How to use technology to broaden access and measure the impact of grants

Innovative, reliable and secure technology can help grant making organizations target the right people, track fund flow, spot fraud and waste and measure impact. But technology can only work if it’s part of a truly user-centric system, where grant administrators understand the needs and behaviors of recipients.

In our fourth episode of the series, host Tim Smith talks about how to harness the indisputable power of technology to improve grant management, with his guests Andrea Sampanis, Solutions and Services Lead, Grants Quality Service Management Office, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Amy Fenstermacher, EY Americas Grants and Relief Funds Management Leader.

Grants are the number one way the US federal government spends money, and grant making agencies are increasingly using technology to try to get the most out of every dollar — whether that is using the latest technology to increase automation to improve efficiency, or the continued use of “low-fi,” mobile phone-friendly technology to widen access to people who may not have computers.

The podcast is also available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Podbean.

Key takeaways: 

• Technology is about making things simpler, more efficient and more measurable — for those delivering the grants as well as the recipients.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps mitigate program risk by differentiating between high- and low-risk scenarios.
• Interoperability and data sharing are vital to create a common user experience across multiple government agencies.
• Data analytics can help spot geographical “funding deserts” where those in need are clearly not receiving grants.

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.