Transforming Heritage, Conservation and Biodiversity Grants

Client: Local Authorities in Ireland
Sector: Local Government / Public Sector
Solution: Digitise grant application processes

Background

Submit.com, a Cork-based company founded in 2013, provides grant management software for local and national governments. The platform is designed to handle a wide variety of data collection needs, including grant applications, permits, surveys, payments, and feedback forms. Submit.com aims to digitise the entire grant lifecycle, offering an intuitive and secure platform that simplifies workflows, improves collaboration, and ensures data protection.

The following case study focuses on the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, illustrating the platform’s capabilities. Although the example is specific, the workflows demonstrated are applicable to any scheme.

Candidate Experience.
Submit.com allows authorities to create a fully customised domain with logos, fonts, colour schemes, and background images to match their website. Candidates access forms through a public landing page or dedicated landing page for each scheme.
Candidates register, accept the authority’s privacy statement, and complete the application. The platform is designed with one question per page, ensuring accessibility on mobile, desktop, or tablet. Data is saved automatically as the candidate progresses.
Branch logic ensures that irrelevant questions are hidden, simplifying complex forms. Candidates can upload documents, images, or tables with a file size limit of 300 megabytes per upload. Required uploads prevent incomplete submissions, reducing administrative follow-up.
Tables within applications allow automatic calculations for costs, VAT, or totals. Signatures are captured digitally, authenticated with a secure token, and integrated with dynamic data such as grant amounts or applicant details. Draft applications can be saved and continued later, with automated reminder emails sent to candidates.

Administrative Workflow.
Submit.com provides a dashboard summarising schemes, upcoming deadlines, recent applications, and budget status. Administrators are assigned roles, such as team leader or team member, with configurable permission profiles. This allows multiple staff members to collaborate without compromising security.
Each scheme tracks applications through multiple phases: Apply, Acceptance, Draw Down One, Draw Down Two, and beyond. Administrators can triage applications, check completeness, verify eligibility, and manage correspondence directly within the system.
Applications can be tagged with workflow stages such as Ready for Assessment, Eligible, Approved, or Rejected. Office-use-only sections and score bars enable structured evaluation, with average scores calculated automatically across multiple assessors. Comments are logged with timestamps to provide a clear audit trail.
Once a grant is approved, the system tracks the awarded amount, updates remaining budgets in real time, and supports staged payments through additional phases. Candidates receive invitations to accept offers, upload signed letters, provide bank details, and submit supporting documentation digitally.

Reporting and Analysis.
Submit.com includes comprehensive reporting tools. Administrators can generate graphs, maps, and spreadsheets filtered by status, tags, or specific answers. Exports include metadata, assessment scores, comments, and office-use-only fields.
This reporting capability enables authorities to monitor allocations, track municipal district distribution, and quickly respond to inquiries from stakeholders or elected representatives. Advanced filtering allows detailed analysis of questions, applicant locations, and trends over time.

Performance and Scalability.
The platform supports concurrent usage without performance degradation. Local authorities processing tens to hundreds of applications experience no slowdowns. Submit.com has been tested with tens of thousands of simultaneous users in high-volume environments, ensuring reliability even for multi-year schemes and large-scale grants.
Authorities can copy existing schemes to create multi-year programmes, preserving previous applicants while updating deadlines and descriptions for the new cycle. Multiple grants or schemes can coexist on a single platform, with access controlled by department or team.

Training and Implementation.
Submit.com provides comprehensive onboarding and training. New domains can be live within 24 hours, with form creation and workflow setup typically completed in one to two weeks. Training sessions are included for staff, covering application management, evaluation, reporting, and communication.
The platform is entirely mobile-friendly, ensuring accessibility for applicants without access to computers. All data is hosted within the European Economic Area, with authorities retaining control over access, retention, and GDPR compliance.

Outcomes.
✓Digitised workflows reduce manual administration and eliminate paper forms.
✓Flexible phases allow staged payments, progress reporting, and multi-year grant management.
✓Comprehensive evaluation tools support multiple assessors, scoring rubrics, and office-use-only sections.
✓Real-time budget tracking ensures accurate financial management.
✓Reporting and exports provide transparency for stakeholders and authorities.
✓Mobile accessibility enhances candidate experience and accessibility.
✓Secure, centralised data ensures compliance with GDPR and local policies.

Submit.com provides a single, intuitive platform that consolidates grant management, evaluation, communication, and reporting, improving efficiency and transparency for local authorities while delivering a seamless experience for applicants.