Proposal Manager tasks

Instructions on this page are for Proposal Managers managing proposals for new Cochrane Reviews on our Central EM site.

See also our instructions for authors: Propose a new or updated Cochrane Review in Editorial Manager 

Receive new proposal

Log in to the Central EM site with the Proposal Manager role

When a new proposal is received, it will be assigned to you. You can also view the folder New Submissions Requiring Assignment and choose Assign Editor. Select the Proposal Manager editorial role and choose whether or not to send an assignment notification email.

New proposals will be visible in your New Assignments.

View Submission to open the proposal as a PDF.

Assess new proposal

Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Reject > Proceed to notify the authors of a reject decision in any of the situations below:

Reason for immediate rejection Reject decision email template

Not a proposal for a systematic review

Editor Decision - Reject proposal: not an SR
Not related to healthEditor Decision - Reject proposal: not health
Involves animals (rather than humans)Editor Decision - Reject proposal: animals
Authors have not submitted current proposal form (new form released 2 Feb 2023 has 12 questions)Editor Decision - Reject proposal and resubmit
Authors have submitted correct form but questions not completed in fullEditor Decision - Reject proposal empty questions

Direct submissions of a full systematic review which does not exist in RevMan (i.e. authors attach a completed manuscript with their proposal).  Submission is not a RevMan download and/or title is not listed in Archie

(These should only come through very rarely as Editorial Assistants screen proposals before assigning to Proposal Manager.)

Reassign to Leticia Rodrigues (Editor role = Admin Support). Note in assignment email that this is a direct submission. An ME will then be assigned to QA the direct submission.

Direct submissions of a full protocol which does not exist in RevMan (i.e. authors attach a completed manuscript with their proposal).  Submission is not a RevMan download and/or title is not listed in Archie

Do not reject - process as proposal.

Check Correspondence History to confirm the authors have been sent an email to confirm that their protocol will now be handled as a proposal. If you cannot see this email, flag to Ursula Gonthier 

Direct submissions of a full systematic review from RevMan (i.e. authors attach a completed manuscript with their proposal). Submission is a RevMan download and/or title is listed in Archie.

(These should only come through very rarely as Editorial Assistants screen proposals before assigning to Proposal Manager.)

Editor Decision - Reject incorrect submission
Only one author listedEditor Decision - Reject proposal: sole author

Assess update proposal 

Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

New online questionnaire for authors to propose updated Cochrane Reviews added in EM 17 May 2023.

Article Type will be Cochrane Review Update.

Please note important information provided to authors: if you are proposing to update a published Cochrane Review, you may need to contact authors of the previous published version:

  1. Update published review with byline changes. You must include at least one author from the previous published version. If your proposal is accepted, please submit a Changes in authorship form with your submitted update (further details in your invitation email).
  2. Supersede published review with a new protocol, with byline changes. Before submitting your online proposal, please contact the authors of the latest published version to invite them to join your team or to seek agreement to a new team updating the review topic with a new protocol. You will need to attach a copy of this correspondence when submitting your update proposal. If the authors did not respond, please provide evidence that you attempted to contact them. If you need assistance with contacting previous authors, please contact Cochrane Support. For new protocols, in cases of disputes, Cochrane's Editor-in-Chief, or designated deputy, in its sole discretion, or jointly with the relevant Cochrane group (when applicable), will make a final decision on the author team. 

If we need a new rejection letter to address the scenario where there is a new protocol but no correspondence attached, please flag to Ursula Gonthier.

Pre-approved proposals from Cochrane groups

Staff in Cochrane groups (e.g. Cochrane Review Groups and Thematic Groups) can use article type Cochrane group proposal (pre-approved) to request:

  • creation of a new protocol
  • published review is opened up to authors to begin an update

TWO CHECKS ARE NEEDED BEFORE THESE PROPOSALS MOVE DIRECTLY TO ACCEPTANCE. 

  1. Is the person submitting the proposal a member of staff in a Cochrane group?
    1. Search for the person in Archie to confirm or contact Ursula Gonthier.
  2. Is correspondence with previous authors attached if needed?
    1. If the group is proposing to supersede a published review with a new protocol, with byline changes (same title, but different author team to previous published version), there should be correspondence from the previous authors attached to the proposal. The answers to the Additional Information questions should make this clear. If you have any queries, please contact Ursula Gonthier .
  • Add submission flag Pre-approved by Cochrane group if not already added. 
  • Open a Discussion with the group contact named in the proposal/use action Send Email to confirm the proposal has been approved by the group. If you have had prior notice of this proposal (e.g. from Cochrane Support) you can skip this step.
  • When you hear back, move directly to Accept - group can provide support to authors.
  • The acceptance email will go to the group contact. You must add the authors listed in the proposal form in CC.

