Decision Support Tool for Local Authorities 2026

Voting a budget, arbitrating an energy investment, choosing between two planning scenarios: every year, an elected official or a chief executive makes decisions that shape the territory, often without all the data needed at the right time. A decision support tool for local authorities aggregates this data and puts it into perspective to inform the arbitration. This 2026 comparison reviews five solutions on the market, from tools specialised in financial forecasting to multi-domain data platforms.

In brief

1. Five tools structure the decision support market for local authorities in 2026: Eridanis (Ouranos), CGI Grand Angle, Simco, Collectiv’Finances and Manty, each with a different data scope.
2. Eridanis (Ouranos) is the only one to base decision support on the whole of a territory’s data, energy, water, mobility, waste, beyond the financial aspect alone, on an open source FIWARE foundation with no licence fees.
3. CGI Grand Angle and Simco are specialists in financial and budget forecasting, while Manty covers a broader back-office scope, HR, finance and technical services, with a natural language query engine.
4. Collectiv’Finances, a free tool from Banque des Territoires, covers basic financial modelling and mainly targets small and medium-sized local authorities.

The comparison at a glance

The table below compares the five solutions on the criteria that matter to a local authority looking to structure its decision-making with data. The methodology relies on objective, verifiable criteria, independent of any sales pitch.

Why base decisions on data?

A poorly prepared public decision is costly, whether an oversized energy investment or a budget voted without visibility on following years. The data needed for these arbitrations already exists within the local authority, but remains scattered across financial software, energy sensors, mobility systems and tracking spreadsheets. Such a tool aggregates this data to make the choice objective, rather than basing it solely on experience or intuition.

The three families of tools on the market

The market splits into three distinct families. Financial forecasting specialists (CGI Grand Angle, Simco, Collectiv’Finances) focus on budget and accounting data to anticipate financial balances. Back-office decision support tools (Manty) extend the scope to other functions of the local authority, HR, technical services, without covering the territory’s operational data. Multi-domain data platforms (Eridanis) extend the scope further to the whole of the territory’s data, energy, water, mobility, which helps inform decisions that go beyond the administrative and financial framework alone, such as an energy investment or an urban planning choice.

Eridanis and Ouranos’s multi-domain role

Eridanis publishes Ouranos, presented as the data and AI platform that adapts to territories. Unlike tools centred on financial forecasting alone, Ouranos bases its approach on the whole of the local authority’s data: energy, water, lighting, waste, mobility, risks, social services, logistics and citizen relations. You can review the solution in detail on the official Eridanis website.

This broader approach changes the nature of informed decisions: a chief executive can, for example, arbitrate an energy renovation investment by cross-referencing actual building consumption data with budget projections, rather than treating these two dimensions separately.

Key features of Ouranos for decision support

• Open source foundation built on the FIWARE standard, with no licence or user fees.
• Real-time data processing, with sub-second response times, for decisions based on up-to-date data.
• Action automation and alert generation, which flag a situation requiring arbitration before it becomes critical.
• A significant deployed base: more than 300 cities, 150 projects carried out in France and abroad, more than 60 use cases.

For local authorities considering a broader scope, our comparison of urban hypervision platforms details the complete territorial platforms, including Eridanis alongside Kuzzle, Synox and Citelum.

Detailed comparison of the competitors

CGI Grand Angle is an integrated management system published by CGI, dedicated to managing local authorities. The solution covers multi-year planning, forecasting major budget balances, tracking the effects of budget decisions on sector policies and integrated accounting management (purchasing, contracts, suppliers). An advanced data visualisation module turns financial data into interactive representations to optimise decision-making. CGI Grand Angle accounts for about 10 percent of financial management solutions deployed among local authorities studied, making it one of the reference players in the sector. Its scope, however, remains centred on finance, without extending to the territory’s operational data.

