Australian councils partner with SurePact for grant management

Four regional councils across Australia have recently partnered with SurePact to improve their grant management processes.

The local government bodies involved include Roper Gulf Regional Council and Victoria Daly River Council in the Northern Territory, the Shire of Leonora in Western Australia, and Berrigan Shire Council in New South Wales.

Dan Pritchard, CEO of SurePact, explained the importance of grants for regional councils: "Regional councils rely on grants for funding their own projects and for allocating their own funds. Depending on the council, more than 50% of their revenue can come in the form of grants from the federal government, state government, and other bodies for key tasks such as maintaining infrastructure."

Pritchard highlighted the current challenges faced by councils in managing grant processes, stating, "Despite grant funding being crucial to the delivery of key services for their constituents, the process is still by and large managed with spreadsheets and emails. It also heavily relies on certain team members who work within the council to keep track of where acquittals and delivery milestones are at. All of this creates a risk for cost blowouts and not meeting auditor requirements."

SurePact's solution aims to streamline this process. "Our software centralises this process of tracking, managing and attributing grant money in a way that is consistent and maintains governance controls. It's de-risking this crucial source of revenue and becoming a fundamental framework for regional councils who want to be more transparent and compliant in their grant management," Pritchard added.

Kiara Lord, Manager of Business Services at Shire of Leonora, expressed optimism about the new partnership. "We are excited to transition from our previous manual processes and spreadsheets to SurePact's advanced grants management system. This solution promises significant automation and increased efficiency, transforming how we manage milestones and track projects. We look forward to leveraging SurePact to enhance our grant management capabilities and drive greater impact in our future initiatives," she said.

SurePact's software is engineered to centralise grant operations for both grantmakers and recipients, creating a single source of truth for all fund allocation and management. Since its inception in 2017, SurePact has assisted various government bodies, private entities, higher education institutions, and non-profit organisations in fostering improved governance and transparent reporting on the funding they receive.

Other regional councils already using SurePact's technology include Edward River Council, Carpentaria Shire Council, and Boulia Shire Council. The four new councils joining the platform are currently in the early integration phase and are set to commence using the technology from September.