Current Situation
Grant and research funds are managed by a central “research office” with limited and controlled access by research faculty members to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability. Education institutions are responsible for providing policy and procedural frameworks for the distribution of grant funding. As grants are typically from sponsoring or donating entities, such as government agencies, there is an urgent need to ensure the stringent standards of accounting and audit standards are applied. Currently, the ability to provide real-time progress reports to funding agencies/sponsors is challenging.
Goals and Objectives
Streamline management of grant and research funds while maintaining appropriate controls and commitments to track funded research programs; reduce the time and effort to apply for and administer grants; mitigate fraud and error in disbursements, making disbursement more aligned to the institution’s directives; improve performance tracking; and ensure visibility and accountability of outcomes.
Technology Deployed
Grants management software, enterprise software, financial information and management systems, asset and resources management systems, research KPI tracking and management systems, and AI
Use Case Summary
Good grant management is efficient, moving from paper-based to digital processes, effective and compliant, and flexible to respond changing and diverse requirements, supporting clear and timely reporting to funders, partners, stakeholders, grant seekers, and grant recipients. Accurate research funding information is available to researchers as needed, any time, any location. The process of research funding allocation is transparent, and each funding recipient can track spending, fulfilling research KPIs/objectives — all guided by research funding policies and compliance/governance processes set forth by the campus administration.