Contributing Writer
Program Goals
Contributing writers are key source of content for S&S’ digital publications. The program consists of non-resident undergraduates, graduate students and professionals who are paired with existing editors.
Supervisor: Managing Editor
Position Length: 12 months
Specific Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of a contributing writer will be to generate articles for publication on their schedule. These articles should be related to their areas of expertise or interest and fit within the defined topic areas of S&S. For instance, an economist would synthesize and translate emerging research in climate change economics, or development and education. An engineer might provide case studies on sustainable cities, tying these cases to broader themes in the urban ecology and urban sustainability literature.
These articles will be submitted to the S&S Managing Editor and distributed for editorial review among the existing pool of S&S editors.
Contributors will receive by-line credit for their articles and will be the primary pool from which Non-Resident Fellows are recruited.
Contributors will be expected to communicate with the Managing Editor an approximate timeline for their writing. This schedule will be used to help plan the publication calendar.
Further Details
We expect our articles to be rigorous but not original research. Rather, the articles should be pieces that bring out new information, or make new connections between existing information, related to the fellows’ research or areas of interest. These will likely take three primary forms:
1. Publication, for a lay audience, of results related to the graduate fellows research. These could be written prior to the publication of an academic article or subsequent to a journal article. Alternatively, these could be pieces that explain the importance of the graduate fellow’s research but do not include specific results in order to build to future pieces with results. For an example of this type of post see here.
2. A piece that reviews the state of the art in the field and explains why it matters for a lay audience. These should focus on a single new advancement or publication rather than a broad overview. Ideally they would cover the publication of a new journal article related to the graduate fellow’s research.
The most important part about these pieces is that they frame, explain and connect the new research to existing policy debates or current events.
3. A discussion of a recent, or pending, policy development that has a direct relationship to academic research. The relationship could be one where recent academic research has something relevant to say about the shape that the policy should take or it could be one where the policy is an example of something predicted by academic theory. In either case, the goal is to explain how the research and the policy development are connected and what additional research might suggest about future policy developments.
For additional guidance on writing style and content see the Editorial Guidelines or talk to the Editor in Chief. For additional details about S&S feel free to visit our webpage www.senseandsustainability.net or send us an email with any questions you may have.
To apply, please send CV and cover letter to editor@senseandsustainability.net.