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Referee requests - Product News

Ask referees for a reference from the application form, and follow each request from the References tab to the Assessor's view.

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This entry follows the Mid-October 2026 Product News and covers the changes since. Screens use Backed's default words; if your organisation has renamed any of them under Settings > Organisation > Terminology, you see your own words instead.

What's new

  • Referee requests. A round can ask applicants to name referees, who are emailed a link to a form of their own and need no account. Build the referees' form on the new Referee Forms tab, add a Referee request field to the application form, and turn on Applicants can view references and Show references to assessors for the round. See Referee requests and references, Form builder and Create a grant round.
  • The References tab. An application whose form asks for referees shows a References tab with each request's status. Reopen a completed reference with a reason, or Request a reference again. See An application.
  • For applicants and referees. Applicants send, resend and replace their referee requests from the form and see each one's status. Referees open their link, see who they are writing for and when the link expires, then submit the reference or decline with a reason. See References, for applicants and referees and Applying for a grant.
  • For Assessors. Where the round shares references, the application shows a References section, with names hidden in a blind round. See Assessing an application.

Fixed

  • Opening or deleting a sandbox that does not exist yet says "This Organisation has no sandbox, or it is not ready yet." See Your organisation's sandbox.
  • A criterion's guidance hint uses your organisation's word for Assessors. See Assessment templates.
  • Apply starts straight away on a round that does not allow copying a previous application. See Applying for a grant.
  • Emails about contracts, decisions, milestones and new accounts never go to the real address of a person your organisation has erased. See Privacy requests.
  • A duplicated Referee Form stays a Referee Form, and a reference link that stopped working while it was open says so.