You implemented a grant management system several years ago, it was set up to mirror your process at the time, but now you want to reinvent that process and don’t know where to start. This is where Fluent Consultancy can add value.

Fluent Consultancy, based in London, is part of the Fluent family who are the creators of Flexi-Grant®. For over 6 years we have been busy developing Flexi-Grant® into the best grant management system on the market. During this time and after successfully implementing Flexi-Grant® for nearly 70 clients, we sensed a real need for bespoke services that offered support and advice to help funders ensure that their grant-making was effective and efficient, and really made a difference to the communities they serve. Our clients are helping to cure cancer, reduce homelessness and fund ground-breaking scientific, engineering and technological advances that will transform the world we live in. Helping them overcome the big challenges they are facing as funders in today’s climate is the aim of our new sister product, Fluent Consultancy.

Where did the idea come from?

Back in 2015, we spent time discussing the Grantmakers Information Technology Survey Report 2014 which highlighted staff retention and training needs as the biggest challenge in the grant giving industry. As a direct response to the challenges faced by the grant-giving sector, we re-focused our business model to develop a highly functional cloud-based software solution that was intuitive and easy to manage and maintain and did not require extensive training to be used by grants administrators.

Fast forward to 2018 and we wanted to take that one step further! Why not create consultancy services that could be delivered by experienced grant-makers who understand the realities of working in a fast-paced funding environment to help funders tackle the day-to-day issues they’re facing, whether they use software to manage their grant-making or not.

With that in mind, we established Fluent Consultancy, led by an experienced team who have worked at some of the world’s most prestigious grant-making organisations and have extensive knowledge of Flexi-Grant®, as well as other grants management systems.

What services do we offer?

Fluent Consultancy offers bespoke consultancy services to the grant giving sector, from charity and philanthropic foundations to public sector funding bodies. Our services can help you with everything from:

• Helping you build a requirements list for a new grant management system. Not just mirroring your current processes but looking at how you do things and suggesting new ways of improving and building a project scope based on experience and knowledge.
• Enabling you to build effective application and report forms which track and communicate progress to both key stakeholders and donors.
• Helping you monitor the progress of your awardees to ensure milestones and deliverables against expenditure are being effectively measured and captured.
• Developing a risk framework to produce appropriate due diligence and financial control checks.

Fluent Consultancy also offers a Grants Assurance Review aimed at those organisations that have large, complex processes and controls that would benefit from independent review and rigour, for the purposes of preparing for an audit or transformation of your grants programmes.

Furthermore, the consultancy offers a System Health Check service which is aimed at grant givers who want a quick review of their online processes, so we can recommend and even implement improvements.

Who delivers the services?

These services are led by Alexander Thomson who heads up Fluent Consultancy. With 10+ years’ experience in the science and health research management sector and a previous role as Head of Grants Operations at the Royal Society, he is in the ideal position to advise grant giving organisations on how best to manage large, complex grants.

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-thomson-ba81b569/

Dominika Panzer is our Senior Grants Consultant and has been working in the grant giving sector for the last 7 years. In her previous role as Grants Manager at mental health research charity MQ, she used Flexi-Grant® to manage and maintain a £10m global funding portfolio.

LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dominika-panzer-09880383

Both come to Fluent Consultancy with heaps of experience using Flexi-Grant® and a wealth of knowledge in the grant giving sector in the UK.

How can I get in touch to find out more?

Check out our Fluent Consultancy website for more information, use our contact us form to send a message directly to Alexander or Dominika or why not pop into our new London Bridge office for a chat over coffee.

Check out Fluent Consultancy on LinkedIn here.