Call for Area Editors

Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed, open access journal exploring the relationship between data science, policy and governance. It is published by Cambridge University Press in association with Data for Policy, an international Conference series and a registered Community Interest Company.

The journal’s Editors-in-Chief are Zeynep Engin (UCL), Jon Crowcroft (Cambridge & The Alan Turing Institute) and Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab, NYU); they are assisted by Editorial and Advisory Boards.

The journal aims to deepen knowledge about how policy and data relate to each other (“policy-data interactions”), as explored in the opening editorial. As part of the next phase of development, we are seeking six Area Editors who can commission papers that relate to this aim.

We are able to offer a small annual payment in addition to providing a unique and stimulating opportunity that can help individuals develop a profile in this area.

Jump to:

Person specification

Essential:

An understanding of data science and associated technologies (AI, IoT, Blockchain etc.) and their impact on policy, public service provision and societal and ethical questions.
A PhD or proven research skills and engagement experience in a relevant field.
Having or being part of a network of peers and experts on data and policy that could be leveraged for the journal

Desirable:

A demonstrable track record in the area, e.g. in the form of publications, presentations at conferences, involvement in relevant working groups and initiatives.
Prior experience of acting as part of an editorial team.
An interest in Open Research and the ways in which the research and publishing process can be made more transparent and collaborative.

Candidates should be collaborative, with excellent organisational skills, strong attention to detail and willing to contribute to and follow editorial guidelines. We are especially looking to expand engagement beyond the United Kingdom or the United States of America.

Areas of Interest

Candidates should indicate an interest in developing one of the following broad, non-domain specific categories (expertise across all components of a category is not essential, or expected):

1. Focus on Data-driven Transformations in Policy and Governance – this track focuses on the high level vision for philosophy, ideation, formulation and implementation of new approaches leading to paradigm shifts, innovation and efficiency gains in collective decision making processes. These include but not limited to the following categories:

Data-driven innovation in public, private and voluntary sector governance and policy-making at all levels (international; national and local): applications for real-time management, future planning, and rethinking/reframing governance and policy-making in the digital era;
Data and evidence-based policy-making;
Government-private sector-citizen interactions: data and digital power dynamics, asymmetry of information; democracy, public opinion and deliberation; citizen services;
Interactions between human, institutional and algorithmic decision-making processes, psychology and behaviour of decision-making;
Global policy-making: global existential debates on utilizing data-driven innovation with impact beyond individual institutions and states;
Socio-technical and cyber-physical systems, and their policy and governance implications

The remaining categories represent more specifically the current applications, methodologies, strategies which underpin the broad aims of our vision. Emergent areas and technologies are included:

2. Focus on Data Technologies and Analytics for Policy and Governance – this track is concerned with data in its variety of forms and sources, and infrastructure and methods for its utilisation in policy and governance:

Data sources: Personal and proprietary data, administrative data and official statistics, open and public data, organic vs designed data, sensory and mobile data, digital footprints, crowdsourced data, and other relevant data;
Digital Twins, Visualisation and User Interaction Technologies, data and analytics infrastructures, cloud and mobile technologies;
Methodologies and Analytics: Mathematical and Statistical models, Computational Statistics, Machine Learning, Edge Analytics, Federated Learning, theory and data-driven knowledge generation, multiple disciplinary methodologies, real-time and historical data processing, geospatial analysis, simulation, gaps in theory and practice.

3. Focus on the Policy Frameworks, Governance and Management of Data-driven Innovations – this track focuses on governance practices and management issues involved in implementation of data-driven solutions:

Data and algorithm design principles and accountability;
Local, national and international governance models and frameworks for data and associated technologies;
Data and algorithms in the law;
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other regulatory frameworks;
Data intermediaries, trusts and collaboratives;
Meta-data, interoperability and standards;
Data ownership, provenance, sharing, linkage, curation and expiration.

4. Focus on Ethics, Equity and Trust in Policy Data Interactions – this track examines the issues which must be considered in technology design and assessment.

Digital Ethics: Data, algorithms, models and dynamic interactions between them
Digital trust, and human-data-machine interactions in policy context
Responsible technology design and assessment
Privacy and data sharing
Digital identification, personhood, and services
Uncertainties, bias, and imperfections in data and data-driven systems
Algorithmic behaviour: equity and fairness, transparency and explainability, accountability, and interpretability
Human-machine collaboration in strategic decision making and algorithm agency
Human control, rights, democratic values, and self-determination

The following are areas which fall within the above categories, but are highlighted as being of special interest:

5. Focus on Data to Tackle Global Issues and Dynamic Societal Threats:

Human existence and the planet;
International collaboration for global risk management and disaster recovery;
Global health, emergency response, Covid-19 and pandemics;
Sustainable development, climate change and the environment;
Humanitarian data science, international migration and gender-based issues;
International competition and cultures of digital transformation.

6. Focus on Algorithmic Governance:

Data-driven insights in governance decision making, black-box processing;
Algorithm agency along with human and institutional decision-making processes;
Government automation: citizen service delivery, supporting civil servants, managing national public records and physical infrastructure, statutes and compliance, and public policy development;
Algorithmic ‘good’ governance: participation, consensus orientation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, equity and inclusiveness, and the rule of law.

The interrelatedness of all categories is undeniable, and the categorization above does not indicate siloed activity. It is rather and articulation of the breadth and depth of the vision and mission for improved data-driven decisions and policymaking, which is the ethos of both Data & Policy and Data for Policy.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities:

Commission articles that relate to these overarching categories: proactive outreach to potential authors in the field, with a general target of publishing 5-6 articles per year (if accepted, after peer review).
Provide input during the review process of these articles (e.g. act as a reviewer or help select reviewers).
Act as advocates for Data & Policy in relevant workshops and meetings.
Attend regular editorial meetings.

Area Editors will be expected to work closely with the Data & Policy Editors-in-Chief, the Editorial Community Manager and colleagues at Cambridge University Press. Editorial oversight rests with the Data & Policy Editors-in-Chief.

Benefits

Area Editors will be recognised on the website, marketing materials and communications related to the journal. Commissioned articles will also credit the Area Editor. A small financial payment per year is on offer, plus additional benefits in relation to the Data for Policy Conference and Cambridge University Press.

Time commitment is expected to the equivalent a day a month with regular meetings held per year by conference and video call.

Tenure

For an initial period of one year, contracted by Cambridge University Press, with the potential for a longer-term extension.

How to apply

CV and covering email explaining how you meet the person specification, and the general categories that interest you, to dataandpolicy@cambridge.org. Deadline: Fri 27 Nov 2020.