Data & Policy authors should consult the preparing your materials page - which include LaTeX and Word templates - and submit their papers through the D&P ScholarOne site or by selecting Data & Policy after using the Overleaf collaborative authoring tool.
About Data & Policy
Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal concerned with the impact of data science on governance. It aims to promote a deeper understanding of what the opening editorial calls "policy-data interactions" by publishing work that takes a “consistent, symmetrical approach to consideration of systems of policy and data, [and] how they interact with one another."
Data & Policy emerged from the Data for Policy Conference (dataforpolicy.org), an annual interdisciplinary and cross-sector forum that brings together experts in academia, government, international organisations, non-profit and private sectors. The Journal extends beyond this basis by welcoming submissions irrespective of whether they are connected to the Conference. Freely available to read and redistribute, Data & Policy publishes on a continuous rather than issue-based schedule.
Read the detailed Areas of Interest for Data & Policy and Data for Policy.
Article types
Data & Policy welcomes the submission of the following:
- Research articles* that use rigorous methods that investigate how data science can inform or impact policy by, for example, improving situation analysis, predictions, public service design, and/or the legitimacy and/or effectiveness of policy making. (Approx 8,000 words in length).
- Commentaries* are shorter articles that discuss and/or problematize an issue relevant to the Data & Policy scope.(Approx 4,000 words in length).
- Translational articles* are focused on the transfer of knowledge from research to practice and from practice to research. See our guide to writing translational papers. (Approx 6,000 words in length).
- Data papers* provide a structured description of an openly available dataset with potential for reuse. Note that we generally expect the data and code described in the paper to be openly available as per the Transparency and Openness Promotion policy below, with control access mechanisms if described if the nature of the data requires this. See this template for data papers to help you structure the article. (Approx 8,000 words in length).
- Data & Policy Reports* are articles invited by the journal to survey the landscape of data-policy interactions. Data & Policy Reports are independently reviewed by a reviewer not connected to the journal before publication. (Approx 8,000 words in length).
- Data for Policy Conference Papers* are full articles that derive from the Data for Policy Conference, the strategic partner and community from which the Data & Policy journal originates. The Conference and Journal have an integrated review and publication process.
* All or part of the publication costs for these article types may be covered by one of the agreements Cambridge University Press has made to support open access. For authors not covered by an agreement, and without APC funding, please see this journal's open access options for instructions on how to request an APC waiver.
Read the preparing your materials section before you submit. Articles should be submitted through the Data & Policy ScholarOne site.
* All or part of the publication costs for these article types may be covered by one of the agreements Cambridge University Press has made to support open access. For authors not covered by an agreement, and without APC funding, please see this journal's open access options for instructions on how to request an APC waiver.
Peer review process
Articles submitted to Data & Policy are subject to a single-blind peer review process.
Special Collections
Proposals for special collections of articles - for example originating from a workshop, conference or event - are also considered. See the instructions for submitting a special collection proposal.
Blog
Data & Policy also has a blog on Medium, which provides a rapid and influential way for authors to offer informed opinions on topical and newsworthy issues related to the journal's scope, introduce important reports relevant to the field, or summarise workshops, conferences and events. We particularly welcome posts from authors of research articles in Data & Policy that aim to introduce their work to a wider audience. Blog posts are typically between 500 and 1,500 words in length. For more details see the Data & Policy Blog guidance.