How to make an open call: checklist
An open call is an exercise in clearly stating what you are looking for and making an effort to make it truly open – in the broadest sense of the word – to anyone who meets the criteria.
Potential candidates may doubt whether the call is really meant for them, if the language and wording does not seem geared towards them or because nothing is explicitly said about accommodating specific needs and requirements.
After you have thoughtfully considered whether your call is truly open and feasible, you can develop the call using the checklist below.
In an open call, you formulate what you are looking for in line with your ambitions and expectations. This is about more than a technical description. You state where you want to go, and you give your potential candidates the opportunity to relate to it.
Formulate the call as openly as possible so that candidates can include their own vision, knowledge and imagination. Try to be aware of possible implicit preferences or habits that creep into the wording of the call. This way, you avoid that only candidates who match your idea or vision are interested in the call, but that it is also attractive to new people with alternative proposals.
Describe clearly what you are looking for, so candidates can check whether it is for them or not. This also provides guidance to evaluators. Detail what you offer in terms of material, salary, coaching, budget, meeting possible needs and more. Make sure you can deliver on this.
If a call is insufficiently thought through or elaborated, it remains vague. Choices that have not yet been made are then deferred to the moment of selection. As a result, candidates may feel like a puppet of proposals and ideas without knowing whether their candidature really answers the call. For judges, it gives little guidance, so personal preferences (may) weigh more heavily.
Describe in detail what you expect from candidates so they can check their eligibility.
Tip: write out well the criteria which candidates must meet. Consider criteria regarding:
- knowledge and experience;
- profile and personality traits;
- conditions (regarding availability, flexibility, financial contribution, etc.).
A call may not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual identity, age, cultural background or disabilities.
Initiators of an open call may question whether all potential candidates who meet the criteria in principle can respond to it. Have implicit exclusionary mechanisms crept into the wording, for instance around age, gender, social class, cultural frames of reference or other physical or mental limitations?
Tip: have the call read by an expert or diverse group of externs. Provide proper compensation for this.
In the call, explicitly mention that you have thought about inclusion and that options are discussed on a case-by-case basis. Are specific forms of exclusion necessary due to the nature of the activity? If so, be explicit about this, and state your considerations. In each case, avoid stigmatising language.
A call can and may include affirmative action. These are tools to lower thresholds for candidates who are often implicitly excluded. The Anti-Discrimination Act of 2007 and the Royal Decree of 2018 allow for affirmative action – provided the disadvantage of a particular (population) group is clear.
Clearly state the criteria used for selection. Criteria usually concern:
- the profile of candidates: on this basis the admissibility of a candidacy is determined;
- the ambitions and expectations (see step 2, it is best to divide them up so that candidates can answer them and as a reference for the assessment): for the assessment, you can determine a rating per expectation and ambition depending on which criteria carry the most weight.
- Any additional criteria.
Draw up a procedure that gives candidates every opportunity to show their qualities so that they can be assessed fairly and equally. Ensure that the effort and time you ask of candidates is no more than necessary for the selection, and that interested parties are given every opportunity to communicate their qualities. Also provide sufficient time so that the evaluators can analyse all submissions.
If a candidate for the initiative needs adjustments to achieve the same quality, be open to engaging constructively with them and listen to their needs and expectations. It is important to indicate already in the call what is possible and what is not, so that a candidate can make appropriate proposals.
Set up a diverse jury. You can look for that diversity in terms of age, gender, sexual identity, socio-economic position or cultural background, among others, but also in the expertise of jury members in relation to the project. In this way, a candidacy is assessed in all its aspects and possibilities. Moreover, the more diverse the jury, the more potential proposers will feel welcome.
Judging is a lot of work and requires responsibility. Consider carefully whether the judges should be compensated, whether they do it as part of a paid job, or on a voluntary basis.
Organise and describe the selection process as transparently as possible. How will it run effectively? How will the decision-making process take shape? Will it be structured? What if you do not reach an agreement or result, will the call be reopened?
Indicate who and how will evaluate: the names, phasing and timing (deadlines). A procedure drawn out beforehand and explained in the call is crucial for trust between candidate and promoter, for fair weighting of different proposals, and for aftercare and feedback.
If the procedure and assessors are not explained in the call, it is considered unfair as there is a risk of manipulation: procedure and assessors are determined on the basis of the applications, and personal preferences risk weighing more heavily.
Use direct, simple and inclusive language. Make sure the call is understood by everyone, avoid stigmatising language and do not exclude anyone.
Address the call to potential candidates and write from their perspective. Use simple sentences, ensure adequate readability (think of the font, for example) and avoid jargon.
Inclusive communication is an interplay of images, words and symbolism. Therefore, always watch out for possible stigmatising associations and make sure you use diversity as a criterion in the images and illustrations you post.
Give candidates the chance to demonstrate their quality and how they meet the requested criteria in a way that does not take them more time than necessary.
Sometimes an open form is an option, such as a cover letter explaining why you are a suitable candidate. In other cases, candidates opt for a series of questions to which they respond with a limited number of characters or response options.
Give candidates with diverse skills the opportunity to express themselves in the language that suits them best: written, via audio recording or with a video.
Ask whether a fee is needed for additional tasks in the selection process. If candidates have to create something to apply, make sure their intellectual rights are guaranteed.
Submission can be seen as a confidential relationship between proposer and initiator, protecting the proposer and providing a safe space (proposers are separated from each other). One can also opt for a procedure where submitters make their candidature (partly) public and thus inspire each other.
Part of the open nature of an open call is in its dissemination. Does the call reach potential candidates who are not in your network and are more likely to be systemically excluded, or who may qualify from other perspectives and may surprise?
Make an (inclusive communication) plan for who you want to reach and through which channels, platforms and liaison figures.
Clear criteria form the pedestal of selection. Some criteria may carry more weight than others.
For a proposer, applying is always a vulnerable process: someone makes a personal proposal, does not always know the jury and is in competition with other candidates. This causes stress that not everyone can control. Take this into account and try to provide a safe environment.
Judging can be done in writing based on scores, but a face-to-face discussion between judges is recommended. That way, each judge can argue how they judge and what they pay attention to, and everyone gets a chance to step out of their frame of reference. A diverse group can correct each other.
Maintain the same expectations among everyone in all steps of the procedure – from initial selection to final choice. Provide the same (working) standards and equal treatment for all candidates. For instance, during an oral interview, it is crucial that all candidates are asked the same questions.
Make detailed reports of each consultation. You can refer to it internally at one of the next stages or when a decision is revisited. That report is also crucial for justifying choices to candidates and any board members or other stakeholders who need to endorse a proposal.
When candidates submit, make sure they receive a confirmation e-mail and a response based on the stipulated timing.
Inform candidates who drop out of the first selection as soon as possible. Usually that first selection happens without detailed motivation, but still, feedback is important for everyone. If written feedback is not possible, telephone clarification is always a plus.
For candidates, participation is important – even if their application was not retained – because they have formulated a proposal and receive feedback on it. Thoughtful feedback constitutes an important return to candidates who give their best and have invested a lot of time in their candidature. The candidature or proposal is useful for other calls or invitations.
An open call brings together a capital of people and ideas. What happens to that after selection? Initiators keep valuable candidates and proposals in a reserve, and sometimes initiators contact people who launch a similar call.
Also provide aftercare for the selected candidate by maintaining a transparent and accessible collaboration during the initiative over which the call ran. Plan an evaluation after the project to look back on the course of the call and the corresponding activity as candidate and initiator. With this information, you can optimise future open calls.
