Page 46 - GCN, April/May 2018

GRANTS MANAGEMENT
COTS options can be broken down into a high-level set of cost categories:
• Design and detailed requirements
• Development/configuration
• Customization to out-of-the-box capabilities (COTS only) • Data migration (from legacy systems)
• Change management and training:
-Project management
- Operations and maintenance
- Infrastructure/hosting (custom only) - Licenses (COTS only)
• Additional environments (COTS only)
HYBRID SOLUTIONS ARE MORE COMMON THAN PURE CUSTOM OR PURE COTS
It is rare for any grants management solution to be entirely custom or purely COTS. Some facet of every agency’s process- es requires tailoring; there is almost never one size that fits all. But certain features (e.g., pre-award risk assessment or grant close-out) often can be reused from solutions implemented at other agencies or elsewhere within the same agency.
Thus, the COTS and custom alternatives are in reality the boundaries of a continuum. The majority of grants manage- ment solutions in government that have been deployed re-
cently as part of a modernization effort are hybrid, falling between the two extremes.
Platform-based solutions are gaining momentum in the marketplace. In particular, these solutions offer configura- tion-based, out-of-the-box modules and capabilities (to ac- celerate implementation) and also allow for customization (to meet program-specific and agency-specific business realities). These types of solutions can offer the best of both worlds and allow agencies to successfully address their business realities today and serve as a bridge to their needs tomorrow.
The drive for greater transparency and visibility into the im- pact of grants is an important initiative that will deliver great benefits to all constituencies involved — grant makers, grant recipients and the public at large. Grant dollars sustain critical services relied upon by millions of Americans. They provide much of the operational funding required to keep our govern- ment functioning at all levels. Making the right technology decision — to buy, build or configure — will only accelerate the push toward better grant outcomes.•
— Wagish Bhartiya is a senior director at REI Systems focused on COTS grants management solutions, and Kumar Anupam is a senior director at REI Systems focused on customized grants management solutions.
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46 GCN APRIL/MAY 2018 • GCN.COM