IBM Teams Up With The Edcomm Group for Grants.gov — Web Development, Training and Customer Support

March 11, 2004 -- International Business Machines (IBM) teamed up with The Edcomm Group to design and develop Grants.gov. As one of the President's 24 E-Government initiatives, Grants.gov is a unified, easy-to-use "storefront" that allows customers of Federal grants to electronically find and apply for grants.

Edcomm's role on this initiative included:
*Web Site Redesign
*Online Support
*Customer Outreach
*Grant Agency Training
*Contact Center

Web Site Redesign
With 26 federal grant-making agencies representing over 900 grant opportunities, it was decided that a comprehensive and 508 compliant web site would be the best resource for those seeking grants and information about grants. The Edcomm Group wrote the content, created all graphical elements, and designed and coded all navigation.

Online Support
Each page of the website included searchable help windows containing detailed procedures and screen shots. An interactive tutorial provides a comprehensive introduction and overview of all site functionality. Additional support consisted of online FAQs by topic, a glossary of terms, and a printable User Guide for easy desk reference.

Customer Outreach
An animated overview provided background information and process introduction to help facilitate the transition from the traditional paper-based application method to the newly-developed online application method. The overview explained the new processes from both the grantor and applicant views, and helped make the new online application less intimidating and easier to use.

Grant Agency Training
The Edcomm Group provided on-site training to all participating agencies. Training sessions involved walking the participants through the new site, as well as providing accompanying support materials.

Contact Center
Telephone and email support was provided via Edcomm's fully staffed Contact Center. Contact Center representatives answered questions regarding eligibility, processes, and paperwork using a Contact Center Management system created especially for this project. The management system allowed Edcomm to document each call and track the progress of each contact. It also provided online telephone scripts allowing the representatives to quickly and accurately answer caller inquiries.

The Edcomm Group has had the privilege of assisting many distinguished clients with business solutions in the form of classroom instruction, print publication, video production, online documentation, interactive web systems and multimedia programs. In addition to the development of customized programs, The Edcomm Group offers many industry specific off-the-shelf products that have proven themselves effective in organizations around the world.

The Edcomm Group is a 17-year-old multimedia education and communication consulting firm specializing in the development of creative business solutions that improve productivity; customer service and market share — providing bottom-line results. The Edcomm Group (www.edcomm.com) is headquartered in New York City with an Advanced Design Center located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

The Edcomm Group offers educational programs for banks and other financial institutions. To learn more, visit www.bankersacademy.com.

For more information, please contact:
Linda Eagle
President, The Edcomm Group
1-888-4EDCOMM
linda.eagle@edcomm.com




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