How to Streamline Submission Forms: What to Ask

Work backwards

There are two types of information you may need from candidates:

• What you need to choose successful candidates
• Demographic data to improve your programme and demonstrate value to stakeholders (and the marketing department!).

Knowing how you will select winners should always be the first step in defining what information you need.

Create a list of everything you need to know about candidates to make meaningful decisions. These answers should be available to any judges helping with selection.

Once you have your list, add questions important for you and your stakeholders. e.g. demographic information.

Who should submit?

Knowing who you are targeting will inform every facet of your planning (part of defining your demographic and purpose). It helps shape your language, imagery, process and more.

Ensuring you define your demographic before you start gives you a reference point for each decision you make. These are usually loosely defined on location, demographic, age, etc.

You might also consider using segments defined by your stakeholders (e.g. Audience Agency spectrums) or depend on already defined ones within your organisation.

Format is everything

Keeping data clean makes your life simpler when reviewing applications and analysing data. Choosing the correct format for the answer to your question helps enormously.

Instead of allowing candidates to fill out a field with text, can you restrict the number of options available to them in a list? Or even replace lists with simple Yes/No answers?

For every question on your list, think about the format of the answer and any restrictions you might have (e.g. 120-word text field, a list with six options to choose from).

For each additional choice you give candidates, you double the time it takes them to make a decision.

If you have a list with too many options (more than seven), consider removing some, splitting the question into separate parts or changing the format. This is Hick’s law in action.

Here’s a practical example: instead of asking “What type of organisation are you?” with 15 dropdown options, split it into two questions. First ask “Are you an individual or organisation?” Then, based on their answer, show a second conditional question with relevant options.

If 1,000 candidates spend 30 seconds choosing from 15 options versus 5 seconds with 5 options, you’ve collectively saved 7 hours of decision-making time.

Build for scale

Taking a large number of submissions? You might want to consider making your selection in multiple rounds. This is especially valuable when managing large volumes of submissions.

Asking candidates simpler questions to establish who passes earlier rounds helps you manage larger calls better. More nuanced questions can then be used later in the process to make meaningful decisions.

Here’s how multi-round selection typically works:

• Round 1 (Eligibility): 5-7 simple questions establishing basic fit. Are they in the right location? Do they meet age or career stage criteria? Can they demonstrate eligibility? This filters out candidates who aren’t qualified without wasting anyone’s time.
• Round 2 (Detailed evaluation): 3-5 deeper questions and portfolio submission for candidates who passed Round 1. This is where you assess quality, creativity, and alignment with your criteria.
• Round 3 (Final selection): Shortlisted candidates might attend interviews or presentations. Not every programme needs this, but it works well for fellowships, residencies, or positions requiring personal fit.

Platforms designed for awards management typically include multi-round capabilities, allowing you to filter candidates through simple eligibility questions before inviting detailed submissions. This approach can reduce administrative burden by 60-70% for large programmes.

The key is transparency. Let candidates know upfront that selection happens in stages and roughly when they’ll hear back. Nobody likes uncertainty.

Keep language short

The correct language allows candidates to digest information quicker and leads to better answers from them. This principle applies equally to writing clear guidelines.

Even small changes in how you word your question can have big impact.

A question should be as short as possible without losing its meaning.

For example, “Please add a biography” should be shortened to “Biography”. This could be improved to “Short Biography” and further shortened to “Short Bio” (only do so if you feel candidates know what you mean by Bio).

It’s nice to be polite, but it’s more polite to save candidates time.

Reducing “Please provide a short biography (120 words maximum)” to “Biography (120 words)” saves 3 seconds reading time. Multiply by 1,000 submissions and you’ve collectively saved 50 minutes.

Ask fewer questions

We tend to ask for more than we need, just to be safe.

Don’t.

Can you get the information you need by merging some of the questions on your list? Can you get demographic data elsewhere? Instead of asking how candidates heard about you, use Google Analytics campaigns to track referral sources.

