Government agencies at various levels face similar challenges in managing grants without modern tools to help them through the process. Whether your agency is receiving the grant or you are the grantmaking organization, adopting an advanced grant management software solution can help your agency improve its internal workflows while remaining compliant with essential legislation.
What Does Grant Management Include?
Understanding what is included in grant management can help you redefine your processes for success. “Grant management” is an overarching term that includes all activities involved in creating and issuing grants. Effective grant management is critical for maintaining compliance with key legislation, keeping grantees accountable for their use of funds, and giving grantmakers and grantees a competitive edge when applying for future grants.
Many people are involved in grant management, and every one of them plays an important role in successfully completing the grant life cycle. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the most important individuals included in grant management processes:
Grantmaker: This is the organization that is awarding the grant. While the grantmaking leader can go by various titles, this individual will collaborate with other members in the organization’s leadership to set and achieve long-term goals.
Grantee: This title refers to the organization or individual who receives a grant. After the award stage, the grantee must communicate closely with the grantmaker and key regulators to report details on funding use and initiative progress.
Grant manager: Also known as a grant life cycle manager or grant administrator, this individual is a member of the grant-seeking organization who handles high-level management tasks such as tracking funds and verifying compliance with key regulations and grant requirements.
Grant writer: The grant writer is the grant-seeking organization’s storyteller, meaning they are responsible for writing compelling proposals that will improve the organization’s chances of receiving funding.
Legal advisor: This individual is a legal expert who ensures the grantmaking organization complies with all relevant laws and regulations.
Communications specialist: The communications specialist manages external communications for the grantmaking organization, such as announcements of new grant opportunities, press releases of grant awards and coordination with grant recipients.
Pre-award: In this stage, the grantmaking organization creates the grant opportunity and establishes key criteria and guidelines. It then solicits applications from other organizations and reviews them to determine the best fit.
Award: The grantmaking organization makes a decision and notifies applicants of their status. It creates a grant agreement for the grantee to sign, and then formally awards the funds to the proper recipient.
Post-award: After releasing the funds, the grantmaking organization monitors the grantee’s progress. Upon project completion, the grantmaker assesses the results and closes out the award.
The cycle then begins again when another opportunity to create a grant arises.
Common Challenges of Grant Management for Government Agencies
Whether it’s at the federal, state, local or tribal level, most governments face the same challenges in managing grants.
Outdated software: Many governments still use outdated and inefficient legacy software, often developed in-house. Without a centralized hub for all their data, these agencies can encounter data quality issues and access restrictions that cause inefficiencies.
Time restrictions: Government agencies handle many different responsibilities beyond grant management, which can cause leaders to prioritize other initiatives at the expense of their grant programs.
Scattered data: Without a common system that houses all their grant-related data, agencies can easily fall behind due to siloed data, human error and a lack of organizational visibility.
Poor communication: When all your key stakeholders use different communication channels, it can be difficult to send and receive important updates promptly. Consolidating communications into one system is essential for ensuring everyone stays up to date.
Extensive regulatory compliance: Government agencies must adhere to complex regulations when making and receiving grants, which is a time-consuming process.
Lack of proper internal controls: Without sufficient internal controls, governments with multiple departments and subrecipients can easily run into inefficiencies.
These challenges are often the direct result of sticking to inefficient manual or outdated digital processes. Switching to a modern solution can help you overcome these issues.
IntelliGrants® IGX Grant Management Software Features for Governments
Are you looking for a high-quality grant management system? IntelliGrants IGX may be the right solution for your agency.
With its cloud-based infrastructure, our platform provides a centralized hub that updates in real time so every member of your grant management team is on the same page. Our AI-enhanced grant management software solution can help your agency overcome challenges with efficiency-boosting features like:
Unparalleled flexibility: You can configure IntelliGrants IGX to fit your agency’s specific requirements, from branding to application templates. We also offer a pre-configured option, IntelliGrants IGXpress, for organizations with time and budget restrictions.
Intelligent automation: IntelliGrants IGX automates vital workflows, such as application review, to keep organizations moving according to schedule.
Advanced analytics and reporting: Grantmakers and grantees alike can use our powerful software to generate scheduled or on-demand reports that contribute to maintaining accountability and compliance management.
Streamlined compliance management: With the power of AI and effective document management at your side, you can use IntelliGrants IGX to improve your typical compliance management workflows. Our platform also complies with data security regulations like SOC 2 and HIPAA for simplified adherence.
User-friendly design: Our intuitive user interface requires minimal technical knowledge to operate, which can help you get your updated grant management program up and running faster.
Enhanced communication and collaboration: Keep stakeholders and grant management team members up to date without leaving the platform. In-system alerts, message templates, collaborative spaces and real-time document editing capabilities enable you to work with anyone, on any device, from anywhere with an internet connection.
Streamline Your Agency’s Grant Management Workflows With IntelliGrants IGX
At IGX Solutions, we develop grant management tools that keep stakeholders connected across various organizations and industries. With decades of experience working alongside numerous kinds of agencies, we can help you and your staff determine which of our solutions meets your needs best. Our highly flexible and scalable platform can help your agency manage grants better, whether you’re at the local, state, federal or tribal level.
We also provide our customers with implementation assistance and ongoing support, so you can rest assured knowing you have a reliable team behind you through the whole process. If you ever have questions or concerns, we’re just a phone call away.
Request your live demo today to see how IntelliGrants IGX can enhance your agency’s grant management activities.
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