Top 10 Questions State and Local Government Grants Managers Are Asking in 2026

New Euna Solutions report highlights the 10 questions defining grants management in 2026 as state and local governments face rising compliance demands, staffing strain, and growing pressure to do more with less

Key Takeaways

• Grants management is now operational infrastructure. It is becoming a core part of how state and local governments manage funding, sustain services, and support financial stability.
• Funding pressure is increasing. Governments are pursuing more grants to address revenue gaps even as concern about future funding stability grows.
• Compliance demands are getting heavier. Reporting, documentation, and oversight requirements are expanding and taking up more staff time.
• Manual work is still holding teams back. Spreadsheets, disconnected tools, and repetitive administrative tasks continue to limit efficiency and capacity.
• Technology is becoming essential. Automation and AI are gaining momentum as governments seek to improve visibility, reduce the burden, and scale grant operations.

ATLANTA & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What are state and local government grants managers most focused on in 2026? According to a new report from Euna Solutions, they are asking increasingly urgent questions about capacity, compliance, funding stability, manual workload, and how technology can help them keep up with growing demands.

Those questions are at the center of 2026 State of Grants Management and Technology: Managing Growth Under Constraint, a new report from Euna Solutions based on insights from 51 public sector leaders in the United States who are directly involved in grants management and grants oversight. Together, the findings show that grants management is no longer a narrow administrative function. It is becoming a more strategic operational capability tied directly to financial resilience, service continuity, and long-term organizational readiness.

The report identifies a widening gap between expectations for grants management and its capacity. In practical terms, that gap reflects the difference between what grants teams are expected to deliver and the staffing, systems, and processes available to support that work. It highlights five trends shaping the current environment:

1. Grants are becoming a core component of financial planning
2. Compliance expectations are intensifying
3. Capacity constraints remain a persistent barrier
4. Manual processes are limiting performance
5. Technology is now essential for scalability and efficiency.

“To make grants programs sustainable, public sector leaders need to stop thinking about grants management as a back-office task and start treating it as operational infrastructure,” said Mykola Konrad, Chief Product Officer at Euna Solutions. “The organizations that will be best positioned in 2026 are the ones reducing dependence on spreadsheets and manual data entry, improving visibility into deadlines and requirements, and building systems that can drive more funding by enforcing tighter compliance demands, and faster grant matching decisions.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• 40% of respondents say they are applying for more grants to address revenue gaps.
• 80% are concerned about funding stability over the next one to three years.
• 77% report increased compliance oversight in the past year.
• 65% say reporting and documentation requirements significantly influence workload.
• 44% still use spreadsheets or a patchwork of tools.
• 39% spend up to 50% of their time on manual tasks, while 14% spend 75% or more of their time each week on those activities.
• 29% are actively using automation or AI tools.
• 50% are exploring, piloting, or planning to explore automation and AI capabilities in the coming year.

To help public sector leaders translate these findings into action, the report uncovers the 10 questions state and local government grants managers are asking most urgently in 2026. Together, these questions reflect a broader shift in how grants are being managed—from a fragmented administrative function to a more strategic, operational capability that affects funding, compliance, and long-term stability.

Top 10 Questions State and Local Government Grants Managers Are Asking in 2026

1. Are grants now a core part of financial planning, not just supplemental funding?

Yes. In Euna Solutions’ 2026 State of Grants Management and Technology report, grants are described as becoming a core component of public sector financial planning, not just supplemental funding. 40% of respondents said they are applying for additional grants to address revenue gaps, indicating that many public-sector organizations are using grants to support budget stability, sustain services, and strengthen operating strategies.

2. How concerned should we be about future funding stability?

Concern is widespread. The report found that 80% of public sector respondents are concerned about funding stability over the next one to three years. This suggests many organizations are increasing their reliance on grants while also recognizing that future funding levels may remain uncertain.

3. Why does compliance feel harder than it did a year ago?

Because oversight has intensified. The report states that 77% of respondents experienced increased compliance oversight in the past year. As expectations rise around audit readiness, subrecipient monitoring, federal reporting, and Uniform Guidance requirements, organizations need stronger systems and workflows to maintain accountability, documentation quality, and reporting accuracy.

4. How much is reporting and documentation driving workload?

A great deal. According to the report, 65% of respondents said reporting and documentation requirements significantly affect the grant workload. That means compliance work is not a secondary task—it is now a major operational responsibility for grants teams.

5. What is making it harder to compete for grant funding?

The biggest obstacles are operational, not strategic. The report identifies limited staff capacity to prepare strong applications as the top challenge in competing for grant funding, followed by the lack of a centralized grants management system. These constraints make it harder to move quickly, coordinate across teams, and submit competitive applications.

6. How much time are grants teams still losing to manual work?

A substantial amount. The report found that 39% of respondents spend up to 50% of their time on manual grant tasks, such as data entry, document collection, and reporting. An additional 14% spend 75% or more of their time each week on those activities. That is time being lost to repetitive administration instead of higher-value work like strategy, funding pursuit, and program support.

7. Are spreadsheets still common in grants management?

Yes, very much so. The report found that 44% of respondents still use spreadsheets or a patchwork of tools to manage grant opportunities, documentation, and reporting requirements. These fragmented workflows create inefficiencies, reduce visibility, and increase administrative burden for grants teams.

8. Is automation and AI actually being adopted in grants management?

Adoption is still emerging, but momentum is building. The report states that 29% of organizations are actively using automation or artificial intelligence tools in grants management, while 50% are exploring, piloting, or planning to explore these solutions in the coming year.

9. Where are grants teams most interested in using automation or AI?

The strongest interest is in areas that reduce repetitive work and improve speed and consistency. According to the report, the main areas of interest for automation and AI in grants management are application intake and review, reporting and compliance tracking, data collection and analysis, opportunity discovery and matching, and workflow automation. These use cases show that grants teams are primarily interested in technology that improves efficiency, coordination, and operational accuracy.

10. What should grants leaders do now to prepare for 2026?

The report recommends five actions for grants leaders preparing for 2026: centralize grant data, reduce manual work, measure what matters, strengthen collaboration, and build infrastructure for growth. In practical terms, that means using software to unify data, automating repetitive administrative tasks, tracking efficiency and outcomes instead of only application volume, aligning finance and compliance teams, and investing in systems that can scale with larger grant portfolios.

Euna Grants, part of the Euna Solutions financial suite, provides end-to-end grant lifecycle management for public sector organizations. From opportunity discovery and application tracking to compliance oversight, reporting, and closeout, Euna Grants centralizes workflows and improves data visibility across departments. By unifying grants processes within a purpose-built platform, organizations can reduce administrative burden, strengthen accountability, and operate with greater confidence in increasingly complex funding environments.

Read the full 2026 State of Grants and Technology Report.

About Euna Solutions
Euna Solutions® is the leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based software designed to streamline procurement, budgeting, payments, and grants management for public sector and government organizations. Euna's AI-powered features and intelligent automation help organizations make better-informed decisions, ensure compliance, empower collaboration, and reduce administrative burden. Euna's full-cycle financial suite supports more than 3,600 organizations across North America in building trust, enabling transparency, and driving positive community impact. Recognized on Government Technology’s GovTech 100 list, Euna Solutions is committed to advancing public sector innovation. To learn more, visit www.eunasolutions.com.