Overcoming Challenges in Grant Management
Grant management is critical for organisations that receive or provide grants for community programs, infrastructure projects, and public services. However, it often comes with big hurdles for both grant providers and recipients. Complex regulations, administrative inefficiencies, compliance risks and financial oversight problems can create bottlenecks and confusion.
Without clear workflows or automated processes, teams may face slow approvals and trouble staying on top of budgets. Managing risks across each grant becomes even harder without tools for automated reporting and up-to-date post-award tracking.
Solving these issues in grant management is key to using stakeholder funds wisely, minimising administrative overheads, and remaining compliant with regulation. By adopting best practices and using software like OmniStar, organisations can handle grant management smoothly.
Common Grant Management Issues and Challenges
Grant management involves multiple stakeholders, compliance rules and financial reviews. Organisations that rely on manual methods often run into delays and funding setbacks.
1) Poor Post-Award Management
Once a grant has been approved, keeping track of progress and budgets can be tough without regular updates and clear final reports. Delays can be caused by differences between approved plans and the actual results. Without a logged chain of reviews, it can also be difficult to maintain accountability for these variations.
2) Inefficient Manual Methods
Many organisations still rely on spreadsheets, emails or even paper documents to manage grants. These manual steps increase the risk of mistakes and slow projects down, while physical filing makes it harder to find important information.
3) Inconsistent Application and Approval Processes
Some grant programs have complicated or inconsistent steps for applications and approvals. This affects grant providers, recipients, and anyone else who may provide input to your project.
4) Compliance and Regulatory Hurdles
Organisations must follow funding regulations, which can be tough to track. Grants without clear disclosures face risks of disputes, while those without well-documented audit trails of scoring, approvals, and rationales can struggle to prove accountability later.
5) Inefficient Tracking and Reporting
Without effective tracking tools, grant recipients may struggle to monitor project progress, fund use or reporting timelines. It can also be difficult to track results in real time and catch any issues before they escalate.
6) Applicant Visibility of Progress is Impacted
Applicants can become frustrated if they cannot see the current status of their grant. Without a real-time applicant portal, it is hard to keep track of each individual grant’s updates, follow-ups or deadlines.
7) Resource Constraints
Limited staff or budgets can make grant management feel overwhelming, as can tight timelines. The accuracy of grant information may be impacted by lethargic manual processes, affecting budgets and timelines.
How to Overcome These Challenges in Grant Management
Organisations can tackle common grant management issues with structured plans, better collaboration and the right technology. Check out the advantages of grant management software for more details. Below are some core strategies to help you improve compliance, efficiency and transparency.
Develop a RobustGrant Management Plan
A clear plan is essential for allocating funds, checking compliance and measuring outcomes. Setting grant objectives and priorities on the application forms helps to apply fair and consistent evaluation criteria. Your plan should also define how to track milestones, stick to budgets and stay compliant. Having this structure cuts down on mistakes, guides decision-making and ensures funds are properly used.
Invest in Training
Skilled staff are vital for successful grant administration, compliance checks, and reporting. Training boosts efficiency and accountability by making sure everyone knows the grant’s requirements and legal obligations. For review teams, a formal evaluation framework keeps partner selection fair, while tutorials on grant management solutions help everyone benefit from automation and workflow features.
Effective Collaboration
Strong coordination between stakeholders, applicants and reviewers is a necessity for good grant management. Make sure key team members join important meetings and keep communication channels open. This helps create a transparent and objective decision-making process that also helps to reduce delays in grant approvals. You can read more about building strong grantor-grantee relationships here.
Leverage Technology
Digital solutions simplify grant management through automated workflows, streamlined compliance tracking and enhanced reporting. Automated processes reduce admin tasks and help grant providers and recipients avoid missed deadlines or late reports. Embracing these tools saves organisations time and money.
Streamline Grant Management Processes with OmniStar
Efficient grant management is crucial for organisations who want to use funds responsibly and stay transparent. OmniStar offers a full grant management system that automates and simplifies every part of the grant lifecycle.
To learn how to create a strong grant program or explore other grantmaking strategies, check out our resources.
Key Features of OmniStar's Grant Management Solution
Centralised Information Hub
Keep all grant-related data, including emails, letters, and internal discussions, in one place to improve collaboration and reduce siloed information
Automated Workflows
Configure automated steps for application intake, eligibility checks, approvals and post-award tasks to minimise manual errors and ensure consistency of operation.
Real-Time Tracking and Reporting
Monitor key milestones, budgets and compliance in real time, allowing you to make decisions and follow up issues quickly.
Compliance Management
Follow state and federal regulations with built-in features like audit trails and configurable approval workflows
Case Study: Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers dealt with separate systems for grant management, which caused inefficiencies and compliance concerns. By moving to OmniStar’s cloud-based platform, they improved visibility of their documents and cut down on manual data entry. OmniStar’s configurable setup also supported different grant types, helping Siemens Healthineers grow its Government Grants business.
"OmniStar provides a level of flexibility that would have been very challenging for us to achieve if we had remained with our current off-line solution."
— Ronald Fresta, Siemens Healthineers
Take the Next Step
Grant management plays a key role in making sure funds are used correctly and responsibly. With new practices and technology in place, organisations will benefit from a more transparent process with stronger communication and clearer funding outcomes.
If you want to transform how you manage grants, OmniStar can help. Our user-friendly platform automates key tasks, helps you comply with regulations and boosts operational efficiency so you can focus on what matters most: delivering impact in your community.
Contact us today to set up a demo and learn how OmniStar can be customised to meet your organisation’s unique grant management needs.