Commissioned reviews

Cochrane Commissioning Editor Roses Parker works with authors to commission high-priority reviews and updates. 

These reviews should have the following wording in the question on funding and commissioning: Commissioned by Roses Parker, Cochane Commissioning Editor.

ONLY ONE CHECK IS NEEDED BEFORE THESE PROPOSALS MOVE DIRECTLY TO ACCEPTANCE. 

If the authors are proposing to supersede a published review with a new protocol, with byline changes (same title, but different author team to previous published version), there should be correspondence from the previous authors attached to the proposal. The answers to the Additional Information questions should make this clear. If you have any queries, please contact Ursula Gonthier .

  • Add submission flag Commissioned Review if not already added. 
  • Contact Roses Parker via Slack or email and share the title and author team to confirm the review is commissioned. 
  • When you hear back, move directly to Accept - group can provide support to authors.

Confirm section/category (topic area)

  • Check which section/category (topic area) the author has selected.
  • If incorrect, Edit Submission to adjust.
  • If unclear to which topic area the proposal is relevant, or if it does fit within the scope of any section/category, contact the Deputy Editor in Chief via Ad Hoc email (Send Email > Editor Query - blank for any message).
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Is it a proposal to update a published Cochrane Review, and have the authors included the required information? Yes.

  • Check which section/category (CRG) the author has selected. This should generally be the section/category of the published review. This can be confirmed in Archie.
  • If incorrect, Edit Submission to adjust.

Set flags

Is it a proposal for a health-related systematic review, submitted on the current version of the proposal form (12 questions)? Yes > set flag Proposal Form 2.0

Has the review been funded or commissioned?

  • Funded > set funding flag e.g. NIHR
  • Commissioned > if agreed with a Cochrane group > set flag Pre-approved by Cochrane group

If the proposal has been pre-approved you can go directly to inviting clinical/topic experts to a Discussion - you do not need to assign a peer review task to the Evidence Pipeline team. 

Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Has the review update been funded or commissioned?

  • Funded > set funding flag e.g. NIHR
  • Commissioned > if agreed with a Cochrane group > set flag Pre-approved by Cochrane group

If the update has been pre-approved you can go directly to inviting clinical/topic experts to a Discussion - you do not need to invite the Evidence Pipeline team. 

Assign peer review task to Evidence Pipeline team

  • Invite Reviewers > Reviewer Settings > Edit
  • Set number of Required Reviews = 1
  • Un-invite/Un-assign = 0
  • Reviewer search > Last Name > Platt, Noel-Storr or Bridges (Joanne Platt, Anna Noel-Storr and Charlene Bridges are Information Specialists working within CET)
  • Assign
  • Choose letter > PICO check assignment: Information Specialist
  • Proceed

Set flag Awaiting PICO check

Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • Invite Reviewers > Reviewer Settings > Edit
  • Set number of Required Reviews = 1
  • Un-invite/Un-assign = 0
  • Reviewer search > Last Name > Noel-Storr or Bridges (Joanne Platt, Anna Noel-Storr and Charlene Bridges are Information Specialists working within CET)
  • Assign
  • Choose letter > Update proposal assignment: Information Specialist
  • Proceed

Set flag Awaiting PICO check

  • When the results of the PICO check come in the submission will move to Submission with Required Reviews Complete
  • Remove flag Awaiting PICO check and set flag Evidence Pipeline check.
  • View Reviews and Comments > paste Evidence Pipeline team notes in Production Notes field (this is to allow the comments to be pulled into the Discussion invitation email to topic experts).
  • Add the following text ahead of the pasted comment in the Production Notes field: -  Evidence Pipeline team notes from PICO screen: 
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • When the results of the evidence surveillance check come in the submission will move to Submission with Required Reviews Complete
  • Remove flag Awaiting PICO check and set flag Evidence Pipeline check.
  • View Reviews and Comments > paste Evidence Pipeline team notes in Production Notes field (this is to allow the comments to be pulled into the Discussion invitation email to topic experts).
  • Add the following text ahead of the pasted comment in the Production Notes field: -  Evidence Pipeline team notes from evidence surveillance check: 

Invite clinical/topic experts to a Discussion

Cochrane group staff as authors

Look out for proposals where the prospective authors are also topic experts you might invite to a Discussion. EM will alert you to this when inviting participants. You may wish to add some customised wording in the topic window to show that you are aware that staff are authors listed on the byline and to check if the review is pre-approved.


