Initiating a Proposal

This feature is designed for when a journal (or an Editor) is planning a ‘special issue’, or wants to invite Authors to submit papers on a particular topic, for a particular purpose.

The Editor (with appropriate RoleManager permission) must first go to the Manage Proposals Menu by clicking on the ‘Manage Proposals Menu’ tab at the top of the screen (directly below the Navigation Bar).

From the Manage Proposals Menu the Editor clicks the link labeled ‘Initiate Proposal’. This link delivers the Editor to a page where the Editor can create a Proposal (parent submission) using an enhanced version of the manuscript submission interface.

The first step in the ‘Initiate Proposal’ submission process is for the Editor to enter the following information on the ‘Target Publication Schedule’ page:

- ‘Target Publication Date’ (required). Once the Editor has entered a Target Publication Date, the default Author Submission Due Date can be calculated (see last item in list).

- ‘Author Invitation Due’ - This is the number of days the Author has to respond to the invitation. If a zero is entered, this indicates the invitation due date feature is not being used.

- ‘Author Submission Due’ - This is entered as a number, which is used to calculate an actual date from the Target Publication Date. This means that the Author’s due date is set backward FROM the ‘Target Publication Date’, and is not set FORWARD from the date that Author was invited or the date the Author accepted the invitation. If a zero is entered, this indicates the Submission due date feature is not being used.

After completing the ‘Target Publication Schedule’ page, the regular Submit Manuscript interface is displayed. The Editor fills in the required information (as configured in PolicyManager, 'Edit Article Types').

After building and approving the PDF, the Proposal must be assigned to an Editor who will handle the Author Invitation process via the ‘New Proposals Requiring Assignments’ folder on the ‘Manage Proposals Menu’.

Note: The Proposal submission is not a regular submission. A proposal will not go through any peer review and will not receive any Decision. The proposal is used solely as an invitation vehicle. The Proposal PDF can be used to deliver the details of the proposal to the invited Authors and it can be used to provide supplementary materials to the invited Authors (such as scanned articles, outlines, etc.). The Proposal is also used to keep Author invitations organized, and as a single point where submitted articles can be viewed and monitored.

To Configure RoleManager: Editors need to have the following RoleManager permissions turned on in order to create and manage a Proposal: ‘Initiate Proposals’, ‘Invite Authors/Solicit Commentaries’, and ‘Override Author Invited Submission Due Dates’. Also useful are: ‘View All Proposals and Submissions with Commentaries’, ‘Send Author Reminders’, and ‘Set Final Disposition on Proposals’.