Aims and scope

Development in Practice publishes research from around the world that promotes critical inquiry and reflection, is a resource for research and teaching, and offers a contribution to global development knowledge and practice.

Development in Practice is edited by the Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA). The DSAA seeks to facilitate collaborations and engagement within and beyond the academy, encouraging contributions from both scholars and practitioners.

DiP particularly welcomes contributions under the following themes:

• Gender, social identities and intersectionality – this includes gender identities, race, caste, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age (youth and older people)

• Indigenous development issues in the Global South and North

• Environment, including resources and biodiversity; climate justice, including adaptation and resilience

• Social protection and vulnerability

• Agriculture, including subsistence agriculture and food systems

• Livelihoods, urbanisation, work

• Development in theory and practice – including development actors, participatory approaches, alternative development approaches, and sustainable development

• Development and migration – forced migration, labour migration, displacement, resettlement, remittances

• Critical approaches to household finance for development and their social impacts, including, remittances and microcredit and savings schemes

• Conflict and peacebuilding

• Communication for development.

Contributions can be made in one of the following forms:

Articles (maximum 6,000-7,000 words inclusive of the abstract and references)

Articles present and discuss findings from a piece of original research. Information about what you must include with your submission can be found on the Instructions for Authors page. Please consult our advice on writing your paper for guidance on how to structure your article and what elements to include, and see our advice on search engine optimisation and using keywords to make your article more discoverable.

Articles are encouraged to consider social relations in their particular research focus, such as gender, disability, socio-economic differences, class, caste, ethnicities, and how intersectionality plays a role in affecting the impacts and experiences.

Viewpoints (3,000 words)

A viewpoint article presents an author’s personal views, supported by evidence, which provide contemporary insights relevant to development practices and processes. Viewpoints include commentaries, interviews, field insights, event analyses, and reviews of recent development books that are written by practitioners, social movement activists, or researchers. Viewpoint articles can map out new directions for research, practice, or policy; they can be propositional, providing new thinking on development topics that is not directly based on the outputs of research projects. All viewpoints are reviewed by the editorial team and are not subject to external review by independent, anonymous referees.

Practice Notes (3,000 words)

The practice note seeks to bridge academia and practice. It aims to provide a space for both applied researchers and practitioner insights to contribute to development practice related issues. There should be several key insights and recommendations. All practice notes are reviewed by the editorial team and are not subject to external review by independent, anonymous referees.

Peer Review Policy: All articles undergo rigorous peer review based on initial screening, usually with suggestions for improvement, by the editorial team and, if found suitable for further consideration, undergo double-anonymous peer review by two independent, expert referees. This process is about quality assurance and ensuring the author/s have an improved chance for publication success and reducing the workload of peer reviewers.