Initiate Discussion > Proposal for consideration 

If the proposal has been pre-approved by a Cochrane group, add the following text at the start of the topic window:

--The proposal mentions that this review has been pre-approved by Cochrane %GROUP_NAME%. If this is the case, please reply briefly to confirm and we can mark the proposal as Accepted to create the protocol in RevMan.-- 

You should also:

  • Remove the mention of the Evidence Pipeline check from the Topic template and the Discussion invitation letters. 
  • If this happens frequently, flag to ugonthier@cochrane.org and we can create new Topic templates and invitation letters specifically for pre-approved reviews. 
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Initiate Discussion > Review update for consideration 

Select relevant participants, searching by:

  • People Flag Name = section/category

Some topic experts have specified particular areas of expertise for proposals. These are noted in their People Notes. To view People Notes alongside section/category flags, run the EAR report Proposal Editors with notes. 

  • Editor roles for participants may be Proposal Editor, Sign-Off Editor, Handling Editor. Where Sign-Off Editors are also happy to act as Proposal Editors this will be indicated by an additional People Flag. 
  • If the proposal spans more than one topic area, consider including topic experts from all relevant areas

Proceed to Customize Letters > Discussion Invitation: Proposals > Confirm Selections and Proceed to send invitation emails. (Customize > Preview Letter to preview the email.)

  • Close and set flag With Editor
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Proceed to Customize Letters > Discussion Invitation: Updates > Confirm Selections and Proceed to send invitation emails. (Customize > Preview Letter to preview the email.)

  • Close and set flag With Editor

If clinical/topic experts do not respond to a Discussion

  • Send a reminder to participants at 7 and 14 days.
  • If no response from topic experts after 21 days, Initiate a new Discussion with Deputy Editor in Chief, Toby Lasserson and Commissioning Editor, Roses Parker, for a final decision.
  • Note to Toby and Roses if Evidence Pipeline check suggests the proposed review would create new evidence, or there are new studies available for inclusion in an updated review.

Review Discussion responses

You will be notified by email when an participant responds to a Discussion.

Act on the first response posted. If multiple participants respond quickly, with conflicting options, proceed with the senior editor's selection (check with Ursula Gonthier if unclear which participant has seniority).

The Discussion topic asks particpants to recommend an Accept or Reject decision for the proposal. If no clear accept or reject decision has been made, go back to the participants to clarify. 

If the Proposal Editor(s) respond to the Discussion to say they do not have the required expertise, ask for recommendations for other participants. 

If the Proposal Editor(s) respond to the Discussion with further queries for the authors, copy and paste the Discussion comments into the template Flexible email (all authors) and ask the authors for further input. Post the authors' comment in the Discussion when they respond, and ask the participants to make a final Accept or Reject decision on the basis of the information provided. 

If no clear accept or reject decision and Evidence Pipeline check suggests the proposed review would create new evidence, or there are new studies available for inclusion in an updated review escalate to Deputy Editor in Chief, Toby Lasserson, for a final decision.

Post a comment in the Discussion:

Author support

The following UK-based CRGs closed on 31 March 2023 and authors working in these areas will not have support: 

Airways; Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma; Common Mental Disorders; Dementia and Cognitive Improvement; Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems; Effective Practice and Organisation of Care; ENT; Epilepsy; Gynaecological, Neuro-oncology and Orphan Cancer; Heart; Incontinence; Injuries; Neuromuscular; Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care; Pregnancy and Childbirth; Stroke; Tobacco Addiction; Vascular; Wounds 

Editor decisionFirst response
  1. Accept - group can provide support to authors


Thank you for letting us know that you are happy for the authors of this proposal to be invited to submit a draft protocol. 

We will now mark this proposal as accepted in Editorial Manager, to create the protocol in RevMan. You will see the new protocol listed under your group's section in Archie. 

We will copy you in to the acceptance email to the authors. We will let the authors know that they can contact you about support available, as they develop their protocol for submission to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. 

We will also copy you in to the email to authors to invite the protocol, so that you are aware of the information and guidance they have been given before submission.

Best wishes,

2. Accept - no support available

Thank you for letting us know that you are happy for the authors of this proposal to be invited to submit a draft protocol to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. 

Best wishes,

3. Reject

Thank you for letting us know that you would like to reject this proposal. We will go ahead and inform the authors.

For your information we are copying the deciding comment in the Discussion, as provided by Participant name:

Copy comment from previous Discussion post. 

