Standard

Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants

The Grants Functional Standard promotes efficiency and effectiveness in grant making across all government departments and arm’s length bodies.

• From: Cabinet Office
• Published: 2 December 2016
• Last updated: 15 September 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 15 September 2026

     Updated links within the document: Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V2

  2. 27 July 2026

     Updated 'Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V2', specifically criterion 2.2 under Section 4: Core Criteria: Self-Assessment Framework

  3. 21 May 2026

     Added the document: Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V2

  4. 17 July 2025

     Replaced the document: 6: Grant Agreements

  5. 1 May 2025

     Updated some HTML files for latest best practices

  6. 29 April 2025

     Updated some documents for current best practices

  7. 29 April 2025

     Updated some HTML versions for most current best practice

  8. 29 April 2025

     Updated PDF's for best practice

  9. 4 December 2024

     Updated the following document '3: Complex Grants Advice Panel (CGAP)' to reflect the change in the mandatory referral for manifesto schemes.

  10. 12 November 2024

      Updated the document: 7: Risk, Controls and Assurance

  11. 16 October 2024

      Replaced the following file with the latest version: 7: Risk, Controls and Assurance

  12. 7 May 2024

      Added PDF versions of the guidance documents.

  13. 26 April 2024

      Added the document:m Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V1.1

  14. 1 April 2024

      Replaced all documents with the latest versions. Added HTML versions of all documents

  15. 21 April 2022

      Updated document 7: Risk, Controls and Assurance - added paragraph 23 to provide further information on security risks. Language around Fraud Risk Assessments has been strengthened to reflect the Grants Functional Standard.

  16. 13 April 2022

      Updated document '3: Complex Grants Advice Panel (CGAP)'. Grants which fall under Carbon Net Zero, Levelling Up, Strengthening the Union, Innovation, and Jobs and Skills must be referred to the Complex Grants Advice Panel.

  17. 21 July 2021

      Updated guidance Functional Standards

  18. 4 July 2018

      Updated HTML doc

  19. 4 July 2018

      Updated all documents attached.

  20. 2 December 2016

      First published.

Documents

Government Functional Standard GovS015: Grants v2.0

PDF, 341 KB, 32 pages

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Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V2

PDF, 729 KB, 46 pages

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Grants Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework V2

HTML

Guidance for General Grants (PDF)

PDF, 577 KB, 14 pages

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1: Senior Officer Responsible for a Grant (PDF)

PDF, 240 KB, 11 pages

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2: Governance, Approvals & Data Capture (PDF)

PDF, 421 KB, 15 pages

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3: Complex Grants Advice Panel (CGAP) (PDF)

PDF, 241 KB, 12 pages

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4: Business Case Development (PDF)

PDF, 296 KB, 21 pages

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5: Competition for Funding (PDF)

PDF, 285 KB, 14 pages

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6: Grant Agreements (PDF)

PDF, 285 KB, 12 pages

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7: Risk, Controls and Assurance (PDF)

PDF, 308 KB, 18 pages

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8: Performance and Monitoring (PDF)

PDF, 193 KB, 9 pages

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9: Annual Review and Reconciliation (PDF)

PDF, 269 KB, 8 pages

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10: Training (PDF)

PDF, 268 KB, 10 pages

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Equality impact assessment: government grants minimum standards (HTML)

HTML

Guidance for General Grants (HTML)

HTML

1: Senior Officer Responsible for a Grant (HTML)

HTML

2: Governance, Approvals & Data Capture (HTML)

HTML

3: Complex Grants Advice Panel (CGAP) (HTML)

HTML

4: Business Case Development (HTML)

HTML

5: Competition for Funding (HTML)

HTML

6: Grant Agreements (HTML)

HTML

7: Risk, Controls and Assurance (HTML)

HTML

8: Performance and Monitoring (HTML)

HTML

9: Annual Review and Reconciliation (HTML)

HTML

10: Training (HTML)

HTML

Details

The purpose of this government functional standard is to set expectations for the management of grants, and to promote efficient and effective grant making to ensure funding is used as intended and provides value for money through high quality delivery.

For further information and support, please contact the Government Grants Management Function (GGMF) at: grants-management-function@cabinetoffice.gov.uk