Look for ways to gather data without adding form questions. Instead of requesting information you’ll need later (like mailing addresses for winners), collect it post-selection. Every question removed increases completion rates.

If you find it hard to choose which questions you should keep, split your list into Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have. Keep the Must-Haves, delete the Could-Haves and make Should-Haves optional.

Review them and make amendments.

See the difference

Here’s how streamlining works in practice.

The “before” form takes longer to read and digest and takes an average of 18 minutes to complete. The “after” version takes 11 minutes.

For 1,000 submissions, that’s 117 hours saved collectively. You’ll also see completion rates increase from streamlined forms.

Order (really) matters

Human beings can only make a limited amount of decisions in a day. Research from the Decision Lab shows we can make about 35,000 decisions daily and the quality degrades as the day progresses.

We all suffer from decision fatigue. (Ever noticed how Steve Jobs wore the same outfit daily? One less decision to make.)

The order of questions matters. Put the most important complex questions at the top and the least important optional ones at the bottom. Doing so ensures candidates have a fresh mind at the start and find answering questions easier as they go.

A thousand words

If an image speaks a thousand words, imagine what videos, sounds and 3D models could do.

If you don’t need to analyse answers in a spreadsheet, you should consider alternative mediums. Can the short bio be a 1-minute video? Instead of restricting the submission of artwork to one image, could you allow for more (e.g. closeups of the details)? What about 3D models of sculptures or PDF files to present more engaging pitches?

Giving candidates flexibility in how they present their work may help them better demonstrate the depth of their practice.

Here are specific examples by discipline:

• Performers: 2-minute video excerpt instead of written description of their work
• Sculptors: 3D model files or multiple angles showing detail, scale, and context
• Musicians: Audio files alongside written statements about their creative process
• Architects: PDF portfolios with technical drawings, renders, and narrative

When offering alternative formats, be clear about technical requirements: accepted file formats, size limits, duration restrictions. This helps candidates prepare appropriately and ensures judges can evaluate submissions fairly across different mediums.

Serving everyone, serves no one

You might want to create one competition with multiple categories or perhaps integrate your student prize into your main prize.

Creating one call works if the submissions process is the same. However, if you start asking for specific information for specific categories, you should consider splitting them into separate online calls. Historically this was shunned since submissions management platforms made you pay per-programme. But that’s not the case for all of them.

The easy test is to go over your guidelines and questions. When candidates see irrelevant information for their category (e.g. Film do this, Art do that, Students something else), consider splitting your opportunity for this category.

Breaking your competition into separate calls keeps guidelines and questions relevant and leads to fewer queries and confusion when submitting.

If 30% of your candidates waste 5 minutes navigating irrelevant category instructions, that’s 25 hours lost across 1,000 submissions.

Test your journey

Planning your questions is one thing; understanding the process by which you will accept entries is different.

Once you have understood what you need from your candidates, input it into whichever process you will use (e.g. modern submissions management platforms, online forms etc.). Then test the journey your candidates will take, start from the point of discovery (where they hear about your callout) to the moment they have submitted successfully.

Modern platforms should allow you to preview forms exactly as candidates will see them. This is essential for catching issues before candidates encounter them.

Test this journey before launch. A week before should give you time to fix issues without delaying your opening date.

Finally

For each minute you spend planning your process, you will save hours answering queries later on. And this won’t just save you time. It will guarantee wider participation and help you scale your impact and support maximising engagement throughout your programme.

Remember: each second you save candidates is amplified by the number of submissions you receive. But it’s also vital you have what you need to follow up by tracking what metrics actually matter and demonstrate value to external stakeholders to see if your programmes worked in making an impact and attracting funding (not just submission numbers).

Programmes with well-designed submission forms see higher completion rates compared to those with unclear or lengthy processes. That’s not just better for candidates, it’s better for the quality of your programme, and ultimately for you!

Frequently Asked Questions