Annelise Smith
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Reimagining Pennsylvania grant discovery

 

Reimagining Pennsylvania grant discovery

Background

Pennsylvania distributes billions of dollars in funding each year through over 300 grant programs. The Shapiro Administration was focused on improving accessibility to funding and discovering exactly where pain points existed in the discovery and application process.

Problem

Extensive user research revealed that there were several challenges within the grant discovery process. Information about grants was scattered across numerous agency websites and PDFs making it difficult for potential applicants to know:

  • What programs are available

  • Whether they qualify

  • How and when to apply for them

  • What a quality application looked like

These issues are particularly acute for small businesses and non-profits that may not have the resources to identify funding opportunities on their own.

Notes from a research session with Pennsylvania grant applicants

Conducting research

I played different roles in three phases of research:

  1. Supporting in-depth discovery
    Over 3 months, our user research team led interviews with 75 Pennsylvania employees and 26 grant applicants​. Topics included current grants process, tools, highlights and pain points.​ I attended calls, took notes, asked questions, and assisted with synthesis to ensure these insights were translated to the designs.

  2. Led in-person, moderated user testing session
    I tested a prototype with 10 Pennsylvania grant applicants. These testing sessions provided valuable feedback on what applicants were looking for and insight into their mental model while searching for a grant.

  3. Led virtual, moderated user testing and card sorting activities
    Throughout the iterative design process, I collected more feedback with applicants. I also ran card sorting activities to better understand how search terms and filter options play a role in the discovery process.

 

Users test a clickable prototype of the new grant discovery tool

Designing the experience

The key user needs I focused on across the design of the new experience:

  1. A consolidated “front door” for all available state grants

    • Help inexperienced applicants with a guided search experience, a way to get updates on relevant funding opportunities, and answer FAQs

    • Create an experience that was consistent with the rest of pa.gov​

  2. The right tools to narrow down the search

    • Provide useful filters in combination with a keyword search

    • Support the social nature of sharing grants, enabling easy external sharing of grants and search lists

  3. Grant detail pages to inform the decision to apply

    • Find funding information in one place—setting clear expectations with the goal of improving application quality

    • Surface key dates and answer questions on eligibility, level of effort to apply, and what the application process entails

    • Guide user to application or to return to main search