Message from Professor Chris Holden, on behalf of the Selection Committee.
Dear SPA Members,
The current joint editors of the Journal of Social Policy (Jan Eichhorn, Elke Heins and Jay Wiggan) will complete their very successful term of office at the end of December 2023. The Editorial Board is seeking to appoint a new editorial team for confirmation by the SPA Executive. It is hoped that the new editors will work alongside the current co-editors before formally taking over on the 1st of January 2024. The appointment is normally for a period of five years.
JSP is the leading UK social policy journal and one of the most important journals in the discipline internationally with an Impact Factor of 2.654. In 2021 it was ranked 8/43 in Social Work, 18/44 in Social Issues and 24/49 in Public Administration. In 2022, it published its 50th anniversary issue. Its wide readership includes all members of the Social Policy Association (SPA) and over 8000 policymakers, academic staff and students across the globe, with around 250,000 annual downloads. A recently successful innovation of the journal is the commissioning of state-of-the-art reports on current issues in social policy. The editorship thus represents an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the development of our subject. It requires both a broad knowledge of social policy both within the UK and internationally, methodological breadth, and an openness to new ideas and approaches.
With around 300 manuscript submissions annually, it has been the experience of the outgoing joint editors that a division of labour among three editors works well. Whilst it is not necessary for the joint editors to be based in the same institution, this can have distinct advantages. It is necessary for the editorial team to be members of the SPA and to remain so throughout the lifetime of their editorship. Cambridge University Press provides funds for secretarial support and for a small honorarium for each of the joint editors. The new team may wish to establish its own methods of working, but Jan, Elke and Jay will be on hand to provide advice and support throughout the handover period.
The Board has established a Selection Committee, the members of which are Chris Holden (Chair of the Editorial Board, University of York), Ann Marie Gray, (Chair of SPA, Ulster University), Elke Heins (SPA publications portfolio holder and outgoing JSP joint editor, University of Edinburgh), and Stephan Köppe (Editorial Board Member). Members of the SPA who wish to be considered for appointment are invited to contact any member of the Selection Committee in the first instance. We would also be grateful to receive suggestions as to whom we should approach regarding these important posts.
Formal applications should be submitted by 16 June 2023 to Professor Chris Holden at the address below. They should take the form of a letter from the prospective editorial team, which sets out how they plan to further develop the journal, paying particular attention to issues of content and strategic direction, and how the prospective team are suitable for the role. This should be accompanied by full CVs for all individuals within the prospective editorial team.
The central requirement of an editorial team is that between them they have a broad knowledge of the subject area and of the social policy community. In addition, the Search Committee will be particularly interested to hear from colleagues with a clear commitment to the Social Policy Association and its goals and values, and have a track record of successful academic editorial experience. The Search Committee will also seek assurances that applicants would have the support of their institutions or departments were they to undertake what is an important and demanding task. We will also be keen to understand how the roles will be managed especially where applicants are not co-located.
The closing date for receipt of applications, sent to chris.holden@york.ac.uk is 5pm, Friday 16 June 2023.
Chris Holden (on behalf of the Selection Committee)
Professor of International Social Policy
Director of the Centre for Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy
School for Business and Society
University of York