Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed open-access journal dedicated to the potential of data science for transforming governance and public decision-making. We aim 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.” We explore the barriers confronting the greater use of data in policy-making and welcome contributions that explore how data can be used in an ethical, responsible and efficient manner.

Articles are overseen by the Editors-in-Chief - Zeynep Engin (University College London & Data for Policy), Jon Crowcroft (University of Cambridge & Alan Turing Institute) and Stefaan Verhulst (GovLab, New York University) - and an international Editorial Board of leading names with expertise with data in different domains. 

Read these five ways to contribute to Data & Policy and get in touch with us at dataandpolicy@cambridge.org.

1. Publish your research, case studies and commentaries:

Data & Policy is open to submissions of articles in the following categories:

• Research articles demonstrating how data science can inform or impact policy;
• Data & Policy reports, which can include edited working papers and findings from international organisations, government agencies and other bodies;
• Commentaries that discuss issues relating to data science and policy, a recent or anticipated article or study that warrants further explanation, or an overview of an issue relevant to Data & Policy;
• Replication studies that examine previously published research, whether published in Data & Policy or elsewhere, and report on an attempt to replicate the findings.

Case studies are also welcomed, whether they are positive or negative examples of the use of data and data analytics in policy, and they can be submitted as research articles or commentaries depending upon their rigour and length.

Example areas of interest for Data & Policy include but are not limited to:

• Governance technologies;
• Data responsibility by design;
• Digital systems for infrastructure and governance;
• Data, communities and public services;
• Data science and artificial intelligence for the public good;
• Algorithmic governance and fairness;
• Ethics, trust and personal data;
• Policy for data, law and regulation.

Publication of articles is subject to a peer review process but authors are able to make pre-print versions available, should they wish to do so. For more information see the instructions for authors and submit your work via our submission site.

2. Propose a thematic special collection

We are also open for proposals for special collections of papers that explore a theme, such as data and migration or data responsibility by design. These can include articles that originate from workshops, conferences and other events. For more information, see the instructions for special collections.

3. Share your findings, data and code 

The Data for Policy community on the EU's Zenodo repository is used to host papers from he Data for Policy conference, which is connected to the journal. But we also encourage authors submitting to Data & Policy to make use of Zenodo to make openly available any materials associated with their articles.

4. Write a Data & Policy blog

Data & Policy also has a blog, which is an option for sharing your informed opinions and perspectives

5. Partner your conference, event or institution with Data & Policy

We are interested in all kinds of collaborations that contribute to the deliberation and study of the value and risks of using data for public decision-making. If you run a workshop or conference and are interested in exploring a publishing partnership, please get in touch. 

Data & Policy is supported by partnerships with UCL, the Alan Turing Institute and the Office for National Statistics (UK), and we are also seeking to partner with other academic institutions, government departments, international agencies, non-profits, companies and other organisations interested in the potential and impact of data science on policy. 

Contact 

If you are interested in contributing to Data & Policy, contact dataandpolicy@cambridge.org. Follow us on Twitter @data_and_policy.