Using AI to create a grants accelerator solution

Government agencies play a pivotal role in supporting a wide range of public assistance programs through the administration of grants — for everything from rental assistance to education funds for teachers.

In a new interview, EY’s Director of Markets and Business Development Quiana Smith and US Public Sector AI Lead Amy Jones share how EY teamed up with Microsoft to develop a grants accelerator solution that can help agencies manage their own grant programs more effectively.

According to Smith, the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic led EY and Microsoft to establish a product-centric model to address immediate needs. This collaboration focused on developing and acquiring technology intellectual property for agencies to support various initiatives, such as global vaccine management and health equity. One standout innovation is the EY Grants Accelerator, which is listed on the FedRAMP marketplace. “It has helped agencies disperse over $2 billion in funds over the past three and a half years,” says Smith. “We’re quite proud of that.”

In addition to grants management, the public sector faces other challenges, including funding cliffs and a shortage of skilled professionals. “There’s a broad inability to hire not just for skilled workers, but at volume that’s needed to keep up with the level of work and expectations across the government space,” says Jones. “And there’s ultimately a need to improve automation in decision-making so that available funding is maximized across all sources.”

 EY and Microsoft are addressing these issues by creating applications that automate low-value, repetitive tasks – allowing the workforce to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. According to Jones, EY has also invested in EYQ, an enterprise version of ChatGPT built on Microsoft’s platform, which has “the potential for scale and efficiency in government operations.”

Looking ahead, EY and Microsoft are preparing to address emerging challenges by leveraging their combined expertise in data analytics, artificial intelligence, generative AI and cybersecurity. One notable initiative is the Generative AI for State and Local Government project. “It positions EY to bring our risk and governance expertise to the forefront to help agencies create responsible AI strategies,” says Smith.

For more information about the power of technology alliances, visit ey.com/en_us/alliances/Microsoft.

This video panel discussion was produced by Scoop News Group, for FedScoop and StateScoop, and underwritten by EY.