How the American Scandinavian-Foundation Streamlined Its International Grant Management

A Case Study on Adopting OpenWater to Support Applicants, Judges, and Staff.
The American Scandinavian-Foundation (ASF) fosters cultural and academic ties by offering a diverse range of grants, fellowships, and internships. These prestigious awards, judged by former grantees, are managed by a small, dedicated staff. The grants provide winners with important opportunities to further their research and develop their academic expertise across Scandinavian countries and the United States.

Before OpenWater
Prior to adopting a new grants platform, ASF staff spent a significant portion of their valuable time assisting applicants and judges with technical issues. This constant need for tech support detracted from their ability to work on other important projects that directly benefit the foundation’s mission and its recipients.

ASF Goals While Searching for New Software
When searching for new software, ASF had two primary goals guiding its decision. It was crucial to find a versatile solution that would work seamlessly across the many different grant programs offered by the foundation. Equally important was finding a platform that would be intuitive and easy enough for all applicants and judges to use without extensive guidance.

What ASF Judges Said About OpenWater
ASF wisely chose to phase in the OpenWater platform slowly across its programs, which allowed judges to adapt to the new system and become proficient. When ASF began its search for a new platform to replace a "clunky" older system, their judges were initially skeptical. Many of these judges, being academics, had years of negative experiences with grant software and had never found a system they felt was genuinely easy to use. However, when staff introduced them to OpenWater, that skepticism quickly vanished, and the judges were pleasantly surprised.

What Was Achieved
Running international grants programs presents unique challenges, but OpenWater made it simple for ASF to manage applicants from both the US and Scandinavia. The foundation also benefited from quick and reliable support from the OpenWater team, who even spent a whole day at the ASF offices to resolve a problem with the staff. Because the platform is so simple to use, ASF staff have not had to invest a great deal of their own time into training judges, freeing them to focus on their core responsibilities.