Call for debate pieces to help advance key controversies and discussions in the interdisciplinary field of knowledge use

Evidence & Policy is a leading interdisciplinary, social science journal. Our focus is on scholarship concerned with the interplay between evidence and policy/practice. We are seeking to commission a series of debate pieces that take a position on, and help advance, key discussions and controversies within the interdisciplinary field of knowledge use. To ensure that these reviews are accessible to all, these debate pieces will be published open access, free of charge. Proposals for debate pieces are particularly invited on but not limited to:

• • Do we know enough about what works in supporting evidence use to stop studying it?
  • Can and should we measure evidence use?
  • Are efforts to promote public engagement and evidence use in tension with one another?
  • Is ‘evidence-based policy’ an idea that has had its day (with potential reference to ‘fake news’, ‘post-truth’, etc)?

Proposals for debate pieces should be no more than one page long and should normally develop a clear line of argument in relation to a particular question/issue/controversy. The proposal should outline:

• • The importance of the topic and need for debate (this should include any references to key publications that the debate piece is responding to);
  • The line of argument that the debate piece will take;
  • The target audience;
  • The timeline for producing the debate piece;
  • Any ideas about potential authors we might approach for an alternative perspective (this is not essential, especially if the proposed debates piece is responding to existing publications, but we are keen to support genuine and constructive debate around key issues).

Proposals should be submitted by 1st October 2020. Each proposal will be reviewed by the Editorial Team for quality and relevance to the journal and discussed at the next Editorial Board meeting. We will respond to authors within five weeks of the submission deadline. Any submissions invited to go forward will then enter the standard Evidence & Policy peer-review process. Those that go through this process successfully will have the open access fee waived and will be promoted by the journal as a key reference point for the field. In advance of this, authors are welcome to informally discuss potential submissions with the co-editors-in-chief (please email EvidenceAndPolicy@ed.ac.uk).