The Public Organization Review: A Global Journal (POR) invites article proposals for a Special Issue Symposium on “Global Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Proposals for scholarly papers on a wide range of sub-topics using quantitative and/or qualitative analysis approaches will be considered, including strong theoretical works, single-site case studies, and comparative case studies. Scholarly manuscripts must be grounded in theory/literature and empirical evidence, and use sound analytical methods. Findings should be generalizable. Single-site case studies will be subject to different, more practical, review criteria. The Special Issue will be published on-line first in early fall 2021 and the print volume in December 2021 or January 2022.

POR is a quarterly scholarly journal that provides a global forum for academicians and practitioners in diverse areas of public administration and public policy, governance, organization theory and behavior, public management, nonprofit administration, budgeting and finance, economic and social development, strategic studies, globalization, crisis and emergency management, and more. POR publishes only highest quality manuscripts that stand: (a) the rigor of a demanding triple-blind review process, (b) a selective acceptance rate of about 15–20% out of over about 300 submissions per year, and (c) groundbreaking theoretical as well as practical ideas that advance knowledge. POR publishes 4 issues per year with iPublication Online first, followed by print publication; the number of issues is expected to increase to 6 per year as of 2022 POR is published by Springer.

Examples of Suitable Topics for the Special Issue

The following list of sub-topics is only to indicate the breadth of sub-topics that will be considered for inclusion. The list does not exclude other related sub-topics.

  • Leadership – political and policy: the relationship between politics and administrative expertise; leading or managing from data vs politics

  • Managing implementation horizontally and vertically: inter-organizational, inter-sectoral, across levels of government

  • Successes and failures of centralized leadership: national, state, local

  • Leading from policy to implementation on the ground: Leading and managing mobilizations systems

  • Best practices: coordinating overall response systems; crisis management across agencies at all levels of government

  • The effects of partisan politics on anticipatory and response strategies

  • Economic and psychological impacts of pandemics on the public and on employees

  • Impacts of pandemics and responses to pandemics on public budgets, health care and health care facilities, immigration policy, homeless policy, vulnerable populations, minorities and racial/ethnic populations, threats of violence and disorder

  • Impact of mandated home schooling and shelter-in-place on the economy, transportation systems, supply chains, water, waste-water, refuse

  • Public information strategies during pandemic: Maintaining public support by communicating honestly with the public without creating fears

  • The role of National Response Framework and Emergency Support Functions

  • The role of Continuity of Operations Plans and Strategies

  • The imperative of anticipatory capacity building and collaboration building

  • Implementation and management of fighting the Covid-19 Pandemic through restrictive-lockdown, mandated mask wearing, and social distancing, Or open free-floating policies, practices, and measures

  • Consequential impacts of the dual policies noted above—what have been learned from the global experiences by different nations, by different states within the United States?

  • Implementing and managing employee benefits for front-line workers, such as hazard pay, sick leave

  • What front-line responders are owed when the crisis passes and post-crisis budget cuts are inevitable

  • Managing volunteer participation: Benefits and risks from using volunteers

Single-site case studies and comparative case studies with lessons learned:

  • on best and worst practice models, particularly in Italy, France, UK, Germany, Iran, Spain, China, South Korea, Japan and the U.S.

  • on sub-national responses, especially hard-hit states in the U.S. and elsewhere

  • on Southern Hemisphere nations’ responses- did time to plan make a difference? Did lessons from Northern Hemisphere nations make a difference? Did lessons from AIDS, Ebola and other epidemics make a difference?

  • on public services impacts: homeless services, mental health services and on public education: higher education, K through 12 education

Proposals and Manuscripts

Proposals should clearly and succinctly present: (1) a descriptive title; (2) a statement of purpose that includes a problem statement; (3) research questions; (4) a sound conceptualization with theoretical/literature grounding; (5) the ‘originality’ and significance of the paper; (6) a brief methodology statement that includes, for example, sources of data and tools and methods; and (7) the paper’s potential contributions to knowledge (generalizability). Proposals should not exceed the 2-page limit.

Completed manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages double spaced (or 7000 words), inclusive of all tables, figures, and charts. APA style with third person writing is required. Style guidelines are on the POR website.

Timetable to Publication

Interested scholars are invited to submit proposals of approximately 800 to 1000 words POR by January 30, 2021. Manuscripts will go through rigorous double blind-reviews. Proposing authors will be notified by February 15-20, 2021.

Draft manuscripts of accepted proposals are due by May 30, 2021.

Authors of draft manuscripts will receive a preliminary review by July 30, 2021 from the Guest Editors; they will include:

(1) a recommendation to complete the manuscript likely with some suggested revisions; (2) a recommendation to revise and resubmit with more substantive revisions; or (3) a decision that the manuscript will not be accepted – consider submitting it to a different journal. A review with a (1) or (2) recommendation does not guarantee acceptance of the final manuscript.

Final manuscripts are due September 30, 2021. Final manuscripts will be double-blind reviewed during October and November 2021.

Final reviews and decisions will be posted on POR’s Editorial Manager’s Site by November 30, 2021 .

The Special Issue will be published in POR: Online by December 30, 2021 and in print, in January 2022.

Proposals and manuscripts should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief of POR, or any of the Guest editors—see below.

Questions about the substance or process for proposals, manuscripts, or the Special Issue should be submitted to a Guest Editor.

Editor-In-Chief of Public Organization Review (POR): Professor Ali Farazmand, Florida Atlantic University. afarazma@fau.edu

Special Issue Guest Editors:

Professor Frances Edwards, San Jose State University, kc6thm@yahoo.com

Professor Steven Ott, University of Utah, jsott@cppa.utah.edu