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Guides and Templates for Grant, Scholarship, Awards and Public Sector Programmes

This resource hub brings together Submit.com's downloadable guides, playbooks and templates for teams running grant, scholarship, awards and public sector procurement programmes. Each download is free, written for UK and Ireland public sector and mission-driven buyers, and built to be used the same day you read it.

Submit.com builds application management software for grants, scholarships and awards, used by councils, universities, foundations and central government across the UK and Ireland (source: Project knowledge). The resources below distil what we have learned from those programmes into practical checklists, templates and roadmaps you can apply directly to your own work.

New guides are added to this page as they are published. Read the Submit.com blog for shorter pieces and recent thinking, or browse customer stories for examples from comparable organisations.

Available guides and templates

Grant Management

Grant Management Buyer's Guide

Best for: grant teams in councils, central government, foundations and non-profits evaluating a new grant management system.

A practical guide for choosing the right grant management software, with the questions to ask vendors, the criteria to score them against, and the steps to get internal sign-off.

What is inside:

  • A requirements checklist covering cloud access, automation, security and integrations
  • A vendor evaluation guide with key questions and demo criteria
  • A business case framework with success metrics for stakeholder approval
  • A five-step implementation roadmap from kick-off to go-live
Download the Buyer's Guide
Scholarship Management

The Complete Guide to Scholarship Management

Best for: university scholarship and bursary teams, foundations and funding bodies running scholarship programmes for students.

A step-by-step guide to running modern scholarship programmes, from defining requirements through application intake, review, awarding and reporting. Written for teams moving away from spreadsheets and email attachments toward a single secure platform.

What is inside:

  • How to define your scholarship management requirements, including cloud access, security and GDPR alignment
  • How to design an applicant experience that improves completion rates: mobile-responsive forms, save-and-return, automated eligibility checks
  • How to build flexible forms and multi-stage workflows with conditional logic and role-based access
  • How to run fair, defensible reviews using scoring rubrics, blind review and full audit trails
  • How to report on programme impact with dashboards, custom reports and longitudinal outcome tracking
  • Integration considerations for CRM, Student Information Systems (SIS), ERP and finance platforms
  • An implementation checklist covering kick-off, discovery, configuration, training and go-live
Download the Scholarship Guide
Awards Management

The Awards Excellence Playbook: Scale Your Programme Without the Stress

Best for: awards bodies, competition organisers and programme leads who want to attract more high-quality entries, reduce reviewer load and protect the integrity of their judging process.

An operating playbook for awards leads. Practical guidance on how to run a programme that scales: stronger applications in, cleaner reviews, fewer drop-offs.

What you will gain:

  • How to auto-reject ineligible applicants and score entries instantly
  • Why mobile-responsive forms and "Save and Return" features reduce drop-offs
  • How to replace email attachments and disjointed tools with a secure, transparent review process
Download the Playbook
UK Public Sector Procurement

G-Cloud Direct Award Quick-Start Guide

Best for: UK public sector teams (councils, NHS trusts, central government, arm's length bodies) procuring software through the Crown Commercial Service G-Cloud framework.

A quick-start pack for teams making a G-Cloud direct award. Templates and frameworks designed to get you from search to signed contract in weeks, not months, with the paperwork ready for internal approval.

What is inside:

  • A Direct Award Justification Template ready for internal approval
  • A supplier comparison framework to evidence due diligence
  • A four-week implementation roadmap from search to signed contract
  • A security and compliance checklist covering Cyber Essentials and UK GDPR alignment
  • Answers to ten common G-Cloud procurement questions
Download the G-Cloud Guide

Which guide is right for you?

A quick map by what you are trying to do.

If you are Start with
Evaluating grant management software for a council, foundation or government team Grant Management Buyer's Guide
Running scholarship or bursary programmes in a university, foundation or funding body The Complete Guide to Scholarship Management
Already running awards or competitions and want to improve entries, reviews and reviewer workload The Awards Excellence Playbook
A UK public sector buyer procuring software via G-Cloud G-Cloud Direct Award Quick-Start Guide

Frequently asked questions

Are the Submit.com guides free to download?

Yes. Every guide and template on this page is free. You will be asked for an email address so we can send the download link and occasional follow-up resources.

Who writes the Submit.com guides?

The guides are produced by the Submit.com team in Cork, Ireland, drawing on work with councils, universities, foundations and government departments across Ireland and the UK (source: Project knowledge).

Which guide should I read first if I am running a grants programme in a council?

Start with the Grant Management Buyer's Guide. It is written for public sector grant teams and covers requirements, vendor evaluation, business case and implementation in one document. If your council is procuring through G-Cloud, read the G-Cloud Direct Award Quick-Start Guide alongside it.

Do you have a guide for scholarship and bursary programmes?

Yes. The Complete Guide to Scholarship Management covers requirements, applicant experience, form and workflow design, review and scoring, reporting, security and integration for university scholarship teams, foundations and funding bodies. You can also read the Scholarship Management Software solution page for how Submit.com supports those teams.

Can I share these guides internally with my procurement or finance team?

Yes. The guides are designed to be shared with colleagues, particularly the templates and checklists, which are written to drop into internal documents and approval papers.

Will new guides be added here?

Yes. This page is the central hub for Submit.com guides and templates. New downloads are added as they are published, including upcoming guides on awards selection and reviewer experience.

Want to see how the guidance works in practice?

Book a 30-minute demo with the Submit.com team. We will walk you through how grant, scholarship and awards programmes run on the platform, mapped to your own workflow.

Book a demo