RIF signs deal for new digital grants management platform

The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) on Tuesday announced the signing of an agreement with NetU Consultants Ltd for the development and implementation of a new integrated grants management platform based on the Salesforce Grants Management Platform.

According to the foundation, the new Software as a Service SaaS platform will cover all stages of project funding, from the announcement of calls to the disbursement of payments to the ecosystem.

It will also support expanded capabilities for the flexible development of functionalities and business workflows.

The objective of the project, the announcement explained, is the development of a modern and secure grants management system, which will significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of funding procedures.

The system is also expected to offer a unified, user-friendly and seamless experience for all stakeholders, including applicants, beneficiaries, evaluators and RIF personnel.

The project aims to digitally transform the overall grants management process end to end.

It also seeks to improve operational efficiency through automation, standardisation and reduction of administrative burden.

In addition, the platform will support data-driven decision-making through integrated reporting and analytics tools.

Furthermore, it is designed to enhance the quality and speed of service delivery to the research and innovation community.

“Today’s agreement marks an important milestone in a transformation journey that began 3.5 years ago,” said director general of the Research and Innovation Foundation Theodoros Loukaidis.

“Following countless hours of hard work by our internal teams, as well as the support of a specialised external consultant, we are now ready to move into the implementation phase,” he added.

“Our goal is ambitious but clear,” Loukaidis continued, “to have the new system fully operational within nine months, in order to support in a timely manner, the new Programming Period 2028–2034.”

On his part, chief executive officer of NetU Group Demetris Nisiotis expressed the company’s “strong satisfaction for this important collaboration with the Research and Innovation Foundation“.

“The use of the Salesforce Grants Management platform, a modern and internationally recognised solution for organisations of similar profile, is expected to substantially enhance the operational effectiveness of RIF,” he stated.

“Its implementation constitutes a decisive step towards the digital upgrade of the foundation, creating significant added value both for its officers and for the organisations it engages with,” he added.

Finally, the foundation stated that “the collaboration with NetU Consultants Ltd constitutes an important step towards further strengthening RIF as a modern, efficient, and fully digital organisation, actively supporting research and innovation in Cyprus”.