Clone and archive opportunities

To prepare for a new cycle of applications while preserving past records, you'll need to:

  • Clone—or create new versions of—opportunities

  • Archive—or "file away"—old opportunities and applications

To clone and archive opportunities in bulk, see Perform cycle management.

To create an opportunity ready for new applications:

  1. Go to the Details tab of an opportunity.

  2. At the bottom of the page, select Clone Now. You'll be taken automatically to the new opportunity.

To reduce data entry, your system copies over most information from your original opportunity (i.e., questions).

After you've cloned your opportunity, you may need to perform the following tasks:

  1. On the Details tab:

    1. Fill in all date fields (Start Date, End Date, Begin Review Period, etc.).

    2. Review the Opportunity Description.

  2. On the Questions tab, make sure that your old questions are still applicable.

  3. On the Qualifications tab, review qualifications (especially for date-related information).

  4. On the Communications tab, review all applicant communications for outdated information.

Once you archive something, you cannot un-archive it. For more on the benefits of archiving opportunities, see Request cycle management.

To archive ended opportunities:

  1. Go to the Details tab of an opportunity.

  2. Under Dates, find Archive Date.

  3. Enter a date for the system to archive your opportunities.

    Note: If you enter a past date or today's date, the system will archive your opportunity as soon as you save your changes.

  4. Select Update Opportunity.

Archiving is a permanent and irreversible process. Make sure you don't need to make any changes to your opportunity.

Tip: For more on working with archived opportunities, see Access archived information.

If your system uses renewable awards, you'll have a slightly different workflow for cloning and archiving opportunities:

  • For initial opportunities (apply-to or auto-match): Clone and archive following the instructions above

  • For renewal opportunities:

    • Archive by putting a date in the Archive Date field

    • Since your system automatically creates new renewal opportunities at the Start Date of a Disbursement Period, you don't have to worry about cloning renewal opportunities

Tip: Before archiving a renewal opportunity, move every application into a disbursing, deferring, or canceling category. For more details, see Renewal application categories.