Initiate and Manage a Proposal

Proposal functionality provides a framework to organize invited submissions that are scheduled for publication together, such as in a special issue. An Editor (with RoleManager permission) may create a proposal and invite Authors to submit manuscripts.

The proposal is created in order to provide a "parent" submission to which "child" submissions can be related. This functionality is the same as soliciting a commentary ("child") on a submission ("parent"). The proposal is also used to keep Author invitations organized and as a single point where submitted articles can be viewed and monitored.

Proposals are displayed only in folders on the Proposal Menu; they do not go through the editorial review process. A proposal's "child" submissions are handled through folders on the Editor Main Menu; these may go through the regular editorial review process.

1. Initiate proposal and set parameters.

On the Proposal Menu, click Initiate Proposal. (This launches the proposal initiation interface.)
On the Initiate Proposal page, select a proposal Article Type from the drop-down list. The page will refresh to display additional fields.
Use the drop-down list to pre-select Article Type for the invited submissions, or choose "Author Will Select" to allow the invited Author to select Article Type when submitting. (A pre-selected Article Type may not be changed; Editors should take care to select the correct Article Type if using this feature.)
Enter Title for the proposal (required).
Enter Target Publication Date (required).
Enter Target Publication Volume (optional).
Enter Target Publication Issue (optional).
Enter number of days Author has to respond to invitation (Author Response Due). Editors must have permission to override configured value.
Enter number of days before target publication date submission must be received (Author Submission Due). Editors must have permission to override configured value.
Four buttons provide options for the next step:
- Cancel: Proposal is inactivated and does not appear in Incomplete Proposals folder. User is returned to Proposal Menu.
- Proceed and Build PDF: Takes user through Editor submission interface to create a system PDF for the proposal. After building and approving PDF the user sees a confirmation page for the proposal. (The proposal PDF is made available via a View Proposal link in several Editor and Author folders.)
- Proceed with no PDF: Goes directly to confirmation page for the proposal. Proposal moves to the New Proposals Requiring Assignment folder. (Because no PDF is created, the View Proposal link does not appear in Editor or Author folders when this option is selected.)
- Assign to Myself and Invite Authors: Editors with applicable permissions have this option. Opens the Author Selection Summary page. (Because no PDF is created, the View Proposal link does not appear in Editor or Author folders when this option is selected.)
Assign proposal manuscript number. If the publication is configured to assign number automatically, a number will appear after proposal initiation is completed. If the publication is configured for manual manuscript numbering, number entry depends on option chosen above:
- Assign to Myself and Invite Authors: Manuscript number must be entered on the Initiate Proposal page before user can proceed.
- Proceed and Build PDF/Proceed with no PDF: Manuscript number must be assigned before assigning Editor. Click Assign Manuscript Number link in Action column in the Proposals Requiring Assignment folder.

Note: The Proposal PDF can be used to deliver details of the proposal to the invited Authors and to provide supplementary materials to the invited Authors (such as scanned articles, outlines, etc.).

2. Assign Editor.

Once the proposal has been created, it must be assigned to an Editor. Editors with applicable permissions may use the option, Assign to Myself and Invite Authors, as described above.

Otherwise follow these steps:

Find the proposal in the New Proposals Requiring Assignment folder.
Click the Assign Editor link. (Mechanism for Editor assignment depends on configuration. See Assign or Invite Editors .)

3. Identify Authors to invite.

Once an Editor has been assigned, that Editor may invite Authors. (An Editor who has used the Assign Myself and Invite Authors option goes directly to the Author Selection Summary page.)

Access the proposal in New Assignments – Proposals (or View All Assigned Proposals) folder.
Click the Invite Authors link. This opens the Author Selection Summary page. (Additional Authors may be invited later using this link again.)
On the Author Selection Summary page, use the drop-down menu to select a search option and click Go. For details on options, see: Search for Authors, Search by Personal Classifications, and Upload Author List File.
Search results (or uploaded Author list) appear in a list of Author Candidates. Check the box in the Select column next to an Author's name to invite that person. Editors with additional permission will see two boxes in the Select column: Inv. (invite) and Asn. (assign). Check the appropriate box.
Click Proceed to open the Select Authors – Confirm Selection and Customize Letters page.

4. Select and customize invitation letter.

Use the drop-down menu to select a letter (if more than one is available).
Optional: Click the Customize link to edit the templated letter.
A text box may appear under the letter dropdown. Enter any invitation notes to the Author. (These are accessible to the Author via a link in several Author folders and to Editors in the Invited Authors section of the Details page (of the proposal or "parent" submission). They may also be included in invitation letters by using the %INVITATION_NOTES_TO_AUTHOR% merge field.)
Click Submit.

Note: A Do Not Invite checkbox allows the inviting Editor to exclude an Author on the selected results list. This may be used if the Editor has reconsidered an Author choice and does not want to invite that Author to submit.

Alternate Authors

Editors with permission can also use the Search for Authors tool to identify Authors to serve as alternates. If an invited Author declines, the alternate can be invited as a replacement.

For details, see Identify Alternate Authors for Invited Submissions.

Track proposals and invited submissions

Editor Main Menu

Invited articles related to a proposal come into the system just like a regular submission. They are received in the New Submissions Requiring Assignments folder (or New Submissions folder if Technical Check is configured). The submission must be assigned to an Editor to handle peer review process (if necessary) and make a decision. Once the Editor is assigned, the submission can follow whatever workflow the publication has defined.

A letter may be configured to notify the publication when an Author submits an invited manuscript. This can be used to distinguish invited submissions from unsolicited submissions.

In folders on the Editor Main Menu, invited submissions include a View Related Submissions link.

The View Related Submissions page shows the related proposal information and lists all "child" submissions.

Proposal Menu

Once Authors have been invited, the proposal moves to the assigned Editor's My Pending Proposals folder. Additional Authors may be invited using the Invite Authors link. After at least one invited submission has been received, a View Related Submissions link appears. The View Related Submissions page shows the proposal information and lists all "child" submissions.

Folders under the Proposals With Invitations In Progress heading include an Authors Invited column. The column displays the name of each invited Author (formatted as a link to the Author's People Information popup). Authors assigned directly, without invitation, are also included in this column; they are treated as Authors with accepted invitations.

When a proposal is complete, set final disposition. Because a proposal does not get published and is not transmitted to production, only two final dispositions terms are available: Completed Proposal and Withdrawn Proposal. Proposals with final disposition move to My Completed Proposals and View All Completed Proposals folders.

To set final disposition:

Click the proposal's Final Disposition link.
Use the drop-down list to select Completed Proposal or Withdrawn Proposal.
Click Proceed.

Before setting final disposition, you must uninvite any Authors with outstanding invitations or Authors who have not yet submitted an article. The system will alert you of any outstanding items.

"Child" submissions that have already been received by the publication are not affected by setting the proposal's final disposition. These submissions remain linked to the proposal.