CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

You'll want to use the 'Approval Required' workflow for event registration and create custom fields to extend Participant records to record answers for THIS event. Some steps for this:

1. The 'questions' registrants need to answer should be set up in a custom data group - used for = Participant. IF the questions differ substantively from year to year, the custom data group should clearly indicate that these are 'Registrant Questions for 2010 Event' since you would create a new set of custom fields for next year.
2. Create a Profile which profile fields  "pointing to" each of your custom fields (and potentially any contact-level info you want to collect like name, address, phone etc.
3. Enable the participant statuses needed for Approval Required workflow from Admin >> CiviEvent >> Participant Statuses (Waiting Approval, Pending from Approval).
4. in your event configuration -> Online Registration section, configure your event to have 'Approval Required' and use the profile you created above.

NOTE: when folks register (apply), the answers will be recorded in their 'Participant' record for this event. Next year, answers will be recorded in another participant record for next years event.

5. Test the approval workflow -
- initial registration puts folks in 'Waiting Approval' status
- you can review and approve selectively when ready from Find Participants (search on Waiting Approval) and use Update Participant Status action
- approved participants are in 'Pending from Approval status' and get email inviting them to complete their registration