The Big Lottery Fund, a public body which distributes 40 per cent of all funds raised for good causes by the National Lottery, is looking to improve the way grant applicants liaise with it – and says it is considering “the potential of emerging technologies in the market”, suggesting its existing software may not be adequate.
The Fund, answerable to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, only recently moved away from a paper-based grant application system.
In a notice on a European tenders page – that suggests all may not be going swimmingly – the Fund says it has “enhanced the functionality of existing systems to begin to realise this improvement” but wants to “ensure that we are providing our potential and existing grant holders as well as our own funding teams with the most streamlined systems enabling ease of application for our products.”
Big Lottery Fund Distributed £670 Million in 2017
The Fund distributed some £670 million last year and has dished out over £9 billion since June 2004 to a range of charitable projects.
It said: “Software solutions of this type and nature are generally not changed often as there is a relatively high investment in installing, implementing and training staff as well as getting our customer base familiar with the new process.”
Might, Might Not Go to Market…
The Fund now wishes to “look at the technology available in the market which aligns to our corporate target around more effective stakeholder engagement and excellence in grant-making”, it said.
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Parallel to pre-market engagement, there is also an internal review underway to map the Fund’s future business needs, it said, adding: “Over the next few months, the Fund will not be formally approaching the supply chain but wished to advise on the work to date.”
All Fund opportunities are published on its electronic tendering portal.
