Run an Open Call
On One Platform Instead of Five.
HackHQ replaces the patchwork of Google Forms, Notion, Airtable, and a shared spreadsheet that most innovation challenges run on. Structured submissions, weighted rubric judging, conflict of interest controls, and a defensible shortlist, all in one place.
What goes wrong during open innovation programs
What we hear from corporate innovation directors, foundation program managers, and public sector program leads.
Submissions split across three different tools
A Google Form for the application, an email inbox for the deck, a SharePoint folder for the supporting docs. By the shortlist meeting, half the entries are missing pieces and the panel is reviewing a spreadsheet that does not match the website.
Getting busy judges to actually score every submission
Industry experts, foundation board members, and internal program leads, all on the same panel. Some are senior executives who will not deal with a clunky tool. Some are external partners who do not have your accounts. If the platform takes more than ninety seconds to figure out, half of them never finish.
Defending the shortlist when the board asks how
Legal review wants to see exactly how the finalists were chosen. Who scored what, against which criteria, with what conflicts of interest flagged. A shared spreadsheet does not survive that conversation.
Every finalist comes with a paper trail
Open any submission and see exactly how it was scored: every judge, every criterion, every weight, with conflicts visibly excluded. The kind of transparency the board, legal, or your funder will actually want to see.
| Judge | Problem fit 20% | Solution 35% | Team 20% | Impact 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AM A. Mehta | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
LP L. Park | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
DO D. Okafor | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
RC R. ChenConflict of interest | — | — | — | — |
MS M. Silva | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
A program your board can audit
Four pillars that matter for funded innovation programs. Each one is part of the platform, not a feature you bolt on.
Conflict of interest controls
You assign which judges see which submissions. Exclude any project a reviewer has a conflict with and it never appears in their queue. Comments and scores carry judge identity for review.
Full audit trail, exportable
Every score and every comment is logged against a judge identity and exportable as CSV. Reproducible decisions when legal or the board ask how.
Public or private, your call
Default to private submissions. The public gallery is one switch at the event level, opt in only when you are ready. For selective sharing, hand out per project read only share links without opening the full gallery.
External judges, no third party accounts
External experts and board members get a personal scoring link by email. No signup, no SSO config, no IT review for new third party accounts.
What an innovation challenge looks like on HackHQ
One platform replaces the patchwork
Submissions, judging, and results live in one place. No Google Form to Notion to Airtable handoff. No version of the truth that disagrees between the website and the spreadsheet.
External participants submit through a link
Personal manage link per team. No signup, no third party account, no SSO config to fight with IT. Applicants come back to edit their submission until the deadline closes.
A different rubric per track, in the same program
Run a scientific merit rubric for one track and a social impact rubric for another, all under one open call. Custom criteria, custom weights, custom scales per category.
Audience pick alongside the expert panel
Run a public community vote in parallel with the expert review. One link to the whole stakeholder list, ranked choice voting, no signups. The community pick has its own leaderboard and award.
Public showcase or private review, your call
Submissions are private by default. Flip the public gallery on when you are ready, or keep the entire program internal. Each project also has its own private read only share link you can hand to specific reviewers without opening the full gallery.
Per event pricing, no annual SaaS contract
Public pricing from $0 to $599 per event. Pay only for the program you run. No multi year contracts, no per seat fees, no quote process.
Every capability an innovation program needs
Three phases, grounded in the platform. Not a roadmap, not an add on, not a separate module to license.
Built for structured open calls
The pieces an innovation challenge needs that a generic form tool cannot ship.
- Six question types with validationShort answer, paragraph, URL, dropdown, single choice, multiple choice. Required fields, character limits, and pattern validation built in.
- Auto embeds for supporting mediaYouTube, Loom, and GitHub embed inline so reviewers see videos and demos in the queue, not in a stack of open tabs.
- Editable until the deadlineEach team gets a personal manage link they can revisit to update their submission until the deadline closes. No portal account, no password reset support tickets.
- Tracks and challengesMutually exclusive tracks for program categories (Health, Climate, Education) and opt in challenges for special prizes (Diversity Pick, Sponsor Award). Applicants pick during submission.
- Run the program as a teamInvite your program staff to the same workspace. Multiple admins can review applications, manage the judge panel, and run the program together. Foundation programs are rarely a one person job.
Built for an honest shortlist
Real judging, not a star rating bolted onto a form tool.
- Weighted rubric scoringCustom criteria with custom weights and scales. Configure the rubric your panel actually wants. Live weighted totals, no spreadsheet glue.
- A rubric per track, run in parallelDifferent criteria for each track or category, scored in the same event at the same time. Each track has its own leaderboard and its own awards.
- Three judge assignment modesAll judges score everything, each judge sees their own slate, or run parallel Judging Rooms for high volume programs.
- Manual conflict of interest controlsYou assign which judges see which submissions. Exclude any project a reviewer has a conflict with, and it never appears in their queue.
After the program closes
Everything you need to defend the shortlist and report on the program.
- Full CSV exportEvery submission, score, comment, judge assignment, and award decision. Filter by track, by judge, by award. Drops into any reporting tool.
- Announcements with email sendPost finalist announcements, award decisions, or program updates from inside the event. Optionally send the announcement by email to all applicants in one click.
- Public or private galleryShowcase the finalist solutions publicly, or keep the gallery internal for governance. Per project share links you can hand out individually.
- Verifiable LinkedIn certificatesEvery finalist gets a verifiable certificate with a public verification page. A real badge for the winners and the runners up, generated automatically.
For program leads and foundations
Run an Innovation Challenge On a Single Source of Truth.
Start free, no credit card required. Per event pricing from $0 to $599. Talk to us about volume pricing if you run several programs a year.