Working with External Assessors
External assessors are people outside your organisation who help evaluate grant applications. This might include subject matter experts, community representatives, or partner organisations. Plinth makes it easy to involve them while maintaining control over what they can see and do.
Why Use External Assessors?
Expertise — Bring in specialists who understand specific sectors or project types
Reduce bias — Multiple perspectives lead to fairer decisions
Increase capacity — Share the workload during busy application rounds
Community involvement — Include voices from the communities you serve
Independence — Add credibility to your assessment process
Inviting External Assessors
Sending an Invitation
Go to your fund's Assessment tab
Click to open the External Assessors panel
In the Invite tab, enter:
Assessor's name
Assessor's email address
Click Send
The assessor receives an email with a link to accept the invitation and create their account.
What Assessors See When They Accept
They click the link in the invitation email
They create an account (or log in if they already have one)
They're taken directly to your fund's assessment area
They can only see applications you've assigned to them
Assigning Applications to Assessors
After inviting assessors, you need to assign specific applications for them to review.
Assigning Individual Applications
Go to your fund's Assessment tab
Find the application in the list
Click the Assign button (or the plus icon if unassigned)
A modal shows available assessors and groups
Check the boxes next to the assessors you want
Click OK
Assigning to Groups
If you've created assessor groups (see below), you can assign applications to entire groups. All group members will be able to access the application.
Assessor Groups
For larger programmes, organise assessors into groups.
Why Use Groups?
Batch assignment — Assign applications to a group instead of individuals
Expertise areas — Group assessors by their specialisms
Regional panels — Organise by geographic area
Progress tracking — See group-level completion rates
Creating a Group
Open the External Assessors panel
Click the Groups tab
Click New group
Enter a group name
Search for assessors to add
Check the boxes next to the assessors you want in this group
Managing Groups
Rename — Click on the group name to edit it
Add/remove members — Toggle checkboxes in the assessor list
Delete group — Click the delete button (doesn't remove the assessors, just the group)
Controlling What Assessors See
You have fine-grained control over what external assessors can access.
Privacy Controls
Go to your fund's Assessment tab and click Settings.
Disable AI for External Assessors
Turn this on to hide all AI features (Pippin) from external assessors. Use this when you want assessors to form independent opinions without AI assistance.
Hide Applicant Information
Redacts identifying details like name, email, address, and AI-generated summaries. Perfect for blind assessment where you don't want assessors to know who applied.
Question-level Privacy
Hide specific application questions from external assessors:
Find Question-level Privacy Settings
You'll see a list of all application form questions
Check the box next to any question you want to hide
External assessors won't see these questions or answers
What External Assessors Cannot Do
External assessors have limited access compared to your staff:
Cannot see fund settings or configuration
Cannot see applications not assigned to them
Cannot approve or reject applications (only score them)
Cannot access Due Diligence, Agreement, or Monitoring tabs
Cannot see other assessors' scores (unless you enable this)
Cannot export data or generate reports
Tracking Assessor Progress
Assessor Summary
Click View Assessor Summary to see:
Metric | What it shows |
Name & Email | Assessor contact details |
Account Status | Whether they've accepted their invitation |
Assigned | Number of applications assigned to them |
Completed | Number they've finished assessing |
Incomplete | Number still to do |
Progress | Percentage complete |
You can also see group-level progress if you're using assessor groups.
Viewing Multiple Assessments
When multiple assessors have scored the same application:
Open the application's Assessment tab
You'll see coloured avatars for each assessor
Click on an avatar to see that assessor's scores
Compare scores side-by-side to identify disagreements
Each assessor has a unique colour for easy identification.
The Assessor Experience
Here's what your external assessors will experience:
Accessing Applications
Assessor logs into Plinth
They see only applications assigned to them
They click on an application to open it
Completing an Assessment
Read through the application (with any redactions you've configured)
Go to the Assessment tab
Complete the assessment form you've created
Click Save and Next to move between sections
Click Submit Assessment when done
AI Assistance (If Enabled)
Unless you've disabled AI for external assessors, they can use Pippin to:
Get application summaries
See eligibility analysis
Review budget breakdowns
Identify strengths and weaknesses
Tips for Working with External Assessors
Brief them properly
Send assessors information about your fund's priorities and what you're looking for. The better they understand your criteria, the more useful their assessments will be.
Create a good assessment form
Clear questions with rating scales make it easier for assessors and give you comparable scores across applications.
Set realistic deadlines
External assessors are often volunteers or busy professionals. Give them enough time to do a thorough job.
Use groups strategically
Match assessor expertise to application types. Technical projects should go to technical reviewers.
Monitor progress regularly
Check the Assessor Summary weekly so you can chase anyone falling behind.
Consider blind assessment
For sensitive decisions, hide applicant details to reduce unconscious bias.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can assessors see each other's scores?
By default, external assessors can only see their own scores. Your staff can see all assessor scores.
What if an assessor hasn't accepted their invitation?
You can see pending invitations in the External Assessors panel. Consider sending a reminder email directly.
Can I remove an assessor?
Yes. Remove them from any groups and unassign them from applications. Their existing assessments are preserved.
Can assessors work on applications simultaneously?
Yes. Multiple assessors can score the same application at the same time without conflicts.
Do assessors need to finish in one session?
No. Their progress is saved automatically. They can return and continue any time.
Can I see exactly what an assessor sees?
Yes. When viewing an assessment, you can toggle to see the "assessor view" with any redactions applied.