Secretary of Administration Sharon Minnich Wednesday announced the centralized grants management program, including DEP grants, is a winner of a 2018 Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology Award presented by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.

The project was selected from a pool of over 125 nominations submitted by state governments.

DEP’s electronic permitting system was also a finalist for this same award.

Prior to developing this online grants portal, individuals had to search for grant information across various state agencies and, in many cases, submit an application by mail. The portal also provides a cost-effective path for agencies that want to modernize their paper-based review and approval processes or replace their own outdated online grant systems.

The centralized grants management system currently supports over 120 programs administered by seven agencies, including the PA Council on the Arts and DEP.

Applications that were previously submitted and reviewed on paper are being processed 50 percent faster in the electronic system, resulting in increased productivity of $18 million since 2017.

Savings will continue to grow as more grants are processed through the system.

[Posted: Oct. 24, 2018]

10/29/2018