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Introducing Our New Program Management Portal

As Woodard & Curran has developed partnerships with public and private clients across the country, our teams often manage several concurrent projects for the same client. With our increasingly hybrid workforce spread across the country, our project and technical managers started discussing how we can better manage information about each ongoing project rather than relying on individual knowledge or spreadsheets. Similarly, our Fiscal Solutions team was considering how to create a hub for the myriads of fiscal resources that fund individual projects. This resulted in a collaborative effort between Melissa Stine, Project Water Resources Planner, partnered with Morgan French, Fiscal Solutions Regional Leader, who have been integral in developing our latest innovative tool – the Program Management Portal.

“We already had a data management system that we leverage for tracking projects for Integrated Regional Water Management programs and larger hydrologic regions, in California,” explained Melissa. “We used that system as a basis to create a more universal framework and incorporate the grant administration side of it too.”

The result is a cloud-based system that can be used for clients across the country without requiring customization to meet various state regulations. The software provides a standardized approach to both project and fiscal management that will improve workflow across our project teams and reduce the opportunity for human error to occur.

“The conversation about developing a tool like this started back in 2020,” said Morgan. “We realized a few team members working on the project management and funding side had data and information that wasn’t accessible to anyone else on the team. This solution will allow us to track the projects we’re managing for each client and the funding that is paying for the project.”

Morgan further explained that the software solution includes the ability to keep tabs on project milestones alongside fiscal programs that require tracking incoming funding, disbursements, due dates for reporting to meet funding requirements, assign tasks to team members, and easily generate reports. The snapshot overview of the dashboard also provides key information to our clients and will help us have more meaningful conversations with client contacts about the projects and funding.

After beta testing the software with mock projects and funding scenarios, our team started inputting real project data into the secure system and sharing demonstrations with key clients. In Newberry, Florida, our experts are tackling drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater projects. Morgan provided the city’s Assistant Manager and Chief Financial Officer, Dallas Lee, CGFO, SHRM-CP, CPM, with a demonstration. After reviewing what our team developed, he said:

I am incredibly excited about the potential. Managing multiple grants and infrastructure projects can be overwhelming, especially for a small town, but this tool is designed to simplify the process and give us better control over tracking funding agreements and project progress. Once implemented, it will make our work significantly more efficient, allowing us to focus on delivering results rather than juggling administrative tasks. This innovative solution truly positions Woodard & Curran as a leader in the industry, and we strongly support moving forward with its deployment. It’s exactly what we need to elevate our operations.

The Program Management Portal will help our people address a common problem we face internally, and know our clients also struggle with. It takes management of data out of spreadsheets saved on people’s desktops or slow-moving servers that can only be accessed internally and overcomes the hurdle of siloed data systems to create a shared resource for project teams and clients that is easily accessible and adds a level of transparency. This will improve the flow of information, empower greater accuracy in data tracking, and continually improve the services we offer. By creating a hub for all project information related to one client, we can also gain insight into what funding is already allocated and what fiscal opportunities are available for additional capital improvement projects.

Author

Jeanna Long National Digital Innovation Leader Strategy Office

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