Improving Research Funding Administration Through Microsoft Forms, Sharepoint, And Power Automate

Abstract

Administrative delays in research funding processes often stem from fragmented submission methods, inconsistent records, and limited visibility across approval stages. This paper presents a comprehensive case study of a digitalized funding request process built using a low-code paradigm with Microsoft Forms, SharePoint, and Power Automate. The study evaluates an operational dataset derived from the "Application for Research Funding" SharePoint list, consisting of 83 funding-related requests submitted between May 2025 and July 2026 across 58 distinct administrative data fields. Quantitative analysis reveals that conference funding requests constituted the majority of cases (55.4%), followed by A-List journal publication fee requests (21.7%) and manuscript editing fee requests (20.5%). The operational records demonstrate wide cross-campus adoption (spanning 15 distinct campus units) and a robust algorithmic workflow logic linking structural state progressions perfectly with incremental document and financial approvals. All completed cases uniformly possessed dual affirmative document and finance markings, while active pipelines demonstrated deterministic step-wise segregation. The findings establish that low-code infrastructure within an existing enterprise environment can materially optimize process standardization, auditability, and lifecycle traceability without the financial overhead of bespoke custom software development.