As I menioned last month, we recently made some changes to the features available in some of our plans, and many of you now have access to new, powerful features.
This month, we'll take a closer look at Request Forms. I suspect many of you could find this feature, originally released in late 2023, valuable in your process, so don't delay and read on!
What Are Request Forms?
Request Forms are like Additional Forms, except for they are submitter-initiated and can (potentially) be used again and again with no need for a fresh trigger from you.
Program admins must proactively send or schedule an Additional Form. Request Forms, on the other hand, are at the ready for applicants or awrdees to submit proactively, according to criteria you set, including multiple times.
Some of the most popular uses of Request Forms include:
Deadline extension requests
Reimbursement requests
Progress reporting
Open feedback
How Do Request Forms Work?
In a nutshell, here's how it works:
Build Request Forms like any other form in Submittable.
When building a Project, add Request Forms, and decide upon availability criteria. These can be timeline based, status based, or label based. (More on each of these below.)
When the availability criteria matches, submitters can fill out and submit Request Forms.
You'll review Request Forms, and optionally apply a status of Approved, Declined, Complete or In Progress.
Let's dig a little deeper!
Request Forms Availability Criteria and Examples
Timeline based
Use this criteria if you'd like to allow submissions between a specific set of dates. This could be a good fit for a deadline extension request if you will only consider such requests during a set window, or for reimbursement requests that are required by a certain date.
Status based
This criteria makes Request Forms available based on the submission status. As a reminder, statuses in Submittable include: New, In-Progress, Accepted, Declined, Completed, and Withdrawn.
Status based is a helpful criteria to use for requests that only make sense during a certain part of your process. For instance, Progress Reports could be made available to all accepted applicants, whereas you might like to offer a specific type of feedback form to all applicants who were declined or who voluntarily withdrew from consideration. A catch-all "additional information" type of form could be offered to "In-progress" submissions as an alternative to the editing process.
Hot tip: Remember when using "In-Progress" that this status is automatically applied when anyone on your team takes an action upon a submission! (Learn more.)
Label based
Label based gives you the most flexible control over Request Form availability. You can apply multiple labels.
There are many ways you may leverage label based Request Forms. Here are a few examples:
If you offer different versions of Progress Reports to different types of grantees, use auto-labels to differentiate the groups.
If only some grantees operate on a reimbursement basis, use a label to make the reimbursement requests available.
If only some applicants qualify for certain privileges, such as an extention, use a label to make extension requests available.
Availability Criteria FAQ
FAQ: Can I select multiple statuses?
No. However, you could make the same Request Form available according to multiple statuses by adding it again and setting additional availability criteria.
FAQ: Can I use multiple availability criteria?
Yes, and it is often required to achieve your desired workflow (for instance, in the example above, when using auto-labels as a criteria for a progress report, you would likely also want to include the "accepted" status).
FAQ: What happens when the availability criteria changes to make a form unavailable (e.g., the timeline passes)?
The Request Form will no longer be visible to the submitters. If they had a saved draft, it will be lost.
Managing Requests
When a Request Form is submitted, your organizaiton email address will receive an email alert (just as for a new submission or Additional Form).
You'll also see Request Forms within submissions and identified by the blue clipboard on the submission list page:
You'll likely utilize the clipboard and/or the submisison detail view for timely or one-off requests, such as a deadline extension request or miscellaneous additional information.
You can also view and manage all requests of a particular form under on the Request Forms page (much like Additional Forms). Do so by navigating to Forms > Request Forms:
When you select Manage Requests for a particular form, you'll be able to fitlter by Project, Date Submitted, Submission Status, and State (Editable or not):
This management view is helpful for workflows where you review all similar requests at the same time, such as:
Reimbursement approvals that are reviewed weekly
Open feedback requests that are reviewed monthly
Progress reports that are reviewed quarterly
Request Form Statuses
You have the option to apply statuses to Request Forms. The statuses available are Accept, Decline, Complete, and In-Progress. Just as with changing a submission status, you will be prompted to email the submitter when changing a status, and can leverage email templates at this time.
Tips & Tricks
Communication with Applicants and Awardees
If you're considering switching to Request Forms for an aspect of your workflow, it's a good idea to let your applicants and/or awardees know how they can use them and what they can use them for. Here's a help article for submitters about where they can find Request Forms and how to use them.
Testing Criteria
We recommend you test your availability criteria to ensure it is working as intended. Simply submit to your Project, apply any statuses, labels, and/or adjust your timeline to meet the criteria, and make sure you see the Request Forms in your own account (click your initials and go to My Submisisons, then click into the submission; Request Forms are available under the Forms tab). You can always delete your test submission later.
Request Form Naming
It is a good idea to give Request Forms clear and specific names to help your applicants and awardees understand how to use them.
Limiting Form Availability
When using Request Forms for something you'd only like to be submitted a limited number of times, use labels to limit that availability by removing a criteria label from a submission after the Request Form has been submitted.
FAQ Grab Bag
Can I take bulk actions on requests?
Yep! Simply select the requests and choose to send a message, change the status, or open for editing.
Can I allow collaboration on Request Forms?
Yes! When submitter collaboration is turned on for your Project, it will also be available on Request Forms.
Can I allows submitters to edit Request Forms?
Yes! Under "Actions" within the submission details page, you may open a Request Form for editing, just like a submission.
Can I edit Request Forms?
Yes! Click the three dot menut to edit a response. Just as with editing a submission, a reason (Applicant Request, Minor Correction, Internal Needs/Requirements, or Other) and a description of that reason will be required.
Determining When Request Forms Are Right for Your Program
Reimbursements
The reimbursement workflow in Funds Management works best if you are using Budget Categories and require a receipt, but do not need extensive additional information.
Request Forms are a good fit if you are not using Budget Categories, do not require a receipt, or if you want the flexibility for additional information to be gathered along with reimbursement requests. They may also be a better fit if you need to restrict requests to a certain window of time.
Progress Reports
Additional Forms are a good fit if you collect Progress Reports at a specific time in your program cycle, if you wish to schedule them in advance, if you wish for awardees to be proactively notified that the form is available, if you wish to apply a soft or hard deadline, and/or if you wish to limit the quantity or Progress Reports available.
Request Forms work best when you want to give awardees more flexibility—use them if you prefer awardees to submit on their own timeline, want labels to automatically make the right form available to the right groups of awardees (rather than manually filtering and sending Additional Forms), or want awardees to submit updates as frequently as they'd like without you needing to release a new form each time.
Phew! Long one today, but I hope you found it helpful—especially if you newly have access to Request Forms but haven't tried them out yet. Interested in Request Forms, but not seeing them in your account (on the Forms page, with the other Forms)? Contact your customer success manager to learn more about upgrading.