If you would like to discuss starting a new journal, please provide us with information on the points listed below. Feel free to contact independentjournals@biomedcentral.com about any questions or issues you want to discuss before you begin working on the formal proposal.

1. Names and addresses of proposer(s), with fax and telephone numbers.

If you are proposing a journal and do not intend to serve as the Editor-in-Chief, please explain what role you intend to take in the running of the journal, or your position within the society, if it's a society journal.

2. A brief description of the journal, including:

• Title (if this is a new journal please check to ensure it does not already exist).
• A 20-word aim for the journal.
• A 100-word description of the field.
• A 100-word rationale for why the journal is needed. This should include a description of the purpose of the publication: will it be educational, to encourage debate or to provide a home for the latest research?
• A list of topics included (and not included, if useful) in the scope of the journal.
• Expected content, by article type (e.g. reviews, commentaries, research articles). Please check beforehand that these are included in the list of article types currently available in our journals.

3. A full description of your peer-review process. This should cover the following points:

• Whether peer review will be open or closed.
• Whether you will peer review all manuscripts or screen submissions prior to peer review.
• How many reviews you will need to make a decision. Note that we strongly recommend at least two reviewers be consulted for every manuscript.
• Whether manuscripts will be routinely sent to a statistician.
• What the procedure will be if the reviewers are in disagreement.
• Who will make the final decision.
• How quickly you will aim to make a first decision.
• What the procedure will be if an author is unhappy with the decision.

Please ensure that you have read the information covering peer review at 'What you need to know about our independent journals program' before devising your peer-review policy.

4. A minimum 100-word overview of existing publications in the field: why is a new publication needed, or if this is an existing journal, where does your journal fit into the current literature?

5. A list of 24 manuscripts (an average of 2 per month) that you will actively solicit for publication in the new journal during its first year. Please provide the general topic or working title and the prospective author (PI). The articles should be from a range of institutions and must be at a stage that should allow completion and writing-up within the next twelve months.

6. A minimum 100-word vision of where you see the journal in five years' time: will it have an Impact Factor, how many articles will it be publishing, who will be reading the journal?

7. A full curriculum vitae for the proposed Editor(s)-in-Chief, including a publication record.

8. Any further relevant information:

• If this is a society journal, please provide a brief description of the aims and history of the society and how many members it currently has.
• If this is an existing journal, please give a brief history of the journal, including how long it has been published, by whom, and any indexing services it belongs to. A brief description of the reasons for transferring the journal would also be useful.

When your proposal is complete, or if you have any questions about starting a new journal, or transferring an existing publication, please contact independentjournals@biomedcentral.com

Please be aware that from time to time we may discuss journal proposals with others in the field in order to help with our assessment. If you would prefer your proposal to remain confidential please mark this clearly at the top of your documents.