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

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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

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Key Takeaways

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ATLANTA & TORONTO — 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.

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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.

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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:

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“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.”

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Among the report’s key findings:

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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4. How much is reporting and documentation driving workload?

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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.

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

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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.