Grants Hub MI Support

On 1st June 2023 Defra group launched a multi-disciplinary Grants Hub, offering advice, assurance and MI to grant managing teams around the group. It will be resourced with a full-time Civil Service team which is currently in the process of being recruited. Several roles have already been filled, though interviews and selection are ongoing for others, including the G7 Data & Analysis Lead.

EY have supported Defra group to design, develop and pilot the Grants Hub's services, including its management information and reporting offering. EY's existing support for the establishment of the Grants Hub is due to come to an end at the end of June 2023.

Management information underpins many of the Grants Hub's services, from ensuring a robust view of grants under development for triage of support and planning the pipeline of schemes for governance, to providing the basis for irregularity measurement and counter fraud & error support, to providing visibility of schemes and analysis to leadership to support decision making.

To maintain delivery of these Grants Hub services until a full time Data & Analysis lead may be recruited, support is therefore required. The requirement for support has been identified in three specific areas:

• Monthly reporting

• Funding streams analysis

• Support in preparing mandated returns

EY will deliver against the following scope of work:

1. Monthly reporting

• Prepare monthly updates to interactive dashboard suite, including requisite quality assurance activity

• Present reports as required at governance and other forums, providing analysis and insight

• Support the maintenance of Grants Hub data sources, coordinating the recording of new schemes in financial systems and the Government Grants Information System and maintaining Grants Hub master data

• Conduct onboarding and handover of MI & Reporting activities to G7 Data & Analysis Lead

2. Funding streams analysis

• Deliver against request from SoS' office to analyse opportunities for better collaboration or consolidation across funding streams reaching common grant recipient groups

• Carry out follow up activity with SROs to agree potential opportunities for collaboration between related funding streams

• Conduct geographical and other analysis of grant funding as required

3. Support in preparing mandated returns

• Review GGIS FY22/23 reporting against financial reports to prepare for reconciliation activity required by Cabinet Office

• Coordinate updates to GGIS to ensure complete records of FY22/23 grant schemes