On getting feedback on your submission

Jose Zamora is a Journalism Program Associate at Knight Foundation

Getting feedback on your application is important; it will definitely improve your idea and increase the chances of your project moving forward in the contest.

The first thing you should do is draft your submission. Be as clear and concise as possible. Once you have the draft ready read it a few more times and edit it. Try to get rid of jargon and technical terms. Make it simple and to the point.

Once you feel ready for submission, let a few friends read your application. If they think everything is clear and do not have any questions you are ready to submit and receive public feedback. (Public feedback only applies if you submit under the open category)

Posting your application for public comment early will allow you to benefit from the wisdom of the crowd. You will be able to receive feedback and ideas that you can incorporate into your application. Or you will receive questions that will allow you to see in what parts of your submission you need more clarity.

Once your application is public you can also poke your social networks and ask everyone in them to give you feedback. These steps should improve your application and your chance of moving to the full proposal phase of the contest.