Maryland updates capital grants management system
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore last week announced that the state’s Department of General Services has launched a new, digital capital grants management system that features automated workflows and a self-service portal.
The system, which was designed by the Montana software company Submittable, will serve as the platform that manages all state grants dating back to 2017, a news release said.
The Department of General Services in Maryland, on behalf of the Maryland Board of Public Works, annually administers 3,000 capital grants, with an estimated value of $3 billion from the state’s capital budget. The grants are approved by the Maryland General Assembly and distributed to local governments, nonprofits and arts organizations, among others, that support capital construction projects across the state.
The new system simplifies grant management and includes a self-service portal, access to real-time status updates for grant submitters and a system that keeps the public informed on how the state’s funds are being used. It also includes and assistive technology for disabled users and automated workflows to ensure that submissions and requests move smoothly through the review process.
Previously, the state’s system mainly relied on cumbersome manual processes, the news release said. By improving accessibility, transparency and accountability, the system is intended to boost public trust in how grants are managed, save time and money, and ensure responsible resource allocation to more quickly support Maryland’s communities.
“Today, we continue our work towards modernizing state government to support economic growth,” Moore said in the release. “This administration is choosing to sweat the details of leadership and today’s action will ensure that investments we are making in every corner of our state are administered efficiently and as quickly as possible. This is what good government looks like – and we’re just getting started.”
