Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance

Editorial Policies

 

Focus and Scope

The aim of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance is to strengthen the research 'voice' of local government in the Commonwealth by the focussed dissemination of local government ideas and practices within the sector. It does this by providing a forum for researchers and practitioners who have affiliation or interest in Commonwealth nations. The Commonwealth e-Journal of Local Governance journal is auspiced by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (UK), edited by Cardiff University(UK), and published by UTS Centre for Local Government (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia). Key Editorial Priorities:

  • Improving local governance
  • Local government as an agent of development
Sub-themes:
  • Concepts of local democracy, citizenship and community participation/empowerment
  • Strategic leadership and planning
  • Traditional leadership and local government, or alternative sites of authority
  • Improving local governance (better systems, efficiency, effectiveness, ethics etc)
  • Decentralisation and re-centralisation
  • Municipal finance and capacity (including aid management)
  • Global issues and local government: climate change, health, economic transformation, urbanisation etc
  • Social inclusion (including gender equity and poverty alleviation)
  • Performance measurement and management
  • Inter-government relations

 

 

Section Policies

PREFACE

Unchecked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

EDITORIAL

Unchecked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

BACKGROUND PAPERS

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RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

PRACTICE

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

COMMENTARY

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NEWS AND REVIEWS

Checked Open Submissions Unchecked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

CONFERENCE NOTES

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BLOG REVIEW

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

REPORT (PEER REVIEWED)

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

BOOK REVIEW

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

 

 

Peer Review Process

All articles submitted to the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance are reviewed by at least two independent readers who are qualified experts in the subject field. Authors and reviewers remain anonymous during this process. Reviewers' recommendations are taken into consideration by the editors in determining publication and revisions.

For further information on best practice peer review processes, please see the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors and Publishers and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Responsibilities in the Submission and Peer Review Process.

 

Conflicts of Interest

Our editors are required to declare any potential competing interests in undertaking their editorial duties. In cases where a manuscript is submitted by a colleague at their own institution or from their resesarch networks, editors will remove themselves from the decision-making process. A co-editor, or an external trusted expert, with no such connections, is then asked to act as the editor for that particular article. Additionally, an editor will have no input or influence on the peer review process or publication decision for an article they have authored and submitted to the journal. Should a member of a journal's editorial team submit a manuscript to the journal, a co-editor, or external trusted expert, will be assigned to manage the entire review process and act as editor for that particular article. If the article proceeds to publication, it will be explicitly stated on the article that the editor who submitted the paper has had no involvement with the journal's handling of this particular article, along with the reasons for this, and the name of the assigned editor.

 

Publication Frequency

CJLG employs an article-based or publish-as-you-go model. After articles have been peer reviewed and accepted, they are then allocated and published in the relevant annual volume and are viewable online immediately.

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.  

This journal has no submission or article processing charges.  

Authors of published articles remain the copyright holders and grant others the right to use, reproduce, adapt and share their articles according to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.  

Authors are permitted to self-archive works on their personal or institutional webpages and repositories.

 

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this journal are those of the authors and do not, and should not, be considered representative of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum or the UTS Centre for Local Government.

 

Handling of Suspected Misconduct

Issues of suspected misconduct will be handled in accordance with the guidelines set out by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.

 

Corrections and Retractions

Corrections and retractions will be treated in accordance with the guidelines set out by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.

 

Complaints Handling

Complaints related to Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance should be directed in the first instance to the Managing Editor, Diane Bowden journal@clgf.org.uk. Complaints will be investigated according to recommendations by the Committee on Publication Ethics (see COPE Flowcharts). If complainants are unsatisfied with the response they may contact the Publisher, utsepress@uts.edu.au. Authors with complaints related to the peer review or editorial process should refer to the Author Guidelines.

 

Author Responsibilities

 It is the responsibility of the author/s to ensure:

- Any conflicting or competing interest is disclosed on submission of their work and all sources of funding are declared.

- They contact the Managing Editor Diane Bowden  journal@clgf.org.uk to identify and correct any material errors upon discovery, whether prior or subsequent to publication of their work.

- The work is original, and all sources are accurately cited, according to the Journal's style guide.

- The authorship of the work is accurately reflected. This means that all individuals credited as authors legitimately participated in the authorship of the work, and all those who participated are credited and have given consent for publication. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the work. Other contributors should be mentioned in the acknowledgement section of the article and their contribution described. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

 

Plagiarism

This journal automatically runs all submissions received through iThenticate anti plagiarism software.

 

Sponsors

Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance adheres to the Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines as set out by UTS ePRESS.