Call for Applications - Editor-in-Chief, Regional Science Policy & Practice (RSPP)

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) seeks candidates for the position of editor-in-chief of the official journal of the association, Regional Science Policy & Practice (RSPP), starting Jan. 1, 2026 for a three-year term.

RSPP is an international journal that publishes high quality papers in applied regional science that explore policy and practice issues in regional and local development. It welcomes papers from a range of academic disciplines and practitioners including planning, public policy, geography, economics and environmental science and related fields. Papers should address the interface between academic debates and policy development and application. RSPP provides an opportunity for academics and policy-makers to develop a dialogue to identify and explore many of the challenges facing local and regional economies.

Candidates should be RSAI members in good standing, with a wide knowledge of urban and regional phenomena as well as distinguished records of scholarly contributions internationally. Candidates should also possess strong intellectual vision, leadership and organizational abilities, and experience relevant to editing a journal in the field of regional science.

The editor’s primary responsibility is to continue to enhance the journal’s quality, reputation, and scholarship. The editor will be expected to strengthen the journal’s competitive position in support of RSAI’s worldwide mission.

The editor will recommend an international team of associate editors and a book review editor to help administer the peer review process, promote excellence in content and advance editorial initiatives.

The RSPP editor reports to the RSAI Council.

Detailed information on responsibilities and on the process for applying for the editor-in-chief position is available below.

Letters of interest must be received within October 14, 2024. Candidatures will be first screened by a Search Committee appointed by the RSAI Council and comprising Prof. Hans Westlund (RSAI President); Prof. Roberta Capello (RSAI LRPC); Prof. Tomaz Dentinho (current RSPP EiC); and Prof. Isabelle Nillson (former RSPP Editor). Next, the RSAI Council will choose the new EiC at the RSAI Council meeting in New Orleans, during the November 2024 NARSC Congress. The new EiC will be appointed as RSPP associate editor during 2025, as a support to the current EiC, and for a gradual transition of the journal towards the new board.

Specific duties of the Editor-in-Chief and journal editorial office include:

1. Maintaining and updating the aims and scope of the journal, editorial policies, and guidelines to authors.
2. Overseeing the manuscript peer review process through the publisher’s on-line submission portal in an unbiased, confidential, and timely manner.
3. Checking proofs and revisions to proofs.
4. Preparing and forwarding accepted manuscripts to the publisher’s production department.
5. Coordinating standards and practices across managing editors and managing the workload of each member of the editorial team.
6. Maintaining close and regular contact with the publisher on marketing and production matters.
7. Initiating and responding to correspondence with authors, managing editors, and reviewers.
8. Recruiting, selecting, and appointing RSPP board members that reflect the diversity of regional science and addressing any performance issues.
9. Soliciting special issues, selecting guest editors, and providing advice and assistance to guest editors.
10. Adhering to the page budget and financial structures set by RSAI. RSAI and the publisher are responsible for managing production, layout, printing, subscriptions, pricing and funding initiatives for society publications.
11. Appointing associate editors and a book review editor (to be approved by RSAI Council). The editorial team (editor and associate editors) will be comprised of RSAI members with high stature and respect in the community, and with the expertise to manage the breadth of regional science.
12. Serving as a non-voting ex officio member of RSAI Council and other regional science governing bodies.
13. Reporting to RSAI Council through regular reports at Council meetings.
14. Reporting to the journal editorial board through board meetings held at least once a year.

Application process:

Interested individuals should submit an application package that includes:

• A succinct letter of interest and qualifications, containing an indication of the editorial team;
• A vision statement for the next three to six years of publication of RSPP.
• A curriculum vitae;
• The names and contact information of three references.

All requested information should be submitted by e-mail as a single PDF file to the RSAI Secretariat, Elisabete Martins (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).