PEER REVIEW SUPPORT AND ADVISORY SERVICES – JOURNAL OF REPLICATION AND REPRODUCIBILITY

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is preparing to launch a new scholarly journal and publishing platform focused on the reproducibility space. The Journal of Replication and Reproducibility (JRR) will address a major gap in scientific publishing: the lack of incentives, visibility, and infrastructure for replication research. By sponsoring replication studies as well as publishing studies from outside groups and authors, and combining full-service publication with an integrated open and interactive repository for data, methods, software, and materials for both internal and external studies, JRR will become a trusted global platform for transparent and verifiable science.

JRR will be an online only, diamond open-access scientific journal and platform dedicated to publishing direct replication studies, conceptual replication studies, reproducibility analyses, null results and negative findings, and registered replication reports. Each paper will be accompanied by a mandatory, permanent repository hosted by JRR that includes all supporting materials necessary to replicate and validate the claims made in the paper.

As a diamond open-access journal, JRR will have no author publication charges, no pay-per-view purchases, and no subscriptions. All content will be freely available to anyone visiting the website, as all costs will be covered by the NIH.

1.1. Current Processes and Specifications: As a new endeavor, there are no existing workflows or procedures attached to this program. All materials will be newly created for JRR.

2.  OBJECTIVES: The basic service objective is to provide strategic, operational, and advisory services to support the development of a high-quality scholarly publishing program with an emphasis on research integrity, transparency, innovation in peer review, and scientific reproducibility.

As a new endeavor, JRR does not have the benefit of an established editorial board, peer review frameworks and procedures, or a recognized presence in the scholarly publishing industry. This requirement will address those gaps to allow for a successful building and launch of the program over the next year.

The objectives of this contract are to:

• Establish a world-class editorial leadership structure.
• Design and validate an open peer-review framework.
• Develop innovative publishing products focused on replication studies and research reproducibility.
• Support the marketing and launch of the journal and associated programs.
• Develop rigorous, ethical, and transparent peer-review policies and workflows.

Please see the attached CSS, Performance Work Statement and the Evaluaion Criteria for complete details and specifications.