Review panels in Dapple let you assign a group of reviewers to a specific stage of your project, so submissions are evaluated by the right people at the right time. You can create as many panels as your process requires — one for a first-round shortlist, another for a final jury — and assign each to a different stage. Once a panel is in place, send submissions to it, collect scores, votes, and comments, then use those results to decide which submissions move forward. Successful submissions can be moved individually or in bulk.
How do I create a Review Panel?
Create a Review Panel from the Reviews section of your project. Each panel is independent, so you can reuse members across stages or bring in entirely different reviewers for each round.
Open your project and navigate to Review Panels.
Click Create Panel.
Give the panel a name that reflects its purpose — for example, "First Round Panel" or "Final Jury".
Add panel members by searching for existing organisation users or inviting new ones by email.
Configure the review criteria: enable a score (with your chosen scale), a vote (yes/no or shortlist), and/or a comments field. At least one must be active.
Add guidance notes to help reviewers understand how to evaluate submissions.
Click Save.
Repeat this process to create a second panel for your next round. Panel members can overlap with the first panel or be completely different — there is no restriction.
When creating the panel, make sure it is assigned to the correct stage
How do I send submissions to a panel for review?
Once a panel is assigned to a stage, you can send submissions to it. All submissions in that stage are eligible — you can send them in one batch, select manually or automate.
Go to your chosen Submissions view (such as Stages) and go to relevant stage.
Use the select all option to send all submissions in that stage to a review panel, or pick individual submissions.
Click Send to Review Panel.
The selected submissions will now appear in each panel member's Awaiting Review section. To denote they have been sent to the panel, they will appear with a small blue dot.
You can set due dates on a panel to prompt reviewers to complete their feedback by a specific date. Panel members will see this deadline in their account.
What happens after submissions are sent to a panel?
Each panel member receives the assigned submissions in their Review Account. They can work through their list at their own pace, saving reviews as they go, and submit all feedback back to you when ready.
Reviewer status | What it means |
Awaiting Review | Submission has been sent and is waiting for the reviewer to start |
In Progress | Reviewer has saved feedback but not yet submitted it |
Submitted | Reviewer has submitted their scores, votes, and comments back to admin |
See the How to review submissions article for the full reviewer walkthrough.
How do I use the review results to make decisions?
Once all (or enough) panel members have submitted their feedback, the admin team can view the scores, votes and comments in the admin dashboard and use these to decide which submissions move forward.
Data point | Where to find it | How to use it |
Average score | Submissions list and individual submission view | Rank submissions and identify clear leaders or outliers |
Votes | Submissions list and individual submission view | See the split of yes/no or shortlist decisions across the panel |
Comments | Individual submission view under Reviews tab | Read qualitative reasoning from each panel member |
There is no automated decision step — the call is always yours. Use the data to inform your decisions, then move submissions manually or in bulk to the next stage.
How do I move successful submissions to the next stage?
Once you have decided which submissions progress, you can move them into the next stage.
Please note: the review panel process needs to be complete in order to move submissions to a new stage. Here's more info on how to manually mark reviews as complete.
There are several ways to move submissions to a new stage:
Click into an individual submission and change the stage using the panel on the right hand side.
In the Stages view, drag and drop the submission into the next stage
Bulk change the stage of multiple submissions in one go.
Panel members assigned to the second-round panel will see the new batch appear in their Awaiting Review section. The first-round feedback remains attached to each submission and is still visible to admins.
Can I use the same reviewers in multiple stages?
Yes. Panel membership is set per panel, not per stage — so the same person can be a member of both your first-round panel and your final panel. They will simply receive a new batch of submissions when the second round begins, following the same review process.
Scenario | Approach |
Same reviewers for all rounds | Add the same members to both panels. They will retain access to their previous reviews. |
Different reviewers per round | Create separate panels with different members. First-round reviewers will not see second-round submissions unless added. |
Partial overlap | Mix and match — some members on both panels, others on only one. There is no restriction. |
Best practices for multi-stage review panels
Name panels clearly. Use names like "Shortlist Panel — Round 1" and "Final Panel — Round 2" so it is obvious which panel belongs to which stage when assigning.
Set due dates. Give panel members a deadline — it reduces chasing and keeps your timeline on track between rounds.
Wait for full returns before deciding. Average scores shift as more reviews come in. Make decisions when all (or a clear majority of) panel members have submitted.
Use bulk moves. When moving successful submissions to the next stage, select all and move in one action. Doing it one by one is unnecessary and slow.
Keep guidance consistent. If your scoring criteria change between rounds, update the guidance notes on each panel accordingly.
Check in with reviewers. Panel members can save feedback and come back later, so not all In Progress reviews are stuck. A quick message reminder is usually enough.