Special Collection Proposals | Data for Policy Special Tracks | Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Special Collection Proposals

Data & Policy welcomes proposals for special collections (virtual special issues) of papers on a topic relevant to the Data & Policy scope, whether these originate from a conference, a workshop, or are not linked to any particular event.

Interested parties should email dataandpolicy@cambridge.org with a short proposal that contains the following sections:

An outline section, covering:

• The title of the proposed special collection;
• How the collection fits within the scope of the Data & Policy;
• How the papers provide novel insights and advance on existing knowledge;
• A statement summarising the significance of the collection for policymakers

A timetable section should cover:

• Proposed submission date;
• Any dates that might be relevant for coordinating publication (e.g. events, or dates with special significance that might enhance impact)
• Any related conferences or events that might impact the timetable

Proposed papers: List the proposed article titles or topics and authors to be invited (minimum of 10).

Guest Editors: The names of the Guest Editors of the proposed collection, i.e. those inviting the submission and handling the review of the papers (as outlined below).

All special collection proposals are reviewed by the Editors-in-Chief.

Data for Policy Special Tracks

Proposers of special tracks accepted into the Data for Policy Conference, the strategic partner and conference from which the Data & Policy journal emerged, are welcome to act as Guest Editors and extend these tracks into Special Collections (virtual issues) into the Data & Policy journal. There is no additional proposal or approval step. 

Full papers from the Special Track that are accepted into Data & Policy via the integrated review process will be included in the Special Collection, but Guest Editors are expected to continue inviting papers on the same topic to Journal for at least six months after the Conference ends with the aim of creating a Special Collection of at least ten papers. 

Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are expected to: 

• Encourage the submission of papers for the Special Collection (or the Data for Policy Special Track) by the stated deadline;
• Handle the review of the papers through the Data & Policy peer review process (or through the integrated review process with the conference if the papers derive from a Data for Policy special track)
• Write an editorial reflecting upon the contributions to the Special Collection after all the papers have been published.

Support throughout the process is provided by the Data & Policy editorial team.

The special collection will receive its own dedicated page on the Data & Policy website. This will acknowledge the efforts of the Guest Editor(s) responsible for the collection and any sponsoring institutions involved.