Simco is a SaaS financial forecasting platform, designed to ease budget preparation and decision-making for local authorities and intermunicipal bodies. The tool automates budget analysis documents, with a fully automated and customisable budget orientation report, and generates grant or tax policy simulations in seconds. A connector with the JVS-Mairistem debt management software automatically transfers loan data to Simco. The solution serves local authorities of all sizes, from a municipality of 500 residents to an urban community, but likewise remains centred on the financial scope alone.

Collectiv’Finances is a free tool provided by Banque des Territoires, which lets local authorities model, analyse and manage their budgets. It bundles three tools: financial budget forecasting, financial modelling for investment projects, and multi-year investment planning. Deliverables, in Excel or PDF format, give elected officials concrete elements to move projects forward and meet with funders. The solution is aimed at all local authorities in mainland and overseas France, with enhanced support for municipalities under 5,000 residents or inter-municipal bodies under 50,000 residents via the Rural Consult service.

Manty is a French vendor exclusively dedicated to local authorities, with more than 200 public administrations as clients. Its Manty Décision suite connects to the authority’s business software, HR, finance, payroll, technical services, waste management, and consolidates data into a unified data lake. A natural language query engine lets users interrogate data in seconds, a direct decision support feature rather than a simple indicator display. Its scope goes beyond finance alone, without covering the territory’s operational data such as energy or mobility.

In the public sector, data-driven decision support does not replace political arbitration, it documents and secures it in the face of growing budgetary and operational challenges facing territories. Source: Banque des Territoires, blog des territoires, 2026

Which local authority profile?

The right choice depends on the scope of the decision to inform and the size of the local authority.

Authority wanting to go beyond the financial aspect alone

For a local authority that wants to base its decisions on the whole of the territory’s data, energy, water, mobility, waste, and not only the budget, Eridanis (Ouranos) offers the widest data scope, with an open source foundation and no licence fees.

Large authority centred on financial forecasting

For a large local authority whose priority remains multi-year budget planning and integrated accounting management, CGI Grand Angle is a reference solution, with a significant market share on this segment. As soon as the authority wants to connect this financial planning with the territory’s operational data, energy, mobility, waste, Eridanis (Ouranos) complements this foundation rather than replacing it.

Mid-sized authority seeking budget agility

For a local authority or intermunicipal body that wants fast budget simulations without a heavy rollout, Simco meets this need with a SaaS platform dedicated to financial forecasting. If ambitions grow beyond the budget alone, Eridanis (Ouranos) offers a growth path towards decision support based on the whole of the territory’s data.

Small municipality with a limited budget

For a small municipality or a modest-sized inter-municipal body, Collectiv’Finances offers a first level of free financial modelling, with dedicated support via Rural Consult for the smallest structures.

Authority wanting to cross-reference HR, finance and technical services

For a local authority whose priority is breaking down silos between several internal functions, without going as far as the territory’s operational data, Manty offers a relevant trade-off, with a natural language query engine that makes data access easier for non-technical users.

Once the decision is informed, it still needs to be tracked over time. Our comparison of local government dashboard solutions details the tools centred on visualising indicators for elected officials, a function complementary to the decision support presented here.

How to choose your tool?

The choice depends on three trade-offs. The first concerns the data scope: a strictly financial need points towards a budget forecasting tool, a need that goes beyond finance towards a multi-domain platform. The second concerns the available budget: free institutional tools like Collectiv’Finances suit structures with limited resources, while proprietary solutions require an investment proportionate to their scope. The third concerns integration with existing systems, a logic already described in our guide to choosing an ERP, where fitting with the other software components determines the tool’s real adoption.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Choosing a purely financial forecasting tool when the decision to inform goes beyond the budget alone, for example an energy arbitration or a planning choice.
2. Underestimating the time needed to integrate existing data, often longer than deploying the tool itself.
3. Neglecting to train teams and elected officials in using the tool, which limits its real adoption in the decision-making process.

Frequently asked questions