{"id":67423,"date":"2026-03-03T10:59:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T10:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/?page_id=67423"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:05:07","slug":"open-call-platform","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/open-call-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Call Management Software – Fair Selection, Less Admin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Platform<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Open Calls<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Open call management software that respects artists and gives you weekends back<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Capterra (52 reviews)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Your inbox has 400 submissions, half arrived overnight, and three panellists still haven\u2018t logged in. You\u2018re downloading ZIP files instead of reviewing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zealous gives your open call a proper home. Artists submit rich portfolios in one place. Your selection panel reviews anonymously against shared criteria. You track everything from a single dashboard, not a chain of forwarded emails. The result: fairer decisions, fewer late nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get Started<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Quick Tour<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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20 entries free. No credit card required.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Trusted by 500+ organisations running open calls worldwide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"UAL<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"British<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Design<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Royal<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Fitzwilliam<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"London<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Young<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Every submission in one place, not scattered across inboxes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Artists upload images, video up to 4GB, audio, documents, and embedded content from Vimeo, YouTube, or SoundCloud. Everything lands in a single, organised dashboard. No more downloading attachments, renaming files, or chasing WeTransfer links that expired last Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Your panel reviews on their schedule, you see progress in real time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Five panellists in three cities. Two have finished, one hasn\u2018t started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zealous shows you exactly where each panellist stands. Automated reminders nudge anyone who hasn\u2018t begun. Panellists pick up where they left off on any device, and their scores appear in your dashboard the moment they\u2018re submitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how to structure rounds and assign panellists in our post on planning your selection process<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Team<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Jane<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We were able to deal efficiently with a much higher number of submissions than anticipated. We will use Zealous again and would certainly recommend them to other organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Hackett, Project Director<\/strong>
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Businesswoman<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Anonymous review without manually redacting 300 PDFs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You want equitable selection, but stripping names from every portfolio by hand isn\u2018t realistic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toggle anonymous review on and Zealous hides artist names and personal details automatically. Your panel evaluates the work, not the CV. Scores are recorded before identities are revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore all evaluation modes and anonymity settings on our features page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Imogen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hosting our annual photography competition on Zealous was a revelation. The platform is incredibly easy to use at every stage of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imogen Bakelmun<\/strong>
UCL<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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From 50 submissions to 2,000, your process stays the same<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your first open call got 80 submissions and felt manageable. This year you\u2018re expecting 600. Next year, maybe more. Spreadsheets that worked at 80 collapse at scale, and your admin hours grow with every edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zealous handles unlimited submissions without storage caps. Clone your programme for the next edition, carry over your settings, and keep a historical archive that builds your programme\u2018s reputation over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan for growth with our programme lifecycle planning guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Audience<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Shared criteria so the shortlist reflects your programme, not personal taste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without a shared rubric, each panellist brings their own definition of \u2018strong\u2018. The shortlist ends up reflecting whoever reviewed last or spoke loudest. Criteria-based evaluation with configurable score ranges means every submission is measured against the same framework your programme set out to uphold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open calls promise equal access, but that promise falls apart if panellists can see institutional affiliations before they\u2019ve assessed the work. Anonymous review strips identifying details so the portfolio speaks first. Scoring records across your panel provide a clear account of how the shortlist took shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your data is protected throughout the process. See our security overview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Matt<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We\u2019ve had around 5,000 users submit through Zealous and very rarely hear about any problems or complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Freidson, Deputy Director<\/strong>
Creative Future<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Selection modes built for how open calls actually work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mix and match these across rounds. Different panels, different criteria, different stages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Criteria-Based Scoring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Define the criteria that matter to your programme: artistic merit, feasibility, relevance, presentation. Set a score range for each (say, artistic merit out of 20, feasibility out of 10). Panellists evaluate every submission against the same framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consistent, comparable scores that reflect your programme\u2018s priorities, not individual taste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Quick Selection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not every round needs a full rubric. In screening stages, admins can quickly select or reject submissions to narrow the field before detailed evaluation begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move through hundreds of submissions efficiently, then apply deeper scoring to what remains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Anonymous Review<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Artist names, bios, and personal details are hidden automatically. Your panel sees only the submitted work and responses. No manual redaction required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrates your commitment to equity and removes unconscious bias from selection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Community Voice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For programmes that want public engagement alongside expert selection, open a voting phase to your audience. Public results and panel scores are shown separately so they inform each other without overlapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suspicious votes are discounted automatically, so results stay credible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Multi-Round Selection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Run screening, shortlisting, and final panel review as distinct rounds. Assign different panellists and different criteria to each stage. Only selected submissions move forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Structure your process to match the depth and rigour your programme demands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Alisa<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The software is very easy to use. We were able to set up our competition in no time at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alisa Sacofsky<\/strong>
COBIS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Reclaim your admin hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You started this role to support artists and shape cultural programmes. Somewhere along the way, it became file management and inbox triage. These tools give you back the time to focus on the work that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Set up your open call in under 48 hours<\/strong><\/summary>\n

Start from a template or build from scratch. Add your logo and colours to a branded programme page, configure your submission form with the fields you need, set your deadline, and publish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dynamic forms let you add or edit fields even after submissions open. Need to change a question mid-cycle? Done, without starting over. <\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Submissions that do the work justice<\/strong><\/summary>\n

Artists see a clear, professional submission experience with auto-save and progress indicators. Images are preserved with lossless compression. Video, audio, documents, and embedded content all sit alongside form responses in a single view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automated confirmation emails go out the moment a submission lands. No more \u2018did my submission go through?\u2018 emails clogging your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Evaluation your panel will actually complete<\/strong><\/summary>\n

Panellists log in, see their assigned submissions, and score against your criteria. They can leave comments, skip conflicts, and pick up exactly where they left off on any device. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see who\u2018s reviewed what in real time. Automated reminders chase anyone who hasn\u2018t started, so you don\u2018t have to send awkward follow-up emails.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Live data when the board asks for it<\/strong><\/summary>\n

Your dashboard shows submission numbers, revenue (if your programme charges a fee), panellist progress, and score distributions. Pull it up in a meeting and the numbers are current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use bespoke trackable links to measure which channels drive submissions. Export data for reports whenever you need it.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Zealous<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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