Best wishes,

No option selected or unclear response

Thank you for participating in a discussion about this proposed review. While no clear option has been selected about whether to proceed with this proposal, no obvious unjustified overlap has so far been identified, and the importance is as yet unclear. We will therefore offer the authors the opportunity to proceed further with this proposed review and invite them to submit a protocol to the Central Editorial Service. When the protocol is submitted, if unjustified overlap is identified, the topic is judged not to be of importance, or the protocol is of poor quality, the protocol would be rejected.

Best wishes,

Follow the steps for options 1, 2 or 3 below.

Editor decisionFirst response
  1. Accept - group can provide support to authors - not a new team


If a new team, send response (1) for proposals as authors will need to begin a new protocol.

Thank you for letting us know that you are happy for the authors of this proposal to be invited to submit a draft update. 

We will now mark this proposal as accepted in Editorial Manager, and amend the author byline as needed in Archie and RevMan. 

We will copy you in to the acceptance email to the authors. We will let the authors know that they can contact you about support available, as they develop their updated review for submission to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. 

We will also copy you in to the email to authors to invite the updated review, so that you are aware of the information and guidance they have been given before submission.

Best wishes,

2. Accept - no support available


If a new team, send response (2) for proposals as authors will need to begin a new protocol.

Thank you for letting us know that you are happy for the authors of this proposal to be invited to submit a draft review update to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. 

Best wishes,

3. Reject

Thank you for letting us know that you would like to reject this proposal. We will go ahead and inform the authors.

For your information we are copying the deciding comment in the Discussion, as provided by Participant name:

Copy comment from previous Discussion post. 

Best wishes,

No option selected or unclear response

Thank you for participating in a discussion about this proposed review update. While no clear option has been selected about whether to proceed, the importance is as yet unclear. We will therefore offer the authors the opportunity to proceed further with this proposed review update and invite the authors to submit the updated review to the Central Editorial Service. When the review update is submitted, if it is of poor quality, the review update would be rejected.

Best wishes

Follow the steps for options 1, 2 or 3 below.


1. Accept - group can provide support to authors

  • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor decision - Accept (proposal)
  • Edit the RED, BOLD paragraph in the email to add in the name of the current Managing Editor or group lead as a named contact
  • Add to the email any feedback the discussion participants may have provided for the authors 
  • CC. Managing Editor or group lead 
    • If you are accepting a pre-approved proposal, the acceptance email will automatically be addressed to the Cochrane group contact.
    • You must add the authors listed in the proposal form in CC.
    • Edit the first line of the email to add the name of the Corresponding Author.
  • Send email
  • Go to (3) below - Await confirmation of protocol creation 
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • There are two different scenarios:
    • Existing authors are updating their published review 
      • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor decision - Accept (update proposal)
    • New or existing authors are starting a new protocol to supersede the published review 
      • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor decision - Accept (proposal)
  • Edit the RED, BOLD paragraph in the email to add in the name of the current Managing Editor or group lead as a named contact
  • Add to the email any feedback the discussion participants may have provided for the authors 
  • CC. Managing Editor or group lead 
  • Send email
  • Go to (3) below - Await confirmation of protocol creation 

2. Accept - no support available

High-profile submission?

  • Have the editors in the Discussion indicated that the proposed review could be high-profile?
  • No - proceed to Accept proposal
  • Yes - start a discussion with the Deputy Editor in Chief.
  • Initiate Discussion > High-profile review potentially eligible for pre-submission support

  • Select relevant editor participants, searching by:

    • Last Name | Equal to | Lasserson

    Proceed to Customize Letters > Discussion Invitation > Confirm Selections and Proceed to send invitation emails. (Customize > Preview Letter to preview the email.)

    Submission will move to Submissions with Active Discussions.

  • Wait 3 days for response. If no response within 3 days, assume the authors are not eligible for pre-submission support
  • Conclude Discussion (all Discussions)
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Please customise the Discussion template High-profile review potentially eligible for pre-submission support to refer to a review update - not a new review.

If an alternative Discussion template is needed (if you are customising the Initial Comments regularly), please contact Cochrane Support. 

