Special Issue Policy and Management Workflow

  1. Overview and Purpose

Special Issues at MUMJ focus on emerging, high-impact, multidisciplinary themes that address complex developmental, technological, socio-economic, and environmental challenges in Zambia, across Africa, and globally. They gather targeted research surrounding a single cohesive topic under the direction of appointed Guest Editors.

All Special Issue articles must meet the exact same rigorous peer-review, ethical, and open access standards as regular journal submissions.

  1. Governance and Editorial Control
  • Role of the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) & Managing Board: Final editorial authority over Special Issue acceptance, manuscript decisions, and publication rests solely with the MUMJ Editor-in-Chief and regular Section Editors.
  • Role of Guest Editors: Guest Editors lead the scientific vision, draft the Call for Papers (CFP), solicit submissions, and manage initial reviewer assignments.
  • Ethics & Anti-Conflict Rules:
    • Guest Editors may submit a maximum of two (2) papers (including joint authorship) to their own Special Issue.
    • Papers authored/co-authored by Guest Editors are handled entirely by an independent Section Editor or the EiC to prevent bias or self-review.
  1. Step-by-Step Special Issue Workflow

[Phase 1: Proposal & Approval] ➔ [Phase 2: Call for Papers] ➔ [Phase 3: Peer Review (60–90 Days)] ➔ [Phase 4: Production & Release]

Phase 1: Special Issue Proposal and Approval

Prospective Guest Editors submit a formal Special Issue Proposal to the MUMJ Secretariat (mumj-editor@mu.edu.zm).

Proposal Requirements:

  • Title & Scope: A clear, multidisciplinary theme aligned with MUMJ’s scope (e.g., Sustainable Critical Minerals & ASM Governance, Health Systems Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa, or Intellectual Property & Digital Innovation).
  • Rationale: Justification of novelty, timeliness, and expected impact.
  • Lead Guest Editor & Editorial Team: CVs and publication records of 2 to 4 Guest Editors.
  • Target Timeline: Deadlines for paper submissions, peer review, and final release.
  • Target Submissions: Expected yield (typically 6 to 12 accepted papers).

Outcome: The MUMJ Editorial Board evaluates the proposal and issues approval, revision request, or rejection within 7 working days.

Phase 2: Call for Papers (CFP) & Promotion

Upon approval, the MUMJ Secretariat publishes an official Call for Papers on the university portal and indexing platforms.

  • CFP Details: Theme description, suggested topics, submission guidelines, template links, and strict deadlines.
  • Submission Portal: Submissions are routed through MUMJ's online submission system, tagged under the specific Special Issue title.

Phase 3: Fast-Track Peer Review Process

To adhere to MUMJ’s 2-month standard (60-day) to 3-month maximum (90-day) cycle, Special Issue manuscripts undergo the standard double-blind evaluation:

Stage

Action & Responsibility

Timeline

Desk Screening

Managing Editor verifies formatting, Turnitin plagiarism, and scope.

Days 1–5

Reviewer Assignment

Guest Editor assigns 2 independent external reviewers per paper.

Days 6–10

External Peer Review

Blind review conducted via standardized MUMJ marking grids.

Weeks 2–5 (21 Days)

Revisions & Decision

Authors address feedback (Max 2 review rounds allowed).

Weeks 6–8 (14–21 Days)

Final Editorial Sign-Off

EiC verifies reviewer reports and approves final decisions.

Week 9

Phase 4: Production, Copyediting, and Open Access Release

  • Copyediting & Galleys: Accepted papers undergo language editing, layout typesetting, and author proofing (48-hour response limit).
  • Online-First Release: Individual papers are assigned DOIs and published immediately upon approval under the CC BY 4.0 Open Access license.
  • Volume Assembly: Once all papers are finalized, the Guest Editors write an Editorial Introduction (2,000–3,000 words) contextualizing the issue, which is published at the lead of the compiled digital volume.
  1. Special Issue Proposal Form Template

When submitting a proposal, Guest Editors must structure their document using the following template:

SPECIAL ISSUE PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

 

  1. PROPOSED TITLE OF SPECIAL ISSUE:
  2. GUEST EDITORIAL TEAM (Names, Affiliations, ORCIDs, Emails, Short Bios):
  3. AIMS AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCOPE (300–500 words):
  4. POTENTIAL SUB-TOPICS & KEY THEMES:
  5. TIMELINE:

   - Call for Papers Launch Date: [Date]

   - Submission Deadline: [Date]

   - Review Process Completion: [Date]

   - Final Target Publication Date: [Date (Max 3-5 months from CFP launch)]

  1. LIST OF POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS / SOLICITED AUTHORS (If applicable):