Everyone in your organization agrees that you need to begin centralizing your grant management processes. Now the question is, who is responsible for driving and overseeing this shift?

Assembling a Central Grants Office with key roles is one of the first steps leadership needs to take to centralize funding management. The main goals of a Central Grants Office are to provide organizational leadership and oversight over grant policy, evaluation, and training as well as to provide expertise on grant management systems and to streamline processes. That is why you need to rely on those who can make and drive central decisions.

While it may vary by organization, some key personnel from your organization who should be leading your centralization include:

1. Grants Coordinator

The role of grants coordinator is crucial in the Central Grants Office because this individual will essentially be running the office by leading the push for standards, transparency, and compliance around grants. This role will own all grants-related tasks and activities, both in and out of the Office, and will ensure everyone involved is effectively collaborating and communicating.

2. Grants Accountant

To achieve full centralization, there needs to be communication and transparency between the Finance Office and the Central Grants Office. Consider including the grant accountant in the Central Grants Office to facilitate this interaction. This person will also work on financial reports.

3. An expert on ERP and Data

To truly centralize grant management processes, all vital data points need to be connected. That is why an expert on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and data should sit in the Central Grants Office so they can provide key leadership on existing financial tracking and integrations.

Further, the ERP expert will carry out decision-making across and between elements of the organization that rely on the ERP for implementing and tracking information related to Federal grant regulations.

4. Representatives from the key grant making agencies

Organizations need people in the Central Grants Office who can speak to current funding patterns, values, and risk – representatives from key grant making agencies.

This ownership is vital if an organization wants to achieve buy-in for their centralization plan.

5.  Representative from political or executive leadership

Despite how critical it is, an organization can only achieve centralization, as is the case with most big organizational pushes, if there is buy-in and expertise from leadership. Therefore, a representative from political or executive leadership who can advocate for and expedite initiatives is needed in the Central Grants Office.

After team members have agreed to play a role in the Central Grants Office, it’s time to begin centralization practices. To start off on the right foot, the Grants Coordinator should consider it priority number one to develop and disseminate a set of grant management standards to your organization.

Want to learn the two other pillars for centralizing your grant management processes? Check out AmpliFund’s ultimate guide to Grant Management Centralization.

The recent introductions and updates of new Federal grant regulations are focusing on themes such as transparency, performance, and compliance. To succeed in all these efforts, experts in the grants space are suggesting organizations focus on the more overarching concept of centralization.

This has led to organizations evaluating if and how they should invest in centralizing their grant processes to increase transparency, monitor performance, and maintain compliance.

Specifically, the debate of ad hoc processes versus formal centralization has emerged.

What Are Ad Hoc Grant Management Processes?

Ad hoc processes, or the management of grants on a case-by-case basis, may have been the primary grant management method in the past, but now, only a select few organizations can continue this practice without risking non-compliance.

Ad hoc processes could suffice for your organization if you:

a. Have very few awards to manage

b. Have a limited amount of funding complexity

c. Have one or fewer Federal awards in your grant portfolio

How Can an Organization Formalize Grant Management Centralization?

For most organizations, taking the time to institute formal centralization processes will be necessary to improve outcomes and comply with regulations.

In general, there are three main pillars that set the stage for formal centralization processes. Organizations who require formal processes should focus on:

1. Building out a Central Grants Office
2. Designing and disseminating an organization-wide set of grant standards
3. Ensuring all proper systems for tracking and monitoring awards are in place

Formalizing centralization also extends further than just implementing internal processes and adopting tools. If organizations want to fully formalize centralization, they must also:

• Be mindful of Federal legislation throughout the grant lifecycle
• Keep up to date on policy statements
• Have access to and the ability to post in public portals

Performance measurement is one of the practices your organization will need to centralize if you take the formal approach. To learn more about effective performance management, read AmpliFund’s latest blog on the topic.