Grant Management | Case study
Local Enterprise Office | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
Background
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Enterprise Office and Submit
The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) Local Enterprise Office (LEO) is one of 31 dedicated teams across the Local Authority network in Ireland.
They support people who are interested in starting up a new business or who are already in business including entrepreneurs, early-stage promoters and small businesses looking to expand.
Previously, we explored how the Cork City LEO and the South Cork LEO replaced their manual paper-based systems with Submit.com. DLR LEO’s implementation of Submit is similar to these so, in this case study, we will explore how they have streamlined their evaluation committee (EVAC) meetings.
“Every council should have Submit on the agenda. It’s a no brainer.”
Reducing resistance to apply
Like our other LEO clients, the main priorities for DLR LEO’s Head of Enterprise Owen Laverty were to;
- Replace their labour-intensive paper-based process
- Drive efficiencies across the organisation
- Improve overall client experience
Traditional paper or downloadable applications can prove a barrier to many applicants. They may be slow to complete an application or worse still not apply at all. As Owen notes, “a big thing for us was reducing resistance to apply and ease of use for our clients.”
“The Cork LEOs were waxing lyrical about the platform,” recalled Owen. “When we saw the tool in action and it was clear Submit was the way to go. There’s no sense in this day and age why you can’t apply for everything digitally.”
Better evaluation committee meetings
EVAC meetings are a crucial component of the LEO decision-making process. Once a month, EVAC members, who are generally not LEO staff, give up their time to assess applications impartially. Therefore, a straightforward system must be in place to ensure their time isn’t wasted.
“A massive thing for us is the ability to share documents with our EVAC committee prior to meetings.
Before we had booklets printed to the size of the yellow pages and sent them out to the EVAC members. Doing it this way meant they didn’t have much time to properly read before meetings. Now I would say the process runs 1000 times faster. We can summarise applications and make better recommendations,” noted Owen.
This video demonstrates how LEO Executives can use Submit.com to streamline EVAC meetings.
During the evaluation meeting, LEO Executives connect the Submit to a large screen in a meeting room so that members can view media and applications submitted by Clients, allowing discussions to focus on the merits of an application rather than trying to locate information.
“We’re delighted with the efficiencies Submit has brought our team. Using the system for EVAC saves us two days per month, but this is a crude measurement. The real value has been the engagement with the process.
I’m particularly sympathetic to our EVAC and am always looking for ways to make it easy for them,” Said Owen.
Leveraging VideoQ
“We also really like VideoQ. If they can’t say their pitch in two minutes easily, are they really right for the grant?”
LEO Executives can pre-set the questions concerning a specific grant application. Applicants then record their answers from their device directly into the platform. Using VideoQ allows Owen and his team to glean insights they wouldn’t usually from words alone.
Key Features Used
“We’re delighted with the efficiencies Submit has brought our team. Using the system for EVAC saves us two days per month, but this is a crude measurement. The real value has been the engagement with the process.”
Get started today
If you think it’s time to streamline your grant submission process or you’re interested in more ways to modernise your current workflow and review process, talk to one of our senior solutions specialists today.
