November 13 & December 3, 2020 | Online

Community feedback on preprints makes rapid science more robust. Review and commentary can help authors improve their articles; curation can provide readers with helpful context and enhance discoverability. But despite the benefits, barriers to reviewing and curating preprints remain. Potential reviewers and curators see few incentives to organize and comment on preprints, and reviews can be difficult to find, both at the level of an individual preprint and across the ecosystem. 

How do we encourage existing peer reviewers and the broader community to participate in review and curation? How do we promote review of work beyond well-known authors and institutions? How do we convince the community to devote more of their effort towards preprint review? How do we reward evaluation of preprints?

Such questions have become even more urgent as the use of preprints grows exponentially amid the COVID-19 crisis. During this critical moment, we want to encourage thoughtful community engagement with preprints, including review and curation. 

To increase exposure for new and existing ideas for encouraging preprint curation and review, we’re holding an online design sprint in collaboration with Wellcome, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, DORA, EMBO Press, PLOS, and eLife. 

At the November 13 kickoff, participants will collaboratively propose, critique, and develop potential interventions. Project leads will then develop their ideas and present to judges on December 3, who will award recognition to the most promising projects. 

Updates

The #PreprintSprint needs you
Kicking off the #PreprintSprint
Recapping the #PreprintSprint

Submitted proposals

See all proposals

Timeline

TimeDetails
November 2
November 3 (deadline extended)		Project submission deadline
Fill out this template and submit via email (see details below). 
November 6Projects notified of participation in the event
November 13, 11am – 1:30pm ET
(16 – 18:30 UTC)		Kickoff (register)
Welcome & orientation (5 min)
Project introductions (55 min): Participants are encouraged to highlight the resources or feedback they’re looking for. 
Breakout discussions (3 x 20 min): Each project will have their own breakout room in which to discuss their project and seek feedback with attendees.
Closing remarks (5 min)
Between kickoff and presentationsTeams continue to develop projects and presentations according to feedback at the kickoff.
December 3, 11am – 12:35pm ET
(16 – 17:35 UTC)		Presentations (register)
Pitches (60 min): Participants will present their projects to judges, incorporating feedback and collaborations established at the Kickoff
Breakout discussions (25 min): About community building, interoperability, academic incentives, and more
Awards (10 min): Judges (and attendees) recognize distinguished projects.

Submit your project

ASAPbio is calling for proposals for a Design Sprint on Incentivizing Preprint Curation and Review. The event will take place in two phases: a kickoff on November 13 and presentations on December 3. Selected proposals will be publicly posted on asapbio.org.  Participants will be notified of invitations to present at the November 13 event by November 6. Selection will be conducted by ASAPbio staff in consultation with event partners. 

Scope

The proposal, which can focus on any scholarly discipline, should aim to develop a new program or introduce an intervention to:

  • Articulate the value of feedback on preprints to the research community
  • Enhance the visibility and usability of preprint reviews
  • Create incentives for reviewing preprints

We invite submission of proposals to translate projects from one discipline into another.

How to submit

Copy this template and fill out all bracketed fields, keeping the completed document to 500 words maximum, minus instructions, plus figures or tables. Please send completed proposals to Victoria Yan (victoria.yan@asapbio.org) by November 2 November 3 (deadline extended). Participants will be notified of selection to present at the November 13 event by November 6.

By submitting, you agree that: 

  • Selected submissions will be posted on asapbio.org under a CC BY license.
  • Someone from your team is potentially available on November 13 (8am San Francisco / 11am New York / 4pm UK / 5pm Europe) to present an introduction to your project and engage event participants in discussion. 
  • Someone from your team is potentially available on December 3 (8am San Francisco / 11am New York / 4pm UK / 5pm Europe) to pitch your project to judges.
  • Between these two events, you are willing to engage with event attendees to develop your idea and build potential collaborations.