Panasonic's Partnership with the Grants Office
- Case Studies
Section Title
-
Challenges
The cities of Trinidad and Canon, Colorado, were looking to equip their police departments with rugged mobile computers, but as small public sector agencies, they weren’t confident that their budget supported their goal to purchase and outfit first responders with new devices. -
Solutions
Working with officials at Trinidad and Canon City, Panasonic helped both agencies coordinate with the Grants Office to identify and apply for federal grant money that could cover the cost of new Toughbook laptops and tablets. -
Results
Both Canon City and Trinidad were able to purchase and deploy more Toughbook computers than originally budgeted for due to the grant money they received, allowing them to move forward with their mobile technology projects.
After discussing the unique challenges and end goal for the agencies, account managers at Panasonic introduced the leaders from Trinidad and Canon City to the idea of applying for grant money to fund new devices. Grants Office LLC, a Panasonic partner, provides grants information and support to state and local governments and public sector agencies, helping them identify and mobilize around funding opportunities that will allow agencies to move forward with projects that better their communities. Grants Office assists by developing a written assessment of the funding opportunities that are available (a Grants Office Funding Opportunity Report), and then connecting with the customer directly to determine which grant program best matches the goals of the project at hand.
Panasonic’s account teams have been working with the Grants Office since 2013. A unique differentiator from competitors, Panasonic collaborates with customers to refine the definition of their projects from a technical standpoint, and then introduce Grants Office to work with customers that have a financial roadblock to getting the new technology they need. While these are called technology rich projects, it’s not always all about the technology itself. For some agencies, the grant money may be used to implement hardware or software from another company, additional personnel or training. In the end, the Grants Office and Panasonic form a team to help customers find the solution that will allow them to move forward, adding immense value to the customer relationship.
The Canon City police department wanted to undertake their own digital transition to implement an e-ticketing system and knew from the start that cost might be a hurdle they would have to face. Interested in Panasonic for their reputation of rugged, durable technology, the IT leaders in Canon City contacted Panasonic to review the options for new mobile computers. Panasonic and Canon City worked together to compile a list of the hardware and software requirements needed to bring their e-ticketing program to life and landed on the CF-33 as the perfect hardware component. With guidance from their Panasonic account team, Canon City then worked with the Grants Office and ultimately received the funding for one CF-33 demo unit and is in the process of obtaining full funding for 31 devices to be added to their roster. While the device is already improving efficiency and functionality for the Canon City police department, it was Panasonic’s support through the process that made their digital transformation possible.
We wouldn’t be where we are without Panasonic’s help. We wouldn’t have this technology and we wouldn’t have known to get the grant. We received a lot of great information that helped us get to where we needed to be.Monica Schaaf
City of Trinidad IT Director
To learn more about opportunities with Panasonic and Grants Office, visit us online.