What Resources Might/Should Come from the Home Institution?
It is very difficult to state a dollar amount attending the “institutional support” we look for, because there is such wide variation among universities in how they account for the use of resources internally. However, we can list the physical resources editors will need which may be more helpful than a simple dollar amount in any event. Recall that each editor or editorial team of an ISA journal receives an annual cash subvention. The institutions which serve as home to an ISA journal offer matching support in a variety of forms. (Again, “matching” in this case does not necessarily mean dollar-for-dollar because of differences in accounting practices.) The selection committee looks for support from the institution at a level that will comfortably cover the full operation of the journal. Proposals we receive will include many (but seldom all) of the following:
- Space and equipment for journal operations (furnished office, computer, printer, letterhead and other paper, phone, fax, photocopy access, etc.).
- Office staff in the form of secretary and/or graduate interns (FPA, for example, -at the time of this writing- currently operates with one 20 hr./week secretary, but they do share work among an editorial team. Meanwhile, International Interactions is using two graduate interns, one for 11 months, the other for 9 months).
- Travel support to annual ISA conventions.
- Release time for the editor(s). Something on the order of 20 - 50% of the teaching obligation of a single editor is a typical part of the package, but again, not universal.
As a very broad estimate, if you start with the annual subvention with ISA and find institutional support that could be valued at (very roughly) an equivalent amount, it should cover smooth operation of the journal.
We would like to thank Brian Pollins for
his assistance in compiling these suggestions.