Accept proposal

  • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor Decision – Accept Proposal 
  • Remove the RED, BOLD paragraph in the email related to author support
  • Add to the email any feedback the discussion participants may have provided for the authors 
  • If relevant, edit template email to reflect pre-submission support available
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • There are two different scenarios:
    • Existing authors are updating their published review 
      • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor decision - Accept (update proposal)
    • New or existing authors are starting a new protocol to supersede the published review 
      • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Accept > select decision letter Editor decision - Accept (proposal)
  • Edit the RED, BOLD paragraph in the email to add in the name of the current Managing Editor or group lead as a named contact
  • Add to the email any feedback the discussion participants may have provided for the authors 
  • CC. Managing Editor or group lead 
  • Send email
  • Go to (3) below - Confirm author access to RevMan

3. Await confirmation of protocol creation

  • The acceptance email to authors will cc. membership@cochrane.org. This will create a support ticket assigned to Ursula Gonthier 
  • You will receive a notification when the protocol is created
  • When you receive confirmation, you can proceed to invite authors to submit  
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • The acceptance email to authors will cc. membership@cochrane.org. This will create a support ticket assigned to Ursula Gonthier 
  • There are two different scenarios to grant authors access to the review:
    • Existing authors are updating their published review - author byline confirmed on published review; review in authoring
    • New or existing authors are starting a new protocol to supersede the published review - new protocol created
  • You will receive a notification when the author access is adjusted OR protocol is created
  • When you receive confirmation, you can proceed to invite authors to submit  


4. Invite authors to submit protocol


  • Go to My Assignments with Final Disposition > Accept and locate the accepted proposal
  • Go to the Correspondence History and open the proposal acceptance email to view the email addresses for co-authors and Cochrane group lead (if support available) 
  • Solicit Commentary
  • Select correct Article Type for invited submission e.g. Protocol: Intervention review (refer to proposal or RevMan for review type) - please do not leave this field as 'Author to select on submission'. Article Types for invited submissions are used to report on the incoming pipeline.
  • Set Target Publication Date to approx. 120 days' time (this is a proxy for due date which is visible from the Proposal Menu - due dates are not visible; allows for easy sorting of submissions by due date. Does not otherwise impact on submission or production timelines.)
  • Set Invitation Response Date to 0 days (feature not being used)
  • Set Author Submission Due to 120 days
  • Save and Proceed
  • Search for and select Corresponding Author
  • Asn. (Assign) > Proceed
  • Ensure due date is 120 days from invitation
  • Select email template Author assignment for protocol (ed service)
  • Enter the review title in the Article Title box 
  • Customize letter to edit any optional text (highlighted in RED, BOLD within the email)
  • Add the link to the RevMan dashboard (highlighted in RED, BOLD within the email)
  • Copy email addresses from proposal acceptance email to CC. co-authors and Managing Editor or group lead if a Cochrane group has agreed to support the authors with developing the draft protocol
  • Save > OK
  • Tick to Lock title for author
  • Submit
  • Submission will move to My Submissions with Pending Commentary (Proposal Menu)


Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews
  • Go to My Assignments with Final Disposition > Accept
  • Solicit Commentary
  • Select correct Article Type for invited submission e.g. Update: Intervention Review - please do not leave this field as 'Author to select on submission'. Article Types for invited submissions are used to report on the incoming pipeline. 
    • Existing authors are updating their published review = Update (refer to proposal for review type)
    • New or existing authors are starting a new protocol to supersede the published review = Protocol (refer to proposal or RevMan for review type) follow the instructions in the left-hand column to invite authors to submit the protocol
  • Set Submission Due Date to 365 days
  • Set Target Online Publication Date to 365 days (this is a proxy for due date which is visible from the Proposal Menu - due dates are not visible; allows for easy sorting of submissions by due date. Does not otherwise impact on submission or production timelines.)
  • Search for and select Corresponding Author
  • Asn. (Assign) > Proceed
  • Ensure due date is 365 days from invitation
  • Select email template Author assignment for update (ed service)
  • Customize letter to edit any optional text (highlighted in RED, BOLD within the email)
  • Add the link to the RevMan dashboard (highlighted in RED, BOLD within the email)
  • Copy email addresses from proposal acceptance email to CC. co-authors and Managing Editor or group lead if a Cochrane group has agreed to support the authors with developing the draft protocol
  • Send Letter 
  • Submission will move to My Submissions with Pending Commentary (Proposal Menu)


Add flags to submission with pending commentary

  • View Submission and Discussions to determine if the following flags should be added. If so, add submission flags to accepted proposal:
    • High-profile review
    • Large review

3. Reject

  • Conclude Discussion
  • Submit Editor's Decision and Comments > Reject > Proceed
  • Select most appropriate reject decision letter (most common will likely be priority)
  • Send
Proposals to update published Cochrane Reviews

Please customise your chosen rejection letter to refer to a review update - not a new review.

If alternative email templates are needed (if you are customising letters regularly), please contact Cochrane Support.