The Review Process: Best Practices for Advancing & Declining Proposals (for Leads)

Last updated: August 28, 2026

In this guide, we'll walk you through best practices for evaluating proposals and the process of advancing or declining proposals in Halo's streamlined 2-stage review system.

Note: For users of our legacy review system, proposals previously housed in the Open stage will now be found in the screening stage. Proposals previously found in the Qualified and Shortlisted stages will now be found in the assessment stage. Proposals found in Finalist & Declined will remain in those categories.

  1. Navigate to https://www.halo.science/reviewer_dashboard

  1. Click the title of your partnering request to access the proposals submitted by innovators.

Click the title of your partnering request to access the proposals submitted by innovators.

  1. All proposals begin in the screening stage.

Best practice: During the screening stage, you and your review team should briefly evaluate each proposal based on its content and the innovator’s profile. You'll conduct a more in-depth review during the assessment stage.

  1. Click the Advance button on the actions panel or evaluation pane to move a proposal to the assessment stage. Innovators will receive an automated email notification explaining that their proposal has been advanced.

  1. To decline proposals, click the Decline button.

  1. Provide feedback to complete the decline process. You can use one of Halo's premade decline templates, or contact your Customer Success Manager to add additional custom templates for easy access.

Provide feedback to complete the decline process. You can use one of Halo's premade decline templates, or contact your Customer Success Manager to add additional custom templates for easy access.

Best practice: After—or while—your review team provides feedback, it's a good idea to promptly decline all proposals that are clearly not a fit and advance proposals that show some promise, even if you're not certain. This ensures a quick initial response for innovators and helps keep them engaged.

  1. Click the assessment stage tab to view all proposals that have been advanced to the second review stage on Halo.

Best practice: During the assessment stage, you and your review team should conduct a thorough evaluation using the advanced scorecard. This is your opportunity to dive deeper into the proposal’s merits, message the innovator with clarifying questions, or schedule a call to gather the information needed to decide if you'd like to select them as a finalist. (Note: Do not request confidential information, as doing so violates our Terms of Service and community guidelines.)

  1. Click the Message button to contact an innovator for additional information, to schedule a call, or to request files and attachments that can help inform your review process.

Best practice: Finalists—selected by clicking Advance in the assessment stage—should represent the highest-potential proposals. Selecting a finalist does not guarantee the selected innovator a partnership, but it does commit you to follow up directly with them to continue exploring the proposal off-platform. All other proposals should be declined promptly to ensure every innovator receives a clear response.

To complete the review process, move each proposal through screening and assessment until it's either declined or selected as a finalist.

Tip: You can screen, assess, and select a proposal as a finalist as soon as it's submitted—or while others remain in the screening stage. However, you must advance or decline all proposals from each stage before the stage's deadline. This deadline will be shared with you in-app and via email when your review process begins.