Writing and Editing Services for the Genomics Education Programme

HEE GEP requires the provision of Writing and Editing to the specification and scope as outlined below.

The primary objective of this procurement is to obtain specialist genomics editorial expertise to plan and produce a series of well-written and edited articles on genomics in healthcare that are useful and relevant to our audience groups, to be featured on our website’s blog.

Current process in place:

Broadly speaking, the GEP blog contains two types of articles:

? GEP and partner/stakeholder news and events updates, written by the GEP team; and
? educational articles, to which this procurement relates.

The educational articles are intended for a range of health professionals, from those with no or limited understanding of genomics but keen to learn more, to those who work in a specialist genomics role but are interested in reading about new developments and trends in the context of the NHS.

As a result, while the aim of these articles is to be written in an accessible way for non-experts in genomics, we do sometimes cover quite complex topics, eg genome editing. We also feature more technical pieces, written by guest expert authors.

Expected requirements:

The expectation is that the chosen provider will offer HEE GEP the benefits of specialist genomics editorial expertise including but not limited to these key areas:

• Provision of articles: The provider will submit a high-quality article to the GEP on a weekly basis* that fulfils the service requirements. Typically, the article will be emailed to the GEP by close of business on a Thursday, for publication on the GEP blog the following Monday. The provider will supply:
o approximately 3 articles per month of 500+ words each written by the provider, covering a range of topics and article types (see ‘Topic planning’ below); and
o 1 expert article per month of 800+ words, written by an external author, typically a senior health professional working in genomics (authors to be confirmed in advance by the GEP).
* One article per week will be provided, with the exception of a 2-week break over Christmas. So, for example, if the contract begins on 1st September 2018, there would be 28 articles delivered in the 8 months to 31st March 2019, comprising 21 provider articles and 7 expert articles. In any month where an expert author is unable to provide an article and no replacement expert author can be found in time, the provider will write a replacement article of 500+ words, and the expert author’s fee will be allocated to the provider.

• Editorial management: The provider will manage the editorial process to a high-quality standard, from developing the brief through to researching, writing and editing each article. As well as writing articles in-house, the provider will act as a commissioning editor for the external expert authors (typically individuals working in the NHS that have been identified by the GEP as being a suitable contributor). As such, the provider will establish proposed article topics and obtain sign-off from the GEP, communicate upcoming deadlines, ensure the expert articles are supplied in time, and then edit and submit them to HEE GEP. The provider will also make payments as agreed to the expert authors (the contract value will cover these payments). The provider may receive feedback from the GEP on articles and may be asked to complete a round of edits to the text as needed.

• Topic planning: At the beginning of the contract, the provider will devise a list of proposed article topics that will be agreed with the GEP in advance on a quarterly basis, with the understanding that the order of topics may shift as and when relevant news and developments in genomics emerge. The expert article topics can be determined by the authors concerned, though the provider will share with the GEP for their approval. Over the course of the contract, the articles should cover a good spread of topic areas and article types:
Examples of topic areas:
o cancer;
o rare disease;
o common diseases, eg diabetes, dementia;
o infectious disease;
o pharmacogenomics;
o personalised / precision medicine;
o new technologies / research, eg genome editing, gene therapy;
o the science of genomics, eg sequencing, bioinformatics
o the impact of genomics on patients, eg new / improved diagnoses
o medical specialties, eg cardiology, neurology, oncology;
o professional groups, eg nurses, midwives, GPs;
o implementation of genomics in healthcare, eg new NHS Genomic Medicine Service
Examples of article types:
o Reactive / news-based, eg:
? The missing 'genomic link' between smoking and cancer
? Genome editing: 5 key questions answered
o Themed / summary, eg:
? Genome editing: Talking to patients
? Sequencing the enemy: the genomics of infectious diseases
o ‘Evergreen’ educational content, eg:
? Various types of variant: what is genomic variation?
? What is NIPT?
o Expert guest author pieces (which the provider will commission and edit), eg:
? Cancer immunotherapy: predicting outcomes
? Point-of-care testing in genomics

• Writing for the web: The provider will write and edit high-quality articles that are appropriate for the GEP audience of busy health professionals and follow good practice for writing for the web, for example:
o descriptive headline and subheadings using relevant key words;
o well-paced, concise sentences and (reasonably) short paragraphs;
o hyperlinks to sources / references; and
o on occasion, social media-friendly formats such as ‘5 predictions for…’, ‘3 ways that…’ ‘5 reasons why…’. These are popular, though we only use this format when it’s appropriate – quality is more important than ‘click bait’.

• Focus and tone: Over the course of the contract, the articles should cover a range of areas within genomic medicine, be applicable to a range of health professions, and should always be awareness-raising / educational in approach. The focus should steer away from matters of policy and politics. The editorial voice and tone should be objective, rather than a comment/opinion piece. Ultimately, all articles provided should:
o be relevant to health professionals;
o have educational value; and
o wherever possible, link back to the NHS and current / potential applications for patient care.