ECPR General Conference, Prague,
September 9, 2016, 16.00-17.00 pm
Faculty of Arts, FA018
- Organisation of meeting.
- Election of Chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary of SGPS, 2016-2018.
- Next year’s ECPR General Conference in Oslo. Theme, organisers.
- OA publication in political sociology. Joint publication with other SGs (see background information below)?
- Any other issues.
Some background information on item 4 of the agenda:
Proposal to launch a new ECPR Open Access journal
The ECPR is considering launching a new, Gold open access journal, with a leading academic publisher in 2017. This journal would allow the ECPR and its members to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities OA presents, as well as supporting authors who must publish OA in order to comply with funding mandates.
a. Editorial focus
As suggested by market research carried out last year, the journal would be broad-based, aiming to cover the full spectrum of the ECPR’s members, groups and networks.
b. Standing Groups
To provide that breadth of subject field, all Standing Groups (SGs) and research Networks (RNs) would be invited to become a formal and integral part of the journal, each providing their own stream of copy under the wider umbrella of the journal. Their role would thus be pivotal in securing both content and readership. For those SGs that do not have their own journal, but would like the opportunity to launch one, this could provide an attractive option, free of charge and with all of the benefits of being part of a large journal published by the ECPR and a leading academic publisher. These streams of content would sit under the umbrella of the wider journal, which would also invite copy from authors from both within and outside of the ECPR community.
SGs and RNs would be invited to nominate an editor from within their groups to manage the copyflow for their field; where there is a degree of cross-over between a number of groups the Convenors of these would be invited to select just one person to represent all groups. This model could provide around 20 ‘sub-editors’ all with expertise in their field and access to networks of hundreds of scholars working on research in that area.
c. Editorial structure
With a journal of this potential size, with 20+ sub-editors all working within their fields, it will be imperative to put together a robust editorial structure and team to ensure quality, rigour and smooth and efficient production. Therefore, at the head of the structure would be an Editor in Chief (EiC) – a high profile European scholar. All copy would, in the first place, go to them via an online submission system. They would then allocate it to the appropriate sub-editor to process. Working to a clear set of editorial and procedural guidelines, the sub-editors would have the article peer reviewed, and then if they wish to accept it, submit a recommendation to the Editor in Chief to publish. The final decision would rest with the EiC. All members of the editorial team would be supported by a managing editor.
d. New Generation
For early career scholars, getting their work published is vitally important, yet increasingly difficult. This journal could provide a location where the best research from younger scholars can be published alongside that of their senior colleagues. The ECPR’s GSN could provide a sub-editor for this part of the journal.
e. Innovative features
Being open access is not, of itself, enough to differentiate a journal within the marketplace. Speed of publication and openness are two key benefits of OA publishing, but we are also investigating other innovations to make it an attractive destination for the best research.
The flexibility of online-only publication provides for articles of varying types and lengths. It can also encourage debate through open peer review – whereby articles would be reviewed during the publication process. Articles could also include non-technical statements to provide context to policy makers and practitioners, expanding the scope and appeal of the journal. Developing these additional, innovative features of the journal will be key to helping establish it within the marketplace.
f. A benefit for ECPR members
One of the clear messages from the research we carried out last year was that while there is widespread enthusiasm for OA as a concept in many quarters, accompanied by a growing mandate for OA publication from funding bodies (including universities), the funds are not yet available in the social sciences to pay the high APCs some journals are charging. The ECPR is therefore well placed to establish a first-tier journal where ECPR members would pay deeply discounted APCs of around £70 per article. It would be the aim to establish the journal as the ‘go-to’ OA journal for ECPR members, establishing a rich and high quality stream of content. Non-members would also be charged relatively low APCs (around 50% of the current average APC) making it an attractive proposition for them also.
With the nominal APCs for members, the journal would be a very real benefit to both those individuals and their institutions that need to encourage OA publishing but do not have the funds to pay high APCs for their faculty.