Fluent Technology

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination.

Requirements
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination.

To manage multiple scheme grant funds effectively it was quickly recognised that a grant management system was required to both capture details of applications from the public and manage the grant application process. Any system put in place was required to meet all applicable legislation and promote best practice in delivery of the grant fund to the general public. Fluent Technology competed in open tender to develop a transformational solution to the Board’s needs.

Solution
Fluent Technology developed, designed and implemented a web based grant management system for the organisation. Developed from their product Basis it provided the ideal balance between a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) system and a bespoke software solution. The project was tightly managed by a team of expert consultants who absorbed themselves with the organisation’s processes. From this, a perfectly streamlined system was developed to meet the business process needs and integrated successfully within the NITB.

The system provides the following features:

• A secure and scalable web based system from any geographic location
• A scheme builder tool which allows multiple grant schemes to be managed and ran at the same time
• An online application form which allows members of the public to submit their applications online
• Postcode address validation ensures that all address information is quick to input, correct and accurate
• A flexible workflow system which was tailored to match NITBS’ grant application process
• Automatic generation of correspondence letters and documents e.g. Letter of offer, requests for more information and completion letters
• Personalised logins enabling users to be granted with different levels of system access
• Proactive notifications to alert users when an action is required (e.g. All applications awaiting a Letter of Offer)

Value
The system has added value in the following areas for NITB.

Time Saving
Since the introduction of the Grant Management System NITB has reported massive time savings in areas such as appriasals, reporting and producing letters of offer. For example sending out letters of offer always took time because each staff member had differ templates for the letter saved. Now a standard format is saved in the system, the system also dictates the wording of the letter which is automatically generated; this means a time saving on proof reading and reviewing letters. There is now one master copy and this refines the process. Previously following a grant application sending out the letters of offer could take up to 2 weeks this is now only taking one day.
Another massive time saving is the creation of panel papers and going through grant applications to score, the appraisal could take weeks to process. Before the system staff members were taking papers home at evenings and weekends. The system is set up to automatically score grants and with the click of a button relative information is pulled out supporting administration processes.

Streamlining Business Processes
NITB have streamlined their business processes. The electronic file management cuts down on staff time looking in documents stores, desktops or for physical files. This has been very effective in saving time especially with regards to Freedom of Information Requests. Previously NITB had up to 15 days to respond. Usually this time was needed and sometimes more time to respond as finding the correct information took weeks, now they can pull it out from the system instantly.

The grant management system also allows for greater self service within the tourist board. For example if someone wants to track the process of an application they can log in and check it themselves, instead of ringing up grant officers. The system proved very beneficial when we were being audited. The read only access functionality in the system meant that time was saved finding physical files.

Reporting
The system has proved invaluable for NITB when it comes to reporting. NITB are required to produce reports showing what money was going to each area, the system now allows them to show this evidence quickly and accurately.

Emma Fletcher, Grants Administrator Northern Ireland Tourist Board stated:
"It is good to know that the information you give is accurate and that you have evidence all in the one place to back up your reports and answers.”

Decision Making
Decision making for NITB grants department has become easier since the system was installed. Score sheets are all uploaded into the system and each application has a place and can easily be tracked eliminated the use of lengthy spreadsheets. Decision making is helped by the fact that the system keeps everything moving, it will show you want stage the grant is at and allows you to speed up the grant process.

• Provides evidence based reporting
• Appraisal process quicker and easier
• Reduces duplicate/inaccurate information
• Decision making is easier as each grant and be tracked and monitored
• Increased throughput of grant applications
• Promotes consistent service delivery with automatically generated documents for all correspondence with applicants
• Helps to detect fraudulent grant applications and claims
• Real time management reports to provide an accurate picture of the performance of the grant fund

Emma Fletcher, Grants Administrator Northern Ireland Tourist Board stated:
"Fluent has provided us with a Grants Management System that really meets our needs. With it we can easily create and adjust schemes and smoothly manage the complete appraisal process from online application to issuing Letters of Offer. We know exactly what assistance has been provided when and where, which is a great help for responding promptly to parliamentary questions.”

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