How do organisations manage open call applications?

Organisations use dedicated submission platforms like Dapple to create branded application forms, set deadlines and fees, route submissions to review panels for scoring, and communicate decisions to applicants in bulk — all from one dashboard.

How do I run an open call?

To run an open call, create a branded submission form with your call details and fees, set your deadline and visibility, route incoming applications to a review panel for scoring, and use bulk messaging to notify successful and unsuccessful applicants.

What software do creative and academic organisations use for open calls?

Many galleries, publishers, festivals, residencies and academic institutions use platforms like Dapple to manage open calls, with low submission fees (3.9% + $0.65), customisable forms, review panels and built-in applicant communication.

Can I charge a submission fee for an open call?

Yes. Dapple integrates with Stripe so you can charge entry fees, offer fee waivers, accept tips or donations, and receive payments immediately rather than waiting for a payout.

What is Dapple and who is it for?

Dapple is a submissions and workflow platform built primarily for the creative industries. It helps organisations collect, review, manage, and report on submissions, applications or entries in one place without relying on inboxes, spreadsheets, or outdated application tools. Dapple is for creative organisations such as art institutions, publishers, literary magazines, awards bodies, agencies, festivals, academic institutions and teams running open calls, contests, or applications. It's also designed with creators in mind, making submissions clearer and more transparent.

How does Dapple help reduce admin?

Dapple centralises everything—submissions, reviews, communication, statuses, and reporting—into one structured workflow. This removes manual tracking, cuts down on repetitive tasks, and saves teams hours of administrative work in the process.

Can multiple people review submissions?

Yes. Dapple supports collaborative reviewing with clear permissions, allowing multiple reviewers to assess submissions independently and remotely.

Is Dapple suitable for small teams?

Absolutely. Dapple is designed to scale with you—whether you're a small team managing a few hundred submissions or a larger organisation handling thousands.

How is Dapple different from other submission platforms?

Most submission platforms were built for generic workflows and bolted onto the creative world as an afterthought. Dapple was built from the ground up for organisations running awards, open calls, contests, and grants — and it shows in every feature. Where other platforms charge applicants fees just to submit their work, Dapple has no application fees. Payments go directly to your Stripe account instantly minus small transaction fees. Intuitive judging and visual kanban boards let your admin team move submissions through review stages the way creative teams actually think — not buried in spreadsheets or clunky list views. Combined with next-level filtering that lets you cut and sort entries by any field, attribute, or status, your team can go from hundreds of submissions to a shortlist in minutes rather than days. It's a modern, sleek platform that makes complex workflows feel simple. See how Dapple compares feature by feature on our competitors page.

Do applicants need an account to submit?

Yes, however, it's very quick and simple to create and can be done in a matter of seconds. When a creator opens a form, they will be prompted to create a free account. They can either use their Google/Microsoft account, or they will be sent a link via email to confirm. Once created, they will be able to use their account to track the status of all their submissions, any messages, payments made and download any attachments.

Can I communicate with applicants through Dapple?

Yes. Dapple has an inbuilt messaging platform enabling you to manage communication in one place, keeping inbound/outbound messages organised and linked directly to each submission. You are able to send single or bulk messages to multiple applicants, create message templates and configure whether an applicant can respond.

Yes. Dapple is built with modern security standards and role-based permissions to ensure submissions and data are handled safely and responsibly.

Is there a free trial?

You can create an account for free with no credit card details required. We allow this in order to try the system out, see how it works and set everything up in advance of setting your forms live. As soon as you want to make your forms active, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Please note that there is a 'demo mode' feature enabling you to create different projects and workflows, make test payments and submissions without affecting your live data.

I'm stopping submissions for a while. Can I pause my account?

Yes! You have the option to pause your account on every plan. We'll keep your account on ice, keep your setup complete and data safe so you can come back later.

Open Calls

Running an open call comes with a lot of moving parts — different submission types, deadlines, fees, multiple review stages, panels of judges or curators, and a flood of applicant queries. Through the simplicity of a centralised, end-to-end solution, Dapple is specifically designed to help make your life a lot easier!

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What is open call management software?

