Case study list

Carmarthenshire County Council

01/10/2009

What was the issue?

The Council felt it would benefit from the introduction of a Grants Compliance Officer role as it would enable a co-ordinated approach to managing grants.

Actions - what we did

The officer was appointed to develop, maintain and control the systems and procedures to manage grant processes. The officer introduced a manual to assist project managers and staff in running any externally-funded project. The role also provides the following support to project managers and support staff:

• training on the project grants manual;
• technical assistance and advice to ensure a complete understanding of procedural requirements for all external funding;
• monitoring checks to ensure compliance with the project grants manual and funding bodies' requirements;
• monitoring submission of grant claims by agreed deadlines to the Wales Audit Office (the auditor);
• sharing feedback from Wales Audit Office; and
• assisting the development of the corporate grants database.

The outcomes achieved - benefits obtained and resulting success factors

Easy access to the Compliance Officer and help from a clear and comprehensive manual allows:

• project managers and other staff involved in grants to have a one-stop-shop for expert advice;
• the corporate grants database to be kept up-to-date;
• accurate claim completion so that grants due to the Council are received in full;
• claims to be made on time and in compliance with the requirements of the funding body and project grants manual; and
• mimimal risk of grants being recovered ('clawed back') as a result of money being misused or badly managed.