Journal RFPs

1. Journal RFPs Cara S. Kaufman, Partner, Kaufman-Wills Group www.kaufmanwills.com CSE, 2010

2. Overview • KWG’s professional experience with RFPs • Role of the consultant in the RFP process • Pros and cons of contract publishing • What publishers need to know to prepare proposals • How to streamline management of the RFP process

3. Pertinent professional experience

4. Sampling of RFPs handled by KWG • American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry • American Anthropological Association • American Association of Anatomists • American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology • American Dairy Science Association • American Society of Nuclear Cardiology • American Society for Investigative Pathology • American Society for Mass Spectrometry • American Society for Reproductive Medicine • American Urological Association • International Anesthesia Research Society • Gerontological Society of America • Orthopaedic Research Society • The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

5. Consultants and RFPs

6. Why do organizations use consultants for RFPs?

7. Consultant’s role in RFP • Prepare and distribute the RFP • Introduce structure and method to process • Help identify appropriate publishers • Gather information about publication • Prepare documents for approval • Develop and monitor timeline • Evaluate publisher proposals • Respond to publishers’ questions • Compare proposals • Prepare narrative, tables, and spreadsheets • Discuss with client/identify any outstanding issues • Questions, revised offers • Arrange for presentations • Set expectations for society • Moderate discussion following presentations • Inform publishers • Provide feedback • Assist in contract discussions

8. Qualitative and quantitative analyses

9. Summary comparison of offers: apples to apples

10. Pros and cons of contract publishing

11. Division of responsibilities

12. Self-publishing

13. Contract publishing

14. Typical reasons for transitioning to contract publishing • Lack resources • Infrastructure • Knowledgeable staff • Online capability • International reach • Institutional sales • Pressure from leadership • Begins as an exercise • Financial • Want to show that they can do better • Want to show that they can’t do better • Worried • Revenue trends • Print to e-only transition • Consortia sales • Global reach • Open Access • E-publishing investment • Want information • Learn from process • Acquire ideas

15. What do publishers need to know to prepare proposals?

16. RFP elements • Production • Frequency • Number of issues, supplements • Print and online text , society pages • E-platforms • E-features • Marketing/sales • Members • Authors • Subscribers • Industry sales • Communication • Reporting • Consultation • Philosophy • Financials • Transition • Introduction • Society objectives • Deliverables and due dates • Editorial • Editorial mission • Types of content • Peer review • Bibliometrics Size and scope of journal/s Society requirements Information available Society/ consultant preference

17. Common publisher questions • Journal’s current revenues / costs • Journal’s current and recent circulation by segment • Current consortia or multi-site sales, pricing • Stance on • Print versus e-only • OA • Industry sponsorship • Editorial budget, personnel • Number/percentage of • Author fees waived • OA fees paid • Talk or meet with editor/society? • Editor’s vision? • What’s most important to society? • Seriously considering changing?

18. Instructions to publishers • Address all the questions posed in the RFP • Order? • Include a brief, easy-to-read summary • Clearly state components of offer • Cover all functional areas • Print and electronic • Single Word or PDF document • Excel file with projections if requested Remind publisher to customize proposal

19. Streamlining the RFP process

20. The process at-a-glance

21. What happens after publisher receives RFP?

22. Evaluating proposals

23. Evaluating presentations • The publishing company • Do you believe that the publisher’s mission is aligned with your mission? • Will the publisher’s presence in the field be helpful to the journal? • Are the publishers’ office locations around the world well situated? • The people • Are the individuals with whom you will be working knowledgeable? • Did the presenters work as a team? • Can you envision yourself working with them? • Do you think they would be communicative and responsive? Pointers we give societies to help them evaluate publishers during presentations

24. Continued… • Editorial and production • Will the publisher uphold your high quality standards? • Is their vision for the journal aligned with yours? • Is the publisher’s e-platform state-of-the-art? • Is publisher’s preferred manuscript management system ok? • Marketing and sales • Did the publisher provide a convincing plan to build awareness, usage, subscriptions, and industry sales? • Is the publisher expert in global institutional sales? • Are you satisfied with how the journal would be treated vis-à-vis the publisher’s other titles? • The Financial Offer • Will you receive complete and regular financial reporting of revenues and costs? • Is the financial offer easy to understand? • Are appropriate rights retained during and after the agreement period? • Are there changes you would like to negotiate? • Can they deliver?

25. Q&AThank you!