Can applicants submit large portfolios?

Yes. Dapple accepts any file type or size — high-res images, video, audio, and large documents — so applicants don't need to compress work or paste external links, and panellists view everything in one place.

Can our selection panel review anonymously?

Yes. Applicant profiles can be hidden from reviewers so proposals and portfolios are judged on the work itself — a common requirement for residency selection policies.

How do multi-round selections work?

Applications move through customisable stages — longlist, shortlist, interview, offer — on a kanban board. You can assign different panels to different rounds, and automations move applications and send notifications when criteria are met.

Can we run several residency cycles or sites at once?

Yes. Every plan includes unlimited programmes, so parallel cycles, multiple sites, or discipline-specific calls each get their own form, panel, and timeline, with combined analytics across all of them.

Plans start at $49/month with no annual contract, and you can start free without a credit card — build your application form and test the panel experience before your next cycle opens.

Can we message applicants in bulk?

Yes. Filter any group — unfinished drafts, shortlisted applicants, confirmed residents — and send templated messages: deadline reminders, offers, arrival details, and regrets. No BCC spreadsheets.

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manage, and report on submissions, applications or entries in one place without relying on inboxes, spreadsheets, or outdated application tools.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.

Residency Management

Residency management, without the spreadsheet chaos

From open call to arrival day — collect proposals and portfolios, run your selection panels, and manage each cohort in one platform built for creative work.

Residency application workflow dashboard

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The residency cycle, end to end

From open call to arrival day, every stage in one place.

Open the call

Launch a branded application page for each residency cycle — statement, proposal, portfolio, references — with multi-step forms and conditional logic for different disciplines. Accept any file type or size: high-res images, video, audio, manuscripts, or 3D work, with no external links required.

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Select with panels

Route applications to selection panels by discipline or round. Panellists score, vote, and comment through their own accounts — anonymously if your policy requires — while coordinators watch progress and nudge anyone behind. Shortlisting rounds map naturally onto stages.

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Manage the cohort

Move accepted residents through stages — offered, confirmed, arrived — on a kanban board, and message groups in bulk: offer letters, arrival information, waitlist updates, and regrets, all from templates. Every applicant's history stays on one record across cycles.

Explore workflow management

Handle fees and stipends

If your residency charges an application fee, payments go through your own Stripe account instantly at 3.9% + $0.65 per paid application. Free-to-apply calls carry no transaction fees. And for residencies that pay stipends, disbursement tooling is arriving with Dapple's grant management.

Explore grant management

Customisable application forms

Get up and running in minutes, not months. Use existing templates and tweak fields for the quickest results.

Pre-built templates: Residency-ready templates to duplicate or tweak.
Beautiful forms: Add branding, headings and background imagery so your call looks as good as your programme.
Details: Set up cycle dates, visibility, and application or studio fees where needed.
Any file type or size: Accept proposals, portfolios, statements, high-res images, video, audio, or 3D work.

Delight your panellists

Your selection panel should find the process effortless. Simple, personalised review accounts let panellists work through assigned applications quickly, wherever they are.

Personal accounts: Review accounts with assigned applications in list views.
Scoring made easy: Clear instructions, scoring, voting and comments from any device, anywhere.
Real time updates: Check in on live review progress across every discipline or round.
Anonymous scoring: Hide applicant profiles for anonymous review where your policy requires it.

Create selection panels

Running panels across disciplines, rounds, or locations can get chaotic fast. Dapple keeps things streamlined by letting you create multiple panels, each with its own rules and requirements.

Multiple panels: Create panels by discipline, round, or site, with clear instructions for each.
Scoring & votes: See panellist scores, comments and decisions in real time in one dashboard.
Stages: Assign panels to different stages of your cycle — shortlisting, interviews, final selection.
Transparency: Keep applicants updated on where they stand with real-time status in their accounts.

Manage the cohort

Once panels have scored, it's easy to manage from your admin dashboard. See average scores, preferred picks, and message your applicants — and residents — in bulk.

Manage: Filters, tags, rankings, average scores and votes, all in one board.
Export: Print any application and its attachments with a one-click PDF export.
Download: Portfolios and supporting files download to any device in one click.
Bulk actions: Message hundreds of applicants at once — offers, waitlists, regrets, or arrival info.
Draft reminders: Automate nudges to applicants with unfinished drafts before the deadline.

Multiple cycles or locations

Dapple lets you run multiple residency cycles, sites, or disciplines simultaneously from one dashboard — at no extra cost. Customise each one and get a bird's-eye view of every cohort in a single hub.

Multiple projects: Create separate cycles, each with its own dates, panels, fees, and rules.
Custom forms: Build tailored application forms for different disciplines or residency types.
Pages: Display every open call on one listing page for applicants to browse.
A single dashboard: No coding required — we've built it so you don't have to.
Advanced filtering: Filter by discipline, round, stage, status, or any custom form field.

Visualise the whole residency

Monitor every step from open call to arrival day through fully customisable stages, each with its own rules and automations.

Visual stages: Mirror your process with drag-and-drop and automations on a kanban-style board.
Stages: Create unlimited stages — from open call through offered, confirmed, and arrived — with bespoke actions for each.
Beautiful images: See portfolio thumbnails and toggle previews for every application.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Open Call Management

Solution

How Dapple runs open calls end to end.

Arts Organisations

Solution

Submission management across arts programmes.

How to Run an Open Call for Artists

Guide

The complete process, from planning to selection.

Residency management, without the spreadsheet chaos

The residency cycle, end to end

Open the call

Select with panels

Manage the cohort

Handle fees and stipends

Customisable application forms

Delight your panellists

Create selection panels

Manage the cohort

Multiple cycles or locations

Visualise the whole residency

Frequently Asked Questions

Can applicants submit large portfolios?

Can our selection panel review anonymously?

How do multi-round selections work?

Can we run several residency cycles or sites at once?

What does it cost?

Can we message applicants in bulk?

Explore More

Open Call Management

Arts Organisations

How to Run an Open Call for Artists

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