Grant Delivery Handover Checklist 2025
A successful grant award is only the start. Use this handover checklist to transfer knowledge from bid writers to delivery teams within 14 days, so funder expectations, budgets, and compliance controls stay tight.
TL;DR
- Run a cross-team kick-off meeting within five days of the award notice.
- Store approved assets alongside the audit evidence pack.
- Update Crafty prompts and dashboards so delivery teams reference the same source of truth.
Why handovers fail (and how to fix them)
The Government Grant Management Service lessons learned (2024) highlight poor internal coordination as a root cause of delivery risk. Bid teams often disappear post-award, leaving delivery teams to interpret funder conditions alone. A formal handover ensures continuity, compliance, and relationship stewardship.
Two-week handover checklist
Use this timeline to transition seamlessly from award to delivery launch.
| Day | Action | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Confirm award letter, conditions, reporting schedule | Bid lead | Store in change register |
| 3–5 | Hold cross-team handover meeting | Programme manager | Follow agenda below |
| 6–9 | Populate delivery plan, assign owners, set milestones | Delivery lead | Sync with pipeline board |
| 10–12 | Set up finance codes, monitoring dashboards, consent trackers | Finance & impact leads | Reference consent workflow |
| 13–14 | Confirm first funder check-in, publish internal comms | CEO / comms lead | Update CRM & Crafty prompts |
Handover meeting agenda
A 60-minute agenda keeps everyone aligned:
- Recap award conditions, deliverables, and success measures.
- Walk through approved narratives, evidence bank references, and budget notes.
- Review risk register and change control expectations.
- Agree delivery milestones, owners, and reporting cadences.
- Set internal and funder communication plan.
Documentation toolkit
Assemble these documents before the meeting:
- Award letter and grant agreement.
- Final Crafty-generated proposal with tracked revisions.
- Budget workbook and scenario models.
- Monitoring and evaluation framework (linked to impact dashboard).
- Stakeholder comms plan and funder contact details.
Next steps and templates
Download the 14-day checklist, handover agenda, document checklist, and first funder update template. Store them in Crafty so every successful bid follows the same process.
Action plan
- Assign a handover lead for every new award.
- Schedule the kick-off meeting immediately after acceptance.
- Upload handover assets to Crafty for future reuse and auditing.
Key takeaways
- Formal handovers safeguard compliance and funder relationships.
- Use a 14-day checklist to transfer budgets, evidence, and risk.
- Crafty keeps delivery teams aligned with the award-winning proposal.
Summary and next steps
Winning grants is only half the job. Build this handover discipline once and reuse it for every award so delivery starts strong and funders stay impressed.
- Adopt the handover checklist and assign a lead.
- Integrate the process with your pipeline board and Crafty workspace.
- Review the handover after the first 30 days of delivery to capture lessons.