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Submittable Quick Start Guide
Getting Started, Step 5: Create a Project
Getting Started, Step 5: Create a Project

Watch these video tutorials to learn how to create a project and set up your review process.

Natalya Taylor avatar
Written by Natalya Taylor
Updated over a week ago

For more details on creating a Project and setting up your review process, please review this article.

A Project is where you can configure General Settings, Assignments and Notifications, and your Review Workflow so you’ll be ready to publish your opportunity.

General Settings

You'll have the option to configure the general settings that will affect your project:

  • Name: Enter the name of your project. This is the link that your applicants will select from your Submittable page when they choose to apply.

  • Guidelines: Enter any general guidelines that you need applicants to know before submitting, such as what type of content you are looking for, or who is eligible to apply. You can use rich text formatting here, such as headings, bold, italic, or underlined fonts, bulleted or numbered lists, or a quote call out or hyperlink, by selecting the icon from the top menu. You can also include photos or videos.

  • Starts On: Select a date to begin accepting submissions. If you do not select a start date, your project will automatically go live once completed. Please note: You must use a date that falls before the Expires On date. If you are editing an existing project, edit the Expires On date first.

  • Expires On: Select a date that your opportunity will close to submissions. If you choose to leave this blank, your project will be available indefinitely.

  • Hidden: The hidden box allows you to prevent the project from being listed on your organization’s Submittable page. Submitters will only be able to apply by receiving a direct link. This is a good option for opportunities that are not meant to be publicly available.

  • Award and Payment Visibility: If enabled, the submitters will be able to see all grants awarded to them. Transaction details include the date, status, amount, and any recipient memos added by your organization.

Note: Enabling Award and Payment Visibility is retroactive, and will show all awards and payments the submitter has received.

  • Require Email Validation: By default, all submitters will have to verify their email address before completing a submission.

  • Limit Multiple Submissions: To limit each submitter to a single submission, check the Limit Multiple Submissions box.

  • Join Discover: Discover is Submittable’s public library of calls for submissions trafficked by our robust community of creatives and opportunity seekers. To make your project discoverable to tens of thousands of Submittable users, simply enter a few tags so that they’ll be able to find you in a search. You can use tags such as "poetry," "contest" or "grant." Begin typing the desired tag and select it from the dropdown menu to apply.

  • Live: The Live checkbox makes your project live. By default, you want it checked. Please note: Even when checked, the project will not go live until the Starts On you designate. If for any reason you need to take your project down in the future, simply uncheck this box to override all other settings and make the form unavailable.

  • Archive: Archiving the project is a step you can take when your call is complete and you are ready to remove it from your Submittable landing page. This option does not also archive submissions. It’s important to review all submissions, assign a terminal status (accepted, declined, complete), and archive all submissions before archiving your project.

Forms

The Forms tab lets you configure the initial forms your project needs to launch.

  • Initial Form: Select the form that this project will utilize. (This is an important reason you need to have your form created before you create your project.) You can reuse forms for as many projects as needed.

  • Eligibility Form: This form will ensure that only eligible submitters can proceed to start a submission.

  • Internal Form: An internal form allows organizations to add data to submissions for internal use. This information is not visible to the submitter.

Notifications

The Assignments & Notifications tab contains a number of configurable tools pertaining to communicating with you and your submitters.

  • Concealed Threshold Level: When designing your form, you have the option to mark certain fields as a concealed response. These are fields that you want to hide from reviewers in order to preserve anonymity and eliminate bias. Setting the Concealed Threshold Level is where you’ll determine the team members from whom these field options will be hidden. Team members who are at or below the level you select will not see the fields designated as concealed responses when they review submissions. For example, if you want certain fields hidden from level 1-3 reviewers, but visible to administrators (Levels 4 and 5), you would set the Concealed Threshold Level to 3.

  • Default Note Visibility: This setting allows you to adjust which level of team members may view the notes on submissions. The system default is that notes are visible to all team members assigned to the specific submission. You can alternatively change the setting to make notes visible only to the person who created the note, or to Levels 4 and 5 administrators.

  • Auto-Assigned Team Members: Auto-assign is an extremely handy tool that automatically assigns team members to a submission. This option allows you to determine who among your account's team members will be in the pool of auto-assignees for this particular project. Select all to make all team members eligible for auto-assign. (On the next tab, you can turn auto-assign on or off for each stage of your review process.)

  • Receive an email alert for each submission?: Checking this box will trigger an email with every new submission received to all of the pool of auto-assignees. If there are no auto-assignees specified, the email will go to the main organization email address provided. Unchecking this box will turn off these emails.

  • Choose an auto-response: If you customized a Response Template to send to submitters as a confirmation of receipt, select your template here. If you make no change, applicants will receive a generic message confirming their application was submitted.

  • Success URL: The success URL is the ability to redirect submitters to a particular web location after they submit their application. By default, they will be routed to your organization’s main website page. Enter a different website address here to change that default.

Review Workflow

The final step in creating your Project is setting up your review process.

1. Go to your Projects page and click on an existing Project to edit it, or click the Add Project button to create a new Project.

2. Click the Review Workflow tab.

3. Click the +Create a Stage button.

4. Give your Review Stage a name and select the type of review you wish to use. You have the option to select Yes/No/Maybe voting, Custom Review, or Review Not Required.

5. Select the appropriate Review Form for the Review Stage. For more about creating a custom review form, click here.

6. Auto-Assign any team members you want to be automatically assigned to submissions as they come in. You can also auto-assign any Groups you have created within your team.

7. Click Save Project.

8. Auto-assigned reviewers will get an email notification when submissions are received to the Project. When reviewers sign in to complete reviews, they'll see the designated Review Form in the Reviews column to the right of each submission on the Submission Details page.

Launch Your Call

When your project is finalized, you are ready to launch your call for submissions! On the Submissions tab in your Submittable account, click the View Your Site button in the top right to be taken to a page that lists all of your live Projects. Share this URL or click on a Project to share a URL directly to that opportunity.

You're now ready to go with Submittable! Have fun.

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