Grants management for university of Bristol

Introduction

Enhancing grant management and case compliance at the University of Bristol

Case metrics

Key statistics

37%

of Bristol's research was judged to be 'internationally excellent' and received the 3* rating.

57%

of the University's research achieved the top 'world-leading' 4* rating, compared to a sector average of 41%.

94%

of the University's research was assessed as either 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent'.

The challenge

Improving case management and compliance for research and legal services

The University of Bristol (UoB) were looking for a more effective way to manage cases for the Research and Enterprise Development (RED) organisation and for the University Secretary’s Office (SecO).

The RED Department works with academics, researchers, students and entrepreneur communities within and outside of UoB to bid for research and enterprise-related grants and contracts, and to manage contractual negotiations. RED and Finance Services needed to effectively and efficiently manage detailed contractual negotiations and related communications throughout the pre-award lifecycle from application to award, covering areas such as: the terms and conditions of the scheme; ethical governance implications; and managing the process of contract negotiations with funders and research and enterprise partners.

The University Secretary’s Office (SecO) provides a wide range of advice and support on legal and compliance issues to all academic and professional departments of the University. The Office’s responsibilities include work in the areas of property and commercial law, employment law, intellectual property, insurance, risk management, data protection, freedom of information, staff and student mediation and dispute resolution, appeals and discipline. SecO needed to manage their case load in all these areas, as well as to provide management information for the team to support workload management and internal reporting requirements.

“The implementation of F2 not only improved the system our team uses, it provided an opportunity for teams across the university to examine and understand processes which had been built organically over many years in collaboration with cBrain.”

Tom Morgan

F2 Service Owner at University of Bristol

The solution

Streamlining case management with a shared digital solution

cBrain worked with the University of Bristol to provide a shared solution that could address the issues users were facing with the current systems.

The F2 platform provides automated e-mail integration, so users were able to store correspondence records and attachments in a single place, replacing the previous approach of using Outlook, shared network drives, and printing paper copies. The project team worked with users to configure case templates and checklists to manage the end to end process. The checklists also include additional data fields to capture specific research related information, and this data is merged into document and communications templates automatically. The platform logs all actions in the case history, making it easier to establish an audit trail of email correspondence, document history and decisions made.

The project used an agile approach, working with University ‘super users’ to create initial prototypes, and then refine them based on feedback. This meant that the solution created was directly driven by the service users, who became experts on using the system before going live.

The University’s IT services team managed the overall project, and supported integration with university authentication systems, mail systems. They also used the platform’s REST APIs to integrate student and academic data into the platform.

The result

Enhanced research contract management with automation, compliance, and secure data tracking

The implementation of the F2 platform has significantly improved case management at the University of Bristol. RED and SecO now have a single system for accessing case-related information, tracking communications, and managing documents efficiently. The automated case logging and document storage features have reduced administrative burdens and minimized errors caused by duplicate data entry.

For research contract management, the ability to merge case data into contract templates has streamlined the process, reduced turnaround times and improved consistency. The platform also provides a clear overview of case progress, enabling better workload distribution and improved response times for inquiries.

The University has strengthened legal compliance and data security through centralized storage and access controls. The clear audit trail ensures accountability and simplifies reporting, making it easier to track case history and maintain regulatory compliance.

The University of Bristol has improved operational efficiency, enhanced compliance oversight, and created a scalable framework for managing research contract management

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