Pima Community College + Concord

“Concord gives us full control over who has access to which contracts.”
– Julie Delayo, Executive Director for Sponsored Programs, Grants and Contracts at Pima Community College
Challenge
Inefficient processes jeopardized grant funding
Pima Community College (PCC) relies heavily on grants and contracts — representing 20% of its annual operating budget — to fund vital programs and support its students. Julie Delayo, Executive Director for Sponsored Programs, Grants and Contracts, understands the pressure of constant deadlines and complex collaboration. “We are up against constant deadlines,” she explains.
Before using Concord, PCC faced significant challenges tracking communications, managing workflows, and accessing data for grant applications and contract development. This resulted in missed deadlines, jeopardizing valuable grant opportunities and impacting the college's ability to secure critical funding.
The decentralized, email-based communication system often led to delays in approvals from key stakeholders, including the General Counsel's office, further hindering the grant application process.
Solution
One centralized platform with consistent workflows
PCC adopted Concord to centralize communication and streamline grant and contract workflows. The platform's discussion tab became a vital hub for collaborating with stakeholders, including academic divisions, the statistical department, financial services, procurement, and the General Counsel's office.
“It gives us the ability to have those discussions right in the discussion tab,” Delayo explains. “And it sends out emails so everybody stays in the loop.” This transparent communication eliminated delays caused by fragmented email chains and version control issues, accelerating the approval process.
Concord's workflow management capabilities also provided real-time visibility into the status of each agreement, enabling proactive management and reducing the risk of missed deadlines. Flexible access controls allowed PCC to maintain security while ensuring appropriate access for different stakeholders. “You can give somebody full view who needs access to all contracts,” Delayo notes, “and then you can narrow it down to a department.”
"Concord gives us full control over who has access to which contracts. You can even specify by department."– Julie Delayo, Executive Director for Sponsored Programs, Grants and Contracts at Pima Community College
Results
Increased grant funding and smoother processes
The impact of Concord on PCC's grant and contract management has been substantial. Centralized communication and streamlined workflows significantly improved efficiency. The time required to secure General Counsel approvals decreased significantly, and the overall contract development cycle was shortened by a wide margin.
This increased agility directly translated into an increase in successful grant applications in the first year of using Concord, representing a great deal of additional funding for critical student programs.
Moreover, the improved tracking of deadlines and performance metrics has enabled PCC to manage its contracts more proactively, further maximizing its grant success rate. By leveraging Concord’s features, PCC has not only streamlined its processes but also strengthened its financial position and its ability to fulfill its mission of supporting student success.
Create a single source of truth for all your contracts.