Submitted a project to the Innovation Fund and can't tell if I got rejected or just have to wait?

Oct 10, 2026 Last reply: 1 day ago 4 Replies

First reply

MossLisa55

Being off the provisional list isn't automatically the end. The list is provisional precisely so the community can raise concerns during the review window, which runs October 9 through 15. If anyone spots an issue with a selected project, that's when it gets sorted out, and in…

Read the full reply

So I threw my hat in the ring for the Innovation Fund a while back with a little tool for organizing print profiles, and I've been staring at the provisional winners list all morning. My project isn't on it, which stings a bit, but I'm more confused about what happens next. Does getting left off the provisional list mean it's over, or is there still the review window where things could shift around?



Also I'm not totally clear on wether they send any feedback to the projects that didn't make the cut. It'd be genuinely useful to know why something didn't get picked, even just a one-liner. Otherwise I'm just guessing at what the reviewers were looking for. And one more thing, does anyone know if there's a Phase 2 planned? I'd rather fix up my submission and try again than start something from scratch, but I don't want to sit around refreshing the site for weeks either. If anyone here has been through a previous round of this, how did the timing usually work out?


Being off the provisional list isn't automatically the end. The list is provisional precisely so the community can raise concerns during the review window, which runs October 9 through 15. If anyone spots an issue with a selected project, that's when it gets sorted out, and in theory a spot could open up. Realistically though, that window exists to catch problems with the winners, not to swap in new projects, so I wouldn't hold out much hope there. The final list drops October 15, and they've said all inquiries get answered by then.

On feedback for rejected projects: from what they've posted, nothing is promised. They only committed to responding to inquiries sent during the review period. My suggestion is to email them directly before the 15th and ask outright whether they'll share reviewer notes with non-selected submissions. Worst case they say no, but if you don't ask, you definitely get nothing. I've found smaller community teams are often more willing to give a line or two of feedback when someone asks politely and specifically, rather than demanding a full rubric. As for a Phase 2, there's been nothing announced yet, so I'd treat it as possable but not guaranteed. The original call for submissions ran a few months, then review, then winners, so if they do another round you're prolly looking at a gap long enough that refreshing the site daily will just drive you nuts. What I'd do is keep working on the tool in the meantime. A profile organizer is exactly the kind of thing that gets better with real usage data, so let people on the forum beta test it, collect the pain points, and if a second round opens you'll have a much stronger submission than the one that just missed. And if no second round ever comes, you've still got a useful project with actual users, which counts for something. Also, don't take it too hard. With over a hundred submissions and only twenty spots, plenty of good projects got left off. Not a reflection on the quality of the work.

Same boat here, mine got skipped too. What helped me last time I missed out on a community contest was messaging one of the reviewers directly and asking what the strong submissions had in common. Got a two sentence reply that was more useful than any rubric would've been. Also, don't rebuild your pitch from scratch yet. I kept a running list of every question people asked about my tool in the forum threads, and that list basically wrote my resubmission for me. The stuff users complain about is exactly what judges want to see you fixing.

Chiming in on the feedback question. When my laser enclosure idea got passed over in a similar round, I emailed asking for notes and got a reply almost a month later, well after the final list was out. So don't assume silence means a hard no, thier timeline might just be slow. The one thing that actualy turned my next submission around was adding a usage logger to the tool itself. Seeing which profiles people saved and what they kept tweaking told me more than any reviewer comment ever did. If a second round does open, that kind of real usage data makes your pitch for you.

Update: took the advice about pinging a reviewer directly and actually got a short reply back. No detail on my project specifically, but they confirmed the review window through the 15th is real and things do occasionally shift. Also asked about Phase 2 while I had them, and they said nothing announced yet but to watch after the final list goes up. Small win, still in the game.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required