effects and any agreed external source, then keeps a discrepancy visible for review.

Where can the team see the operating picture?

Operations Overview shows the package lifecycle, review backlog, recorded operations, planned versus actual task hours and exception queue across organizations.

Set up Research Projects PM your way.

Start free, then use Proto to change fields, steps and approvals before your team goes live.

Start now Download Proto

How to get started

Find your application

Keep research work and its evidence together.

Active Work Packages

Research work in context

Projects and organizations

Packages Awaiting Review

Work packages

My Work Packages

Tasks and hours

Task Effort

Milestones and grants

Submitted Milestones

Evidence and review

Evidence Attachments

Operations overview

Operation Exceptions

From package plan to grant milestone

Project scope

Package plan

Task execution

Evidence review

Milestone submission

Milestone approval

References your team can verify

Participant recruitment protocol

Participant recruitment protocol

Who works on it

Process stages

Approvals

Decisions tied to the right revision

Approvals

Waiting for you

Who approves what

A workspace for each role

Admin

Research Coordinator

Active Work Packages

Package Owner

Active Work Packages

Independent Reviewer

Submitted Milestones

Grant Manager

Submitted Milestones

Operations Analyst

Active Work Packages

See effort and review progress

Research Projects PM dashboard

Work packages by status

Budget hours by status

Built around funded research work

University research offices

Research institutes

Consortium research programs

Trace exceptions to their source

Work package to reviewed milestone

Prepare the case with Proto

It can

Stays with a person

Connects to the tools you use

Your data, in tables you can change

Roll out one team at a time

Organization and people

Package plan

Evidence and review

Grant milestone

Operations check

Machine work rate card Included per $1 of credit

Questions, answered

More Projects systems

Task & Kanban Board

Gantt Chart Planner

Resource Planning System

Timesheet Management

PM for IT Projects

PM for Construction

Set up Research Projects PM your way.

Your Privacy, Your Choice

Manage Your Cookie Preferences