Research & Grants Management
Manage research projects, grant lifecycles, and funding workflows — with visibility across programs, teams, and compliance requirements.
Product Overview
Manage the Full Research and Grant Lifecycle in One System
SmartSuite’s Research & Grants Management software manages research initiatives, grant applications, funding, and compliance across the institution. Grants, projects, and funding sit as linked records, so research offices can move from scattered systems and manual tracking to one platform for research operations.
Institutions can manage:
- Grant applications and submissions
- Research project tracking
- Funding allocation and utilization
- Compliance and reporting requirements
With one table of record per grant, research teams can see the full lifecycle from proposal to execution and reporting.
Researchers, administrators, and finance teams work on the same records, so approvals, budgets, and deadlines stay in step.
Research & Grants Management works with:
- Faculty & Staff Management for researcher assignments
- Project Financial Management for budget tracking
- Compliance Assessments & Testing for regulatory and grant compliance
- Finance & Administration for approvals, budgets, and reporting
Research and grant management stays part of institutional operations rather than a separate office system.
Research offices get a grants system that is auditable, aligned with funding and compliance requirements, and transparent across the full lifecycle.
What is Research & Grants Management?
Research & Grants Management is the process of managing research initiatives and grant lifecycles, including application, funding, execution, and reporting. It ensures that research activities are coordinated, compliant, and aligned with institutional goals.
Core Capabilities
SmartSuite’s Research & Grants Management product provides the capabilities required to manage research programs and funding across the institution.
Grant Application & Submission Management
Track proposals, submissions, and approvals.
Research Project Tracking
Manage research initiatives from start to completion.
Funding & Budget Management
Track grant funding and spend with rollups per award.
Compliance & Reporting Workflows
Schedule and track reporting deadlines set by regulators and funders.
Approval & Review Processes
Route grants and research proposals through internal approvals.
Collaboration Across Research Teams
Coordinate researchers and administrators with comments and assignments on the record.
Visibility & Dashboards
Monitor funding, progress, and outcomes on dashboards.
Integration with Financial and Academic Systems
Exchange data with finance and academic systems through CSV import, the REST API, Zapier, or Make.
Role-Based Access Control
Set who can see award, budget, and compliance data.
The Research & Grants Lifecycle
SmartSuite supports the lifecycle of research and grants — from application through execution and reporting.
Identify Funding Opportunities
Track and evaluate potential grants.
Prepare and Submit Applications
Manage proposals and submission workflows.
Award and Allocate Funding
Track approvals and funding distribution.
Execute Research Projects
Monitor progress and manage activities.
Report and Ensure Compliance
Complete reporting and maintain compliance.
Connected Higher Education Ecosystem
SmartSuite connects research and grant management with financial, operational, and compliance workflows — ensuring alignment across the institution.
Manage faculty assignments, workloads, and staff responsibilities with real-time visibility across departments and academic operations.
Manage assessment campaigns and testing schedules with a reusable question library, automated workflows, and one place for evidence collection.
Who This Product Is For
Research & Grants Management supports teams responsible for managing research programs and funding.
Higher Education Administrator
Faculty Researchers
Finance Teams
Compliance Teams
Operations Teams
Institution Leadership
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions readers ask most about this topic.
Research and grants management covers the full lifecycle of research funding: finding opportunities, preparing applications, managing awards and budgets, running the projects, and reporting back to funders. Spread across email and spreadsheets, deadlines are missed and spend is hard to reconcile. SmartSuite keeps each grant as a record linked to its application, project, budget, and reports, so a research office can see every award and what is due on it.
Opportunities are logged with their deadlines and requirements, and each application is a record with tasks assigned to researchers and administrators. Automations remind owners as submission dates approach, and the application’s documents are attached to the record. Research offices see every application in progress and its status on one board.
Each funded project is a record with milestones, tasks, team members, and the award it draws on, tracked from kickoff to close. Progress rolls up from tasks to the project and from the project to the award. Principal investigators and administrators work from the same record.
Awards carry their budget by category, and expenditures recorded against the project roll up to the award, with a formula showing the remaining balance. Spend outside the award period or over a category limit is flagged on the record. Finance and the research office reconcile from the same figures.
Funder reporting deadlines, ethics approvals, and regulatory requirements are recorded as tasks with owners and due dates on the award, and automations send reminders before each one. Evidence and submitted reports are attached to the record. An auditor can follow any award from application to final report.
Yes. Departments, research centers, and funding sources are managed in the same tables, with permissions keeping each department to its own awards and dashboards rolling everything up for the institution. Shared templates keep processes consistent. Research offices add programs without changing the system.
Dashboards chart funding by source, project progress, spend against award, and upcoming deadlines, and each chart drills into the records. Leadership filters by department or funder and saves the view. Decisions about research investment are made from current figures.
Applications, awards, projects, budgets, and reports link together, so each stage of a grant is handled with the previous stages in view. Reminders and dashboards keep deadlines and spend under control. Over time, institutions submit more applications on time, keep awards in compliance, and win repeat funding.
Simplify Research and Grant Management Across Your Institution
SmartSuite helps you manage grants, research projects, and compliance workflows in one platform with visibility across the lifecycle.