Tech Impact Idealware has developed a rigorous methodology governing the research for all of the reports in our Consumer Guide series. The following is an overview of the process. Eligibility Criteria First we defined a set of criteria to govern the eligibility of software packages for inclusion in this report (gating criteria). For this edition, we decided to focus solely on grants management software for private foundations. Our definition of a grants management system includes only systems capable of managing the full grant cycle, and which are offered as free-standing products rather than part of a foundation “back office” management service. To be included in the report, a system must offer: Customizable online applications and forms Online review and scoring of applications The ability to track grantee relationships The ability to generate documents and/or emails Payment tracking Flexible and customizable reporting While previous editions of this report included server-based software, the rise in popularity of remote and “virtual” organizations over the past several years led us to focus this edition on cloud-based solutions accessible across a variety of devices. Finally, to be eligible for inclusion, a vendor had to have a minimum of 30 clients, at least 10 of which…