Open call management software enables organisations to collect, review, and respond to submissions from individuals, teams or institutions applying to exhibitions, residencies, commissions, awards, fellowships, festivals, conferences or competitions — all in one place. Instead of juggling email inboxes and spreadsheets, everything from the application form to the final decision lives in a single workflow.

Customisable submission forms

Get up and running in no time with an account that can be created in seconds, complete with a number of

Pre-built templates: Open call-ready templates to duplicate or tweak.
AI-powered form builder: Describe the form you want in plain language and Dapple will generate it for you — fields, structure and all, ready to customise.
Beautiful forms: Add branding, headings and background imagery to fit with your call.
One-link pages: Add all your links, calls and resources to one branded URL page for applicants to find everything in one place.
Specific: Set up call dates, visibility and multiple entry fees where needed.
Any file type or size: Accept any file type, any size and give applicants the option to withdraw their submission at any point.

Review at speed

Cut your admin time by viewing each submission within the platform without the need to download.

View attachments: Use the in-platform viewer and toggle through attachments at speed.
Download: Keep those accepted submissions by downloading files.
History: See an applicant's previous submissions and tags.
Reviewer scores: View, rank and sort submissions by reviewer scores to quickly surface your top picks.
Accept/Decline: Send a submission to a customised stage (like an accept or decline) in one click.
Automate: Send a submission to first readers, curatorial team or review panel using stage automations.

Create review panels

Managing curators, judges or selection panels can get complex. Ditch the shared spreadsheets and Google Docs — simplify the process by creating different dedicated panels of reviewers for different calls and stages, all within Dapple.

Multiple panels: Create multiple review panels, with clear instructions on how to evaluate.
Personal dashboards: Give every reviewer their own dedicated, customisable dashboard — easy, visual and quick to use.
Scoring & votes: See reviewer scores, comments and decisions in real time in one intuitive dashboard.
Review settings: Set deadlines and minimum/maximum review requirements per panel.
Stages: Assign review panels to different projects and different stages of a call.
Transparency: Keep applicants up to speed on the status of their submission with real-time, customised stage messages.

Communication is key

Give your applicants the timely response they deserve! No more frustration, angry chase emails or enquiries as you can keep submissions in check.

Templates: Use fully customisable message templates to speed up responses.
Personalisation: Use 1:1 messaging through built-in messaging. Limit whether applicants can respond.
Broadcast: Communicate decisions in one go using pre-built templates rather than multiple individual messages.
Draft reminders: Automate reminder messages to those with draft applications, nudging them to finish.

Flexible submission fees

Keep a higher percentage of any submission fees you charge using Dapple's Stripe integration. Our low fees enable you to pass these savings on to your applicants.

Submission fees: These are charged at 3.9% + $0.65 — considerably lower than other open call platforms.
Multiple payments: Create multiple, bespoke payments per form. Sell expedited feedback, catalogue add-ons, and more.
Immediate payments: Using our Stripe integration, payments appear in your Stripe account immediately. No need to wait 30+ days for a payout.
Discounts & donations: Set free entry with the option to offer discounted or reduced fees, accept donations, or apply early bird entry pricing.
Fee waivers: Create private links for any fee waiver requests.

Manage the journey

Manage your open call submissions thanks to a number of intuitive features to help cut the admin time.

List View: See all your submissions across all projects in one, easily navigable list view.
Manage: There are filters, tags, ranking, average scores, voting and a one-click export.
Project Hub: See all your open calls and their status at a glance.
Stages: Create an unlimited number of rounds from submission to selection and create bespoke actions and automations for each.
Advanced filtering: Filter by your call, tags, stages, status and even individual form fields and answers.

Running an open call? Forecast your potential revenue below.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Open Calls

What is open call management software?

Customisable submission forms

Review at speed

Create review panels

Communication is key

Flexible submission fees

Manage the journey

Running an open call? Forecast your potential revenue below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is open call management software?

How do organisations manage open call applications?

How do I run an open call?

What software do creative and academic organisations use for open calls?

Can I charge a submission fee for an open call?

Explore More

Compare Features and Plans

See Pricing

Submittable Alternative

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