Grant management is critical for charities, nonprofits, councils, government agencies, and other organisations that receive and distribute funds to support philanthropic initiatives, as well as research.
It’s a comprehensive process that ensures grants are used effectively to achieve their intended outcomes, and it encompasses all activities involved in the application for grants, and their allocation, monitoring, and reporting.
An efficient grant process ensures that funds are allocated appropriately, projects are completed on time, and all stakeholders are kept informed throughout the entire grant cycle. It involves meticulous planning, coordination, and oversight to ensure compliance and to maximise the impact of the grant.
This article explores the stages of the grant lifecycle and the importance of using specialised grant management software for best results.
What Are the Grant Management Stages?
Effective grant management is essential for funders to ensure that their financial resources are used efficiently and effectively. Understanding the stages of grant management allows them to support applicants throughout the grant lifecycle and maximise impact. The process is typically divided into three main stages: pre-award, award, and post-award.
1. The Pre-Award Stage
The pre-award stage is critical for establishing a clear framework for funding opportunities and guiding potential applicants. Key activities that take place at this stage are as follows.
Identifying Funding Opportunities
Funders should clearly define their mission and funding priorities. This involves researching areas where financial support is needed and identifying opportunities that align with organisational goals. For example, a funder may focus on education, health, or community development, ensuring that their resources are directed toward initiatives that reflect their values.
Developing Application Guidelines
Creating comprehensive and transparent application guidelines is essential for ensuring a positive experience for grant seekers, helping them understand expectations and improve the quality of submissions. These guidelines should outline eligibility criteria, required documentation, and evaluation metrics.
Outreach and Engagement
Funders should actively engage with potential applicants through informational sessions, workshops, and webinars. Providing resources and support during the application process can enhance the quality of proposals and develop a collaborative relationship with the community.
2. The Award Stage
Once applications have been submitted, the award stage begins, whereby proposals are evaluated and recipients selected.
Application Review
Funders conduct a thorough review of submitted applications to ensure they meet eligibility criteria and align with funding priorities. This process often involves a panel of experts who assess the quality and feasibility of each proposal.
Award Notification
Successful applicants are notified of their award status, along with the terms and conditions of the grant. Clear communication during this stage is vital for setting expectations and ensuring that recipients understand their responsibilities.
Grant Agreement
The formalisation of the award occurs through a signed agreement that outlines the obligations of both the funder and the recipient. This serves as a legal contract that governs the use of funds and establishes accountability.
3. The Post-Award Stage
The post-award stage is where funders focus on monitoring and supporting the implementation of funded projects. This phase is essential for ensuring that funds are used appropriately and that projects achieve their intended outcomes.
Project Oversight
Funders should establish mechanisms for regular oversight of funded projects. This may involve site visits, progress meetings, and ongoing communication with grantees to ensure that projects are on track and aligned with the original proposal.
Financial Management
Funders need to monitor how grant funds are managed by recipients. This includes reviewing financial reports and ensuring that expenditures align with the approved budget.
Monitoring and Reporting
Funders typically require recipients to submit regular progress reports detailing project outcomes, challenges, and expenditures. This not only keeps them informed but also helps recipients reflect on their progress and make necessary adjustments.
Closeout
The closeout stage marks the project’s completion. Key activities include:
- Final evaluation: Funders assess whether all project deliverables were met and the overall impact.
- Final financial reporting: Recipients must submit final financial reports that account for all grant expenditures, which helps funders confirm the proper use of funds.
- Grant closeout report: Funders may require a comprehensive final report from recipients that summarises the project’s outcomes, impact, and lessons learned. This can help inform future funding decisions.
The Importance of Grant Management Software
Managing grants manually is a complex, time-consuming, and potentially inaccurate process. Grant management software simplifies and streamlines this process by providing a centralised platform for managing all aspects of grant administration.
Here are some key benefits of using funding management software.
Efficiency and Time Savings
Grant management software streamlines many of the administrative tasks involved, such as proposal submission, budget tracking, and reporting. Efficiency is important not just for funders but for applicants as well, as 20% struggle with a lack of time and/or staff.
Software provides an online application management solution, helping grant makers process large volumes of applications with ease. Flexigrant, for example, has reusable application templates and question bank, saving time and eliminating the need for admins to start from scratch with each new scheme. Offer letter generation, email templates, and shortlisting tools save yet more time.
The best software solutions have comprehensive financial management tools, streamlining everything from budgeting to fund distribution and beyond.
Improved Accuracy and Compliance
Grants software ensures that all grant-related data is accurately recorded and stored centrally. This minimises the risk of errors and enhances compliance. Specific benefits include:
- Centralised data storage: All grant information, including documentation, financial records, and communications, is stored using a single cloud based solution, reducing the chances of data loss or misplacement.
- Compliance tracking tools: The software often includes features for tracking compliance with grant terms and conditions, such as reporting deadlines and required documentation, making it easier for awardees to meet funder expectations.
- Audit trails: Logs of actions taken within the system provide transparency and accountability, which are crucial for audits and compliance reviews.
Enhanced Collaboration
The centralisation provided by award management software improves collaboration among team members – and between internal and external stakeholders. From enhancing communication to enabling convenient document sharing, it ensures that everyone has access to the most up-to-date information and can work together more effectively.
Better Decision Making
With funding management software, organisations can easily access and analyse data related to their grant-funded projects. This provides valuable insights into project performance and financial management, enabling better decision-making and more effective allocation of resources in future.
Choosing the Right Grant Management Software UK Provider
Here are several key factors to consider when selecting a software provider.
- Functionality: Ensure the software offers a comprehensive set of features needed to manage your grants effectively – at every stage of the process.
- User-experience: Choose a solution that’s easy to use and navigate, and that provides user-friendly data visualisations for important information.
- Customisation: Look for software that can be customised to meet the specific needs of your organisation. This includes the ability to tailor workflows, reports, and dashboards to match your grant management processes.
- Integrations: Select software that can integrate with your existing systems and tools, such as finance and accounting systems. This eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and further streamlines workflows.
- Support and training: Choose a provider that offers comprehensive support and training to help your team get up to speed with the software. This includes ongoing technical support, user guides, and training sessions. The Flexigrant Community provides such resources and is a place to network with other grant management professionals.
Conclusion
Effective grant management helps grant makers direct their resources efficiently by reducing the amount of admin involved. Software features such as re-usable application templates, financial management tools, and cloud storage all help in this way.
The best grant tracking software helps you streamline activities at every stage of the grant lifecycle and improves collaboration among team members. It also enables data-driven decision making, which helps across the board, from measuring impact to minimising bias. Also, integration capabilities provide streamlined workflows throughout the grant management ecosystem.
Trusted by leading UK funders, Flexigrant provides a complete solution for all your grant management needs. To learn more or request a demo, contact us today.
