1109: Modernizing Grants Management

JOHN SHEEHAN:
This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, April 20th, 2026. I'm John Sheehan
with news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Today, modernizing
grants management.
Colton Anderson, a senior analyst in public health systems improvement at ASTHO, explains how
agencies across the country are rethinking and improving their grants management processes.
From centralizing functions and modernizing systems to refining sub-recipient monitoring,
departments are finding practical ways to increase efficiency, strengthen compliance, and make
better use of funding. Colton Anderson, welcome to the show.

COLTON ANDERSON:
Thanks for having me.

SHEEHAN:

So, Colton, let's talk about grants management. It can be a tedious part of
a department.
How are some departments advancing it?

ANDERSON:
Yeah, we're seeing a range of approaches. Some departments are organizing or centralizing their
grants functions to create more consistency, while others are modernizing administrative systems
or improving internal processes, especially around what we're seeing sub-recipient management

and support. For example, like you'll see in the blog that we wrote, Nebraska refined its sub-
recipient monitoring approach and saved a significant amount of time and money, while

Washington's multi-year funding transformation project is helping create a more consistent way to
manage and support grants with the goal of maximizing funds and strengthening public health
services.
And that's really why we wrote the blog, is to highlight these practical examples and share how
health departments are actively strengthening this work.

SHEEHAN:
Gotcha. So, modernizing systems, I imagine it means digitizing systems, moving away from
paper. Can you talk a little more in detail about how that can save time and, you know, make
things more efficient?

ANDERSON:
Right. So, what we're hearing from departments is that moving to electronic systems creates a lot
more visibility into the process. So, instead of chasing emails or paper forms, it can track
progress and status in real time.

And that transparency can make it much easier to spot bottlenecks and step in before small
issues turn into bigger problems. So, some are also seeing stronger compliance because of
these systems that they built in with validations and audit trails. And that structure helps reduce
errors and makes reporting much more straightforward.
And maybe most importantly, it supports more data-driven decision-making, whether that's
monitoring spending, tracking key metrics, or quickly pulling accurate information during routine
operations, or even an emergency response.

SHEEHAN:
Gotcha. So, it can really keep track of the details. Right.
And departments don't necessarily have to make these big structural changes. There are smaller
things that departments can do.

ANDERSON:
Exactly. A lot of the meaningful progress that we see is happening at the operational level.
Agencies and even individual units are taking a close look at the pieces of process that they can
directly influence and make practical adjustments just there.
In many cases, that means standardizing and documenting the steps they already follow,
clarifying roles and accountability within teams, or improving onboarding and training for staff who
are involved in grants work. Those kinds of focused improvements can create real consistency
and efficiency, even without having a large-scale structural change happen.

SHEEHAN:
So, it sounds like documentation as sort of a first step is, you know, just making sure everyone
knows the right roles and responsibilities. It's a really good place to start. What else for a
department that sort of is a little, that their grant management has just gotten unwieldy?
What would be your advice to them?

ANDERSON:
So, one of the best first steps you can take is really just taking a step back and assess what you
already have in place. That's really one of the gaps that we're seeing is they want to take on too
much, but what they have in place, they can really utilize and just take a step back and look at
that. They can find gaps and look at root causes and make sure that they're including staff, both
programmatic and business units who are actually involved in the process.
They'll get a much clearer picture when everyone is at the table and can actually weigh into the

conversation. And then from there, they can develop a strategy and plan for improvement. Often
that starts with clarifying roles and responsibilities or documenting and standardizing processes,
which can remove steps that aren't really adding value to them.
And then they can also leverage technology where it makes sense and make sure staff have the
training they need. ASO also has a lot of peer networks, and that's a great place to learn from
others who have gone through similar efforts. There are practical tools available like ASO's
Process Improvement Readiness Assessment and the Grants Management Optimization Toolkit,
which you can find on ASO's State and Territorial Administrative Readiness webpage at asto.org.

SHEEHAN:
Colton Anderson, thanks so much.

ANDERSON:

Thank you.

SHEEHAN:

Colton Anderson is a senior analyst in Public
Health Systems Improvement at ASTHO.
Tomorrow, April 21st, join ASTHO for ACE's Policy and Partnerships Training, a webinar to equip
state, territorial, and freely associated state health agencies with practical strategies to advance
adverse childhood experience, ACE's prevention, and other related public health issues like
suicide, overdose, and mental health-related harms through policy and partnerships. This session

will strengthen participants' understanding of the policy process, highlight the critical role of cross-
sector collaboration, and share real-world insights from states successfully implementing ACE's

related policies. The link to register for this training is in the show notes.
Adaptive leadership requires balancing complex decision-making, competing priorities, and
leading diverse teams. For the fifth and final session of the Leadership Power Hour series, The
Adaptive Leader, Mastering Clarity, Resilience, and High-Impact Teams on April 23rd,
participants will learn critical skills that foster trust, promote accountability, and enable
collaborative team dynamics under pressure. Leave with renewed clarity, actionable tools, and
the confidence to inspire trust and drive meaningful outcomes, even in times of uncertainty.
Find the link to register in the show notes. This has been Public Health Review Morning Edition.
I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.