The landscape of publication planning is constantly evolving with the rise of novel digital tools, artificial intelligence, and virtual collaboration platforms. As a result, traditional barriers to effective and efficient publication planning and development are being broken down, while new challenges related to compliance, data security, and global collaboration in the virtual setting have emerged.
To set your virtual publication planning and development project up for success, there are some best practices that all life science teams should follow.
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Engage Your Key Stakeholders Early and Often
One of the major benefits of virtual publication planning is the ability to engage your key stakeholders on a regular basis to speed up project timelines. After the most suitable stakeholders, whether Key Opinion Leader (KOL), healthcare provider (HCP), or patient co-authors, have been identified and contracted, their involvement should be immediate. Involving them in the early planning process ensures that their input is considered from the get-go, minimizing the need for last-minute revisions to the plan. Likewise, engaging them on a regular basis keeps the project top-of-mind, allows iterative feedback and adjustments, and facilitates seamless course correction.
Frequent engagements also help maintain open and transparent communication throughout the project, which helps manage expectations and build authentic relationships. Aim to foster a culture where participants feel comfortable giving honest feedback.
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Consider Diverse Perspectives
Another key advantage of the virtual version of publication planning and development is that more diverse stakeholders can be engaged. In this case, diversity might refer to co-authors from different geographic areas, various medical specialties and levels of seniority, and demographics. To cater to these diverse stakeholders, there is a need to effectively manage time zone, scheduling, and language differences. This can be partially achieved through pre-meeting polls to identify the meeting times that work for the most people. Alternatively, leveraging an asynchronous (over time, anytime) collaboration platform allows all participants to participate on their own schedule, irrespective of their comfort with spoken English, geography, and professional and personal commitments. The asynchronous format also enables an equal share of voice among participants, no matter their seniority and level of extroversion.
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Manage Your Project Timelines and Milestones
Publication projects tend to fall apart in the absence of a clear strategy and behind-the-scenes project management. While it’s key to be agile (see #10), having predetermined timelines and regular milestones will ensure that the project stays on track. This means that the touchpoint dates and topics should be set and communicated to all stakeholders as early as possible. It also means that the scope of literature review needed and the target journal should be identified from the beginning to ensure adherence to the timelines. Likewise, information on the co-authors’ affiliations and conflicts of interest should be collected upfront, in a standardized format, to avoid bottlenecks at the time of submission.
To this end, there is no shortage of project management tools that can be used to keep the project on track. If leveraging a Pharma-compliant virtual collaboration platform, a few come with project management support, progress monitoring, and reporting, which help with all of the above.
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Establish Clear Communication Channels
At the time of setting up the project, establishing clear communication channels for all aspects of publication planning, including the content development and review processes, is imperative. Keeping all communication on a single channel greatly simplifies things by removing the need to look through old emails, instant messaging apps, and online platforms to find a past comment. Virtual touchpoints should be prescheduled, with the cadence depending on the project timelines, but can also occur ad hoc between these touchpoints as the need arises. Utilizing a mix of real-time web meetings and (mainly) asynchronous touchpoints, all accessible in the same secure online space, typically results in the most efficient and effective process.
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Streamline Reference Annotations and Draft Reviews
Ideally, when establishing the communication channel(s), opt for one that also functions as a centralized document repository where reference articles can be reviewed and the draft publication can be easily annotated. To avoid issues with version control and ensure compliance, readily available tools like Google Docs might not be optimal, despite their ease of use. If needed, adopt strict version control practices to avoid confusion and ensure that everyone is working on the most up-to-date document.
Establish a clear review process, with defined stages for internal and external reviews of the draft publication, conducted through multiple rounds of annotations, to ensure alignment.
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Clearly Outline Responsibilities
Clearly defining the participants’ roles and responsibilities is key. This includes having early discussions around authorship order, who the corresponding author will be, and the amount of literature review required. It is also necessary to determine whether the authors will be responsible for writing the final manuscript themselves (and if so, who is responsible for which part) or with the help of a medical writer. If possible, using standardized templates for documents like manuscripts, abstracts, and posters helps ensure consistency across all publications. Finally, it is recommended to design and implement a robust quality control process to review the content for accuracy, clarity, and adherence to guidelines before the final submission.
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Avoid Bottlenecks through Automated Workflows
This is a quick one: set up automated workflows for document approvals and authorship forms using digital tools to streamline and speed up the process and to reduce bottlenecks.
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Utilize Digital Tools for Enhanced Collaboration
As hinted above, the virtual publication planning and development process can be greatly improved by using a single (or very few) digital platform that allows participants to communicate, brainstorm, collaborate, review new data and reference articles, and co-create and annotate publication drafts all in one place. Ideally, the platform should comprise a variety of both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration tools to allow efficient collaboration in (near) real-time.
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Choose Virtual Tools that Adhere to Strict Data Security and Compliance Requirements
Related to #8 above, whatever platform you choose to use for your publication project, it is crucial that all virtual tools and platforms are secure and comply with industry regulations, such as GDPR and HIPAA.
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Be Ready to Pivot
Lastly, after all this talk about early planning, this one might seem counterintuitive, but like everything else in life, being agile and prepared for unforeseen events will help ensure a successful project. Be prepared to adapt the plan based on changing circumstances, such as new data or internal delays. Flexibility is key in a virtual environment where situations can change rapidly.
By Natalie Yeadon, President & CEO Impetus