Government teams looking to digitise applications for businesses applying for funding and grants are showing interest in Business Connect’s FormBuilder.
Build feature-rich online forms quickly and at no cost
FormBuilder.govt gives government agencies and councils a way to develop online service forms in days, not weeks or months.
Every week, we meet with service teams across government to explore whether our centrally funded tool can make interacting with government easier.
Business Connect’s drag-and-drop form builder has a suite of features that can be combined to create government services like:
- registrations
- licence and permit applications
- surveys
- notifications
- renewals.
Feature list — FormBuilder.govt
Digitising applications for funding and grants
Lately, we’ve noticed an increase in interest from government teams responsible for grants and funding applications.
These applications can come in rounds. This means forms need to be available for a certain period and then taken down, updated and possibly republished at a later date.
The application process tends to be paper-based because editing and republishing a PDF is the most flexible way teams can manage this. However, we know using paper-based forms has the usual pain points — administrators have to enter data manually, there’s no easy way to track your service’s performance or view analytics.
Once an applicant receives funding, they need to complete the reporting requirements. These include showing appropriate use of the funds and reporting on outcomes and milestones — usually with a spreadsheet or PDF.
Case study: MBIE’s Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme
Our first venture into supporting a team wanting to digitise their grant applications was the Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Eligible small retail businesses were offered a subsidy to install a fog cannon — a preventative measure against recent aggravated robberies and ram raids.
Retail business owners could apply on the Business Connect platform and received a voucher code when approved. Brydon Tweedie, manager of the scheme reflects on the experience:
Using the Business Connect platform for the Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme was a great choice. Our end users have a simple and intuitive form and my team receive all the information they need in one go. I have complete confidence in its ability to efficiently deliver Government services to New Zealand businesses.
Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme, MBIE — Business Connect
Case study: Kānoa – Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit
We worked with Kānoa to create an application form and reporting templates for the recently launched Regional Infrastructure Fund. By publishing the forms on our shared government platform, Kānoa gives applicants the ability to save their progress and pre-populate the form with data from their New Zealand Business Number.
Case study: Ministry for Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Another series of forms recently launched are reporting templates for those receiving grants via HUD’s He Taupae and He Taupua funds. The organisation wanted to offer its recipients a digital channel for the regular reporting it requires.
Customers receive automated email notifications to remind them when it’s time to log back in and complete a report for a certain period. This means better compliance and removes the work required to send out manual reminders. Users can also reuse previously entered data by copying submitted applications, saving them time and effort.
Challenges for New Zealand businesses
We know businesses aren’t always aware of the government grants and funding they’re eligible for. We’re keen to support any opportunity to make things more straightforward.
Formbuilder’s conditional logic and custom validation features give applicants the confidence that they’re entering their information correctly. The bonus is that government teams get better quality applications.
For businesses to access the support they need, we’re keen for application and reporting forms to be digitised and available in 1 place — on the Business Connect platform.
Information for your organisation — Business Connect
Do you have a form you’d like to digitise?
Using a shared government platform removes duplication of effort around:
- procurement
- security
- privacy
- accessibility.
Services are more consistent and coordinated by using common templates and form components.
If you’re interested in digitising your grant application process, or any other business-facing forms, email us or register for one of our webinars.
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