Fujitsu wins grants management deal with Industry Dept

news Fujitsu has won a deal to build and implement an end-to-end grants management system for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

Based on the Fujitsu Grants Management solution, the new system will comprise of a public portal powered by Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and will deliver a total management solution for the department’s Business Grants Hub.

The Department of Industry delivers an array of grants and services to businesses, some on behalf of other Federal Government departments.

“The Department is currently undertaking a programme of work to transform the way it connects with and supports businesses so that our services are easier to find and understand, quicker and easier to access, and more tailored to business needs,” said Clive Rossiter, General Manager at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

“A key part of this is a digital end-to-end grants management solution that will enable us to streamline how we deliver grants, making it easier for our customers,” he said.

Fujitsu Grants Manager, already deployed in various private sector organisations internationally, is being delivered using an “agile methodology”, the firm said.

It will secure workflow-based registration, application, assessment, award, payment and associated management processes.

The benefit of the solution, Fujitsu said, will be a reduction in the delay between a grant’s application and its being awarded, as well as a providing management with a clearer view of grant statuses, results and outcomes.

Other benefits of the solution include:

• Validating data as it is entered to ensure a greater number of applications can be processed at first attempt.
• Detail and summary reporting on the status of funds and funding is available in real time.
• All activities, decisions and modifications to grants data are recorded throughout the grants lifecycle and are easily be accessed for audit and compliance purposes.
• The application can be integrated with other systems such as finance, email and document management.
• The portal can be implemented with any existing backend grants system.
• Solutions can be easily modified even once in place to allow for changes in processes or legislation without significant rework.

“We view this engagement with the Department as a long-term strategic partnership,” said Steve O’Connell, General Manager, Federal, Fujitsu.

The Grants Manager is a “highly resilient” accelerated solution that can be easily added to and configured to support the department’s business requirements, according to O’Connell.

“We are committed to working collaboratively with the Department to deliver a highly robust grants management solution that can rapidly adapt to all future business changes,” he concluded.

The Grants Manager solution is expected to go live in early 2017.