Assigning a reviewer in Dapple puts a submission in that person's Review Account, ready to score. You can assign reviewers to one submission or many straight from the submissions list or the Stages board, choosing different reviewers for different submissions in the same Review Round. Or let the Review Round do it for you: with Send automatically when a submission reaches this stage turned on, every submission that reaches the stage goes to the round's reviewer pool. You need at least one Review Round set up on a stage first. When you assign a reviewer, you choose the Review Round, and Dapple moves the submission into that round's stage automatically.
Does a submission need to be in the right stage before I assign a reviewer?
No. Assigning a reviewer moves the submission for you. Choose the Review Round when you assign, and Dapple moves the submission into the stage that round is attached to. You don't need to move it first.
For example, if your "Shortlist Review" round is on the Shortlist stage, assigning a reviewer to that round from a submission in New moves the submission to Shortlist.
What are the ways to assign reviewers in Dapple?
Method | Where | Best for |
One submission | Submissions list or the submission itself | Individual allocation, conflicts of interest, specialist entries |
Several submissions at once | Submissions list, using bulk select | Allocating a batch to the same judges, e.g. a category |
From the Stages board | The stage column on the Stages board | Allocating what's in a stage once entries close |
Automatically | The Review Round's Reviewers step | Rolling open calls where submissions arrive over time |
How do I assign reviewers to one submission?
In the submissions list, open the submission's menu and select Assign reviewers.
Choose the Review Round.
Select one or more reviewers.
Select Assign.
The submission moves into the Review Round's stage, if it isn't there already, and appears in each reviewer's Review Account under Awaiting Review.
You can also assign an individual submission from inside a submission itself using the right-hand panel.
How do I assign reviewers to several submissions at once?
Filter the submissions list to the submissions you want — by stage, tag or a form field such as category.
Tick the checkbox next to each submission, or select all.
From the bulk action menu, select Assign reviewers.
Choose the Review Round and the reviewers.
Select Assign.
Every selected submission moves into the Review Round's stage and goes to every reviewer you chose. To split a batch between different reviewers, assign it in smaller groups, or turn on automatic sending with Share them out.
After selecting the correct review round:
How do I assign reviewers from the Stages board?
Open the Stages board and find the stage.
Open the stage's three-dot menu and select Assign reviewers.
Choose the Review Round and the reviewers.
Select Assign.
This assigns every submission in the stage. It's the quickest way to hand out entries once an award closes.
How do I assign reviewers automatically?
Turn on Send automatically when a submission reaches this stage in the Review Round's Reviewers step, add reviewers to the reviewer pool, and choose how submissions are shared:
Chosen reviewers: every submission goes to everyone in the pool.
Share them out: Dapple spreads submissions evenly across the pool. Set how many reviewers each submission goes to.
With 100 submissions and 5 reviewers, sending each submission to 1 reviewer gives each person 20. Set it to 2 and each reviewer gets 40, with every submission reviewed twice. See How to Create a Review Round in Dapple.
Should I assign reviewers myself or automatically?
Assign yourself when… | Assign automatically when… |
Entries are allocated after a deadline, as with most awards and prizes | Submissions arrive over time and reviewers should get them straight away |
Different judges need different submissions, e.g. by category or expertise | Everyone in a panel reviews the same work, or workload just needs splitting evenly |
You need to avoid conflicts of interest submission by submission | You want to guarantee a minimum number of reviews per submission without managing it |
Most Review Rounds leave automatic sending off and assign reviewers by hand. You can also do both — let automatic sending cover most submissions and assign extra reviewers to particular ones yourself.
What happens after I assign a reviewer?
What happens | Who sees it |
The submission moves into the Review Round's stage, if it isn't there already | Admins and team members |
The submission appears under Awaiting Review in their Review Account | The reviewer |
An email arrives, if New reviews assigned is turned on (emails are grouped over 30 minutes) | The reviewer |
Their initials appear in the Assigned Reviewers column of the submissions list | Admins and team members |
A blue dot shows on the submission until its minimum number of reviews is reached | Admins and team members |
You can assign reviewers who haven't accepted their invite yet. The submissions are waiting in their Review Account when they accept. Admins and team members who are assigned submissions find them under My Reviews in the side panel on the right.
Best practice for assigning reviewers
Write the Review Round's guidance and scoring before you assign anyone.
Double-check the Review Round you pick — it decides which stage the submission moves to.
Tag or categorise submissions first, so you can filter and assign in batches.
Assign at least as many reviewers per submission as the round's minimum review count.
Check the Reviewers section for anyone with a much bigger workload than the rest.
Leave out reviewers with a conflict of interest when you assign, rather than relying on them to decline.