• Case Study
  • Digital Transformation
  • Insight

Delivering a seamless grants-management system for the Heritage Fund, significantly improving applications and distribution of funding

By Methods21 May 20202 min read

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK, distributing National Lottery grants from £3,000 to £5million and over, funding projects that sustain and transform the UK’s heritage.

 

NLHF had been using their custom built grants application and management system since 2008. It had become quite unstable and had reached its end of life. They required a system which could easily be adapted to meet changing business needs.

NLHF were looking to achieve: 

  • A single view of applications and their applicants (customers) 
  • Improved monitoring and authorisations of grants 
  • Improved efficiency of staff by implementing automated processes and integrations to save time 
  • Upskill internal staff to be able to manage the system for the long term 
  • Ensure the application was a major functional improvement on its predecessor 

Solution 

The team initially conducted a discovery to understand the current processes and plan a roadmap for project success. Methods then proposed a data model using as many standard Salesforce objects as possible – utilising ‘clicks not code’. The aim was to capture the Grant Application process and everything that falls from it in a single account view. This data model made the grant application process more structured and easier to understand than the existing architecture. 

Results 

  • The NLHF project was successfully delivered on time and to budget in less than five months, achieving the key deliverables of the project.  
  • Integration was completed to a bespoke In-House developed Customer Portal as well as to Outlook, with a Proof of Concept to SharePoint, ready for use when the new SharePoint comes online.  
  • The project first went live to a Beta group in Feb 2020 with very positive feedback.  
  • The application allows the Fund to process grant applications and to monitor and report on these applications in ways not possible before. 

To read about this customer story in full detail, please click here. 

 

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