Simplifying the managing of multiple grant projects using Platform for Interactive Management (PIM)

Managing a grant project is a multifaceted undertaking that requires effective communication. Both the grantee and grantor should know the status of achievement of deliverables, challenges, and expenditure on the grant at various points in the project to allow for evidence-based decision-making.

Although The University of the West Indies (UWI) would have managed, as a grantee, numerous grant projects, HIT RESET Caribbean is the first regional grant programme The UWI has managed where third party funding is offered competitively. Co-Beneficiaries responsible for management include Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and Anton de Kom University of Suriname.  This overall programme is funded by the ACP Innovation Fund and the OACPS Research and Innovation Program and implemented by the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States with the financial contribution of the European Union.

The grant funding has been mobilized through activities in several Caribbean countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With nine third-party projects in the portfolio, it is important for the UWI to keep track of the progress and deliverables of the projects for accountability and uniformity in record keeping.

The Platform for Interactive Management (PIM) was designed and launched in 2023 by Dr. Perry Polar, Programme Manager HIT RESET Caribbean with assistance from Consultants to the project, using commercially available project management software (Click Up). It allows both the grantee and grantor to track project progress in real time by establishing deadlines for outputs and allocating the status of progress. It also acts as a repository for planning tools such as implementation plans and risk matrices and for financial data which allows for all documents to be at hand during quarterly discussions. PIM allows for the easy compilation of narrative reports per quarter through its notes section, so at the end of the project, it is easier to prepare the final report.

This platform provides the project consortium a simplified tool for communicating important decisions, sharing documents, creating timelines, and ensuring milestone deadlines are met for multiple projects. This allows a range of key stakeholders to monitor the progress of all nine projects at any one time. This transparency allows for better coordination and resource management for all parties involved. Furthermore, it connects and unifies key stakeholders from multiple locations. The bird’s-eye view of all the tasks makes a larger project on climate change more manageable.

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