Reporting & Dashboards

Understand PII and Reporting Permissions

How Personally Identifiable Information (PII) relates to reporting permissions in FORWARD Direct. Use it when you need to choose the right report type and assign the right role so sensitive data is handled in the correct, segregated areas of the portal.

When Should I Use This?

Use PII and reporting permissions when you need to:

Add a report and decide whether it should include PII or not (for example, a Payment schedule - overall NON-PII report vs. Payment schedule - overall PII report).
Assign staff the correct role for report access (for example, PII-Viewer).
Confirm your program has the required administrative coverage (for example, at least one Process-Admin).

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open Program Team in the Admin Portal.
Click +New (or New) to add a team member.
Enter the user’s details (email, first name, last name) and select their Organization (if prompted).
In Select Role(s), assign the role(s) the user needs for their work (examples include Process-Admin, Finance, and PII-Viewer).
Click Save to add the team member.
When building reports, open the “Add report” window and review the SELECT THE REPORT options (these report types include both PII and non-PII choices).
In the same Add report flow, go to SELECT THE ROLE (see User Roles) and choose the correct role for the report you are adding. The guide notes PII-Viewer is the most common role selection for reports.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assigning Program-Manager to staff. The guide states this role is used solely to create programs, is AUTOSET by the system, and do not assign it.
Adding a report without selecting the correct role in SELECT THE ROLE. The guide instructs you to “Select the correct role for each report needed.”
Treating PII and non-PII reports as interchangeable. The guide lists both Payment schedule - overall NON-PII report and Payment schedule - overall PII report, and notes the PII version is sensitive and used by finance or compliance teams.

Best Practices for FORWARD Direct Users

Ensure every program has at least one Process-Admin. The guide states: “Each program MUST have at least one Process-Admin.”
If your program collects or reports PII, ensure at least one PII-Viewer is assigned. The guide states: “Each program should have at least one PII viewer if the information is collected or reported out.”
Use the SELECT THE REPORT list to pick the report that matches your need (for example, Application PII Data Report for detailed PII in a structured format, or Application Data Report for general application submission fields).

FAQ

What is a PII-Viewer in FORWARD Direct?

A PII-Viewer “manages sensitive materials” and can access aggregate materials that include PII “within the program in segregated areas of the portal.”

Which role is most commonly used for reports?

In the SELECT THE ROLE instructions, the guide notes: “PII-Viewer is the most common.”

What’s the difference between “overall NON-PII” and “overall PII” payment schedule reports?

The guide lists both report types. It adds that Payment schedule - overall PII report combines payment scheduling data with PII elements and is “Sensitive and used by finance or compliance teams.”

Should staff be assigned the Program-Manager role?

No. The guide states “no staff should ever be ASSIGNED this role,” and that it is “AUTOSET by the system, do not assign.”

What report should I use for auditing or secure PII handling?

The Application PII Data Report is described as providing detailed PII data for submitted applications in a structured format and is “Used for auditing or secure data handling.”