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Guidelines for Consideration of Special Issue Proposals

Special Issues of Social Development Issues (SDI: ISSN 0147-1473, eISSN 2372-014X) may be of two types: 1) Issues in which papers address a single topic or theme published within the regular issues publication schedule per year; or 2) Issues published through a Special Issue proposal, associated with "Special Issue Editor(s)" designated by the Editor.

General Principles

1. Special issues will be expected to maintain a quality consistent with the work published in regular issues of Social Development Issues (SDI).
2. Any scholar working on theoretical or empirical issues related to social development may propose to organize and edit a special issue. Designation of a special issue shall be at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, with the consultation of the SDI Board of Managers.
3. Proposals for Special Issues are offered with the understanding that they are offered to Social Development Issues exclusively. Attempts to simultaneously submit to other publishers may result in cancellation of any plans to publish a special issue of Social Development Issues by the Editor-in-Chief.
4. The role of the Special Issue Editor(s) shall be to identify and solicit manuscripts from authors and to work with the Editor and Managing Editor to resolve questions and issues which arise in the editorial review process. In all cases, the Editor-in-Chief shall make the final decision about publication of all articles in special issues. Special Issue Editors will be expected to write a signed editorial introduction to the issue that places the special topic in context of scholarship and/or practice and policy and summarizes briefly the central focus and major findings of each of the articles.
5. Throughout the editorial process, Special Issue Editor(s) will be expected to stay in touch with the Managing Editor and the SDI Editor, to adhere to agreed-upon deadlines, and to participate actively in the editorial process.
6. Manuscripts submitted for Special Issues will be reviewed in a manner consistent with the review of other manuscripts submitted to Social Development Issues. Such reviews will be conducted blindly, in sufficient numbers to offer adequate feedback to authors and to the Editors about the merits of the articles. The Special Editor(s) may submit a list of potential reviewers to the Managing Editor, but the actual selection of reviewers and distribution of the manuscripts to reviewers will be carried out by the Managing Editor after consultation with the SDI Editor.
7. In deciding on the acceptability of special issue proposals, the following criteria will ordinarily be considered:
   • Interest and relevance of the topic to social development;
   • Intellectual coherence of the topic and proposed papers and their potential for significant contributions to knowledge of social development. Does the topic
     • develop a new line of inquiry, contribute to the resolution of existing issues or questions;
     • draw attention to neglected topics;
     • or fill existing gaps in the literature?
   • The timeliness of the proposed topic;
   • The quality and number of manuscripts available;
   • The timing of the project; and
   • The editorial expertise of the Special Issue Editor(s).

Special Issue Process Overview

With the transition to a new editorial structure, the Social Development Issues (SDI) journal is formalizing its process for Special Issues. This document outlines the responsibilities of Guest Editors and the SDI Editorial Team to ensure a clear and accountable workflow for reviewing and publishing submissions.

Proposals for a Special Issue will be submitted through the SDI Editorial Manager, who logs them for review. Guest Editors assess these proposals and determine which authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts. Rejected proposals receive official notifications, while accepted proposals move forward with submission guidelines. Once full papers are received, Guest Editors oversee the peer review process, prioritizing SDI Editorial Board members as reviewers while supplementing with external experts as needed. Reviews and editorial decisions will be tracked through SDI’s system, ensuring consistency and accountability. Guest Editors then communicate required revisions to authors and work with them to refine their manuscripts. Following revisions, final submissions are prepared for copyediting and publication by the SDI Editorial Team. This process balances the oversight of the SDI editorial leadership with the expertise of the Guest Editors, ensuring both quality control and editorial efficiency. This process is summarized below.

Step	Process	Responsible Parties
1. Proposal Submission	Proposals for the Special Issue are submitted to the SDI email and logged by the Editorial Manager.	SDI Editorial Manager
2. Initial Review	Guest Editors review submitted proposals and decide which proposals will be invited for full paper submission.	Guest Editors
3. Notifications Sent	Rejected proposals receive official email notifications; invited proposals receive submission guidelines.	Guest Editors in collaboration with SDI Editor
4. Full Paper Submission	Authors submit full manuscripts for review	Invited Authors
5. Peer Review Process	Guest Editors identify peer reviewers, prioritizing SDI Editorial Board members but also selecting external reviewers if needed. Papers are processed through SDI’s tracking system.	Guest Editors & SDI Editorial Board
6. Reviewer Feedback & Editorial Decision	Peer review feedback is logged, and Guest Editors decide whether papers are rejected, require revision, or are accepted with minor changes.	Guest Editors & SDI Editor Team (Philip Hong, Harold, Max)
7. Author Revisions & Communication	Guest Editors work with authors on necessary revisions and ensure compliance with review feedback.	Guest Editors & Authors
8. Final Submission & Copyediting	Accepted papers are finalized and processed for copyediting and publication.	SDI Editorial Team