AIMS Grant Management Software vs OpenWater Grant Management

AIMS Grant Management Software manages the grant lifecycle from application and review through awards, payments, and reporting. Each funding scheme can have its own workflow, and online smartforms support multistage applications and conditional questions. Applicants, administrators, and external reviewers use an online portal to apply, manage, and report on grants. Finance features cover budgets, fund management, commitments, and scheduled payments, including multi-year and multi-fund decisions. Browser-based analytics, dashboards, operational reports, and keyword search help teams work with grant data. Access can be assigned by user, role, or grant programme; the system records time and date stamps and flags conflicts of interest. AIMS is hosted on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with on-premises and alternative-cloud hosting also available. It states WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and support for assistive technologies and major browsers. The vendor offers professional services, training, and managed grant administration. Annual subscription prices start at £43,000 a year for Foundation, £52,000 a year for Standard, and £63,000 a year for Enterprise; a one-off onboarding and implementation plan starts at £55,000 as a one-time purchase. Pricing depends on scale, complexity, hosting, support, and optional services, not user count.

OpenWater Grant Management gives grantmaking organizations tools to manage applications, review rounds, communications, and program data. A drag-and-drop form builder supports conditional logic and file attachments of any size. Reviewers can access submissions assigned to them and submit scores through multi-round workflows. Dashboards track decisions and reports, while fund tracking records amounts, payment dates, and program budgets. Reporting and analytics help administrators examine program data and monitor outreach and follow-ups. OpenWater lists more than 65 integrations across association management, CRM, directory, and payment gateway products, including iMIS, Salesforce, Higher Logic, Stripe, and PayPal. Safeguards include SSO, app encryption, two-factor authentication, CAPTCHA, password strength requirements, and GDPR support options; integrated payment gateways must be PCI-compliant. Submission pages are mobile-responsive, administrative and review functions are available through the OpenWater app, and the platform supports WCAG compliance. It is designed for grant administrators at foundations, government agencies, associations, and higher education institutions—not grant recipients. Pricing is available by request and varies by usage. Recommendation requests are not supported directly within the platform.