For local governments who receive a state or federal grant, the switch from grantee to grantor can happen swiftly once subrecipients get involved, and that new role comes with its fair share of responsibility. There’s money to allocate appropriately, guidelines to adhere to, spending to be tracked, and reports to deliver, among other duties.
That’s why management of subrecipients has become such an important topic in the public sector. When grant money is handled responsibly at every level, the impact of the funding is maximized, benefitting not just the agency responsible but the community they serve as well. And when it isn’t? Legal, financial, and even reputational damage can result, hindering a government’s ability to deliver services and projects crucial to civic health.
In this blog, we’re going to discuss some of the biggest challenges faced when dealing with subrecipients—and how to conquer them.
Ensuring Compliance with Regulations
When managing subrecipients, local governments often find themselves navigating a complex web of federal and state regulations. Getting out unscathed requires a thorough understanding of applicable guidelines and the tools necessary to monitor compliance through a grant’s entire lifecycle. Failure in this area can result in significant financial and legal repercussions, making it essential for governments to establish robust compliance frameworks.
To avoid this, it’s crucial to establish clear, consistent guidelines and provide thorough training on compliance expectations. Doing this will empower subrecipients to meet standards effectively. And once everyone is on the same page, it’s still a wise idea to conduct regular audits and reviews to ensure everyone is following all grant requirements. Additionally, fostering an environment of open communication can lessen risk, allowing issues to be addressed promptly before they escalate into non-compliance.
Effective Communication and Coordination
On a similar note, managing subrecipients often involves coordinating with various stakeholders, each having their own capabilities and priorities. If communication between these parties becomes fractured or—even worse—nonexistent, mistakes can easily happen which can not only derail a project but jeopardize an agency’s chances of getting funding in the future.
A clear, straight-forward approach to communication enables everyone to have a distinct understanding of expectations, reporting requirements, and financial responsibilities. By engaging in open and approachable dialogue, potential problems can be handled promptly, minimizing risk and building mutual trust. Persuasive communication techniques can also aid in aligning the goals of subrecipients with an agency’s mission, ensuring that everyone is working towards a common goal.
Monitoring Performance and Outcomes
While a certain amount of trust needs to be a factor in a grantor/grantee relationship, in the role of grantor, agencies are tasked with ensuring subrecipients deliver expected outcomes efficiently and effectively. Taking an “absentee landlord” approach to grant management—in effect, leaving stakeholders to their own devices—invites the risk of a project going off course or ending up incomplete due to mismanaged funds or conflicting objectives.
That’s why it’s important to set measurable goals, implement performance metrics, and conduct regular evaluations with subrecipients. Steady monitoring ensures that discrepancies are caught early on, allowing interventions to be made which will guide projects back on track.
Resource Constraints
Resource limitations like staffing shortages, legacy technology, and manual processes can significantly impact the ability of local governments to manage subrecipients effectively, which can easily result in compliance issues, project derailments, and even legal and financial penalties. Thankfully, there are digital solutions which can fill personnel gaps and save agencies time, simplifying many grant management tasks with innovative tools and functionality.
Implementing a digital grants management system—such as Euna Grants—can make grant management easy and efficient. Euna Grants’ Subrecipient module features streamlined application intake and evaluation, easy collaboration tools, proven workflows, and modern, digital webforms and applications to ease administrative burden and ensure compliance.
Interested in learning more? Book a demo today with one of our experts.