Deadline Reminders

Deadline Reminders (type: deadlines) are date-driven alerts designed to ensure you never miss a critical funding deadline. Unlike other alert types that scan for new information, Deadline Reminders track specific dates and notify you with enough lead time to take action.

The frequency for Deadline Reminders is automatically set to daily to ensure timely notifications as deadlines approach.

How It Works

You select the opportunities you want to track and configure how far in advance you want to be reminded. The system checks daily whether any tracked opportunity is within your configured reminder window. When a deadline enters the window, you receive a notification with the opportunity details and time remaining.

Each notification includes an LLM-generated summary that recaps the opportunity details and outlines what actions you should be taking at that stage of the timeline.

Setting Up a Deadline Reminder

1. Navigate to Smart Alerts from the ArkSearch submenu.
2. Click Create Alert and select Deadline Reminders.
3. Configure the reminder:
   • Opportunities -- Search for and select the specific funding opportunities you want to track. You can add multiple opportunities to a single reminder.
   • Reminder days -- Choose how far in advance to be notified. Standard options are:
     • 7 days before deadline
     • 14 days before deadline
     • 30 days before deadline
     • Custom -- Set any number of days
   • You can select multiple reminder intervals to receive a sequence of notifications as the deadline approaches.
4. The frequency is automatically set to daily (this cannot be changed for deadline alerts).
5. Save the reminder.

What You Receive

Each notification displays deadline-specific results:

• Opportunity title -- The name of the funding call.
• Estimated end date -- The submission deadline.
• Months remaining -- A clear statement of how much time you have left.
• AI-generated summary -- A recap of the opportunity, including key eligibility criteria, budget, and suggested actions for your current stage of preparation.

Best Practices

• Layer your reminder intervals. Set a 30-day reminder for initial planning, a 14-day reminder for draft completion, and a 7-day reminder as a final check. This creates a natural workflow rhythm that aligns preparation effort with the approaching deadline.
• Track recurring programmes. Many funding programmes publish calls on an annual or biannual cycle. Set reminders for the expected publication window of the next call so you can begin preparation early, even before the official call text is published.
• Combine with New Opportunity alerts. Use New Opportunity alerts to discover relevant calls, then set up Deadline Reminders on the ones you decide to pursue. This two-step approach ensures you both discover and act on opportunities.
• Include the whole team. If multiple people are working on a proposal, make sure key team members have their own deadline reminders configured, or use shared notification channels to keep everyone aligned.