The Editorial Board of South African Crime Quarterly (SACQ) invites proposals from South African institutions or consortia to host and manage the journal. SACQ is an accredited, open-access journal that publishes policy-relevant criminological research for academic, practitioner and policy audiences. It seeks to inform and influence public debate and policy on crime reduction, violence prevention and criminal justice.

SACQ is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training.

We seek an institutional home that can sustain SACQ’s quality, accessibility and independence into the future.

Guidance for proposals

Proposals should address the following areas in a concise submission of around five pages:

 

1. Vision and intentions

• Which department or faculty will house SACQ? Briefly describe the thematic focus/research areas of the department.
• Describe your institution’s vision for SACQ, including its role in advancing criminology and policy-relevant research in South Africa and Africa.
• How do you see SACQ fitting into your institution’s existing research and publication priorities?

2. Editorial flow and quality assurance

• Describe how editorial processes will be managed from submission to publication (including peer review, revisions and author support).
• How will you ensure rigorous peer review and maintain SACQ’s reputation for accessible, high-quality work?

3. Editorial leadership and support

• Describe how editorial responsibilities will be structured and supported (e.g. appointment of editor, editorial assistants, administrative staff).
• How will the editorial board be engaged?

4. Infrastructure and systems

• Describe your publication infrastructure (submission platform, copyediting, production, hosting).
• How will back issues be preserved and accessible?

5. Financial sustainability and costing model

• Outline your costing model, including estimated annual hosting, copyediting and production costs.
• Describe how these costs will be covered in the short and longer term (e.g. institutional budget, cross-subsidisation, donor support).

6. Maintaining accreditation

• Explain how you will ensure SACQ retains DHET accreditation and indexing, and describe institutional capacity to manage accreditation processes.

7. Audience and reach

• Describe how you will maintain SACQ’s practitioner–academic balance and ensure accessibility for policymakers and lay readers.

8. Continuity and transition

• Outline your proposed transition plan, including timing, staffing and any support required from the current editorial team.
• How will you manage any manuscripts already in the pipeline?

Submission process

 

• Email your proposal to Jody van der Heyde at [email protected]. Proposals should not exceed five pages in length and must include at least two contactable referees. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• Proposals will be reviewed by the SACQ Editorial Board against the criteria outlined above.
• Institutions may be invited to a follow-up discussion with the Editorial Board.

For queries, please contact Jody van der Heyde at [email protected].

 

Closing Date: 10 December