New online submission portal for the Journal of Development Administration (JDA)

Submit your manuscript

We are pleased to announce that the Journal of Development Administration (JDA), People Centred, has launched a new online submission portal. Authors can now submit manuscripts, track peer review progress, and manage their submissions through a single, easy-to-use platform.

All submissions must now be made through the submission portal.

The portal makes the entire publication process quicker and more accessible, from initial submission through double-blind peer review to final decision. Authors will be able to monitor the status of their manuscripts at each stage without the need to correspond by email.

This development is part of a broader initiative supported by the African Journals Initiative, established by Pluto Journals and the African Books Collective. The initiative works with a growing community of no-fee, diamond open access, social science and humanities journals based in African universities and research institutions, supported by ScienceOpen and JSTOR.

About People Centred

People Centred occupies a distinctive space in the African scholarly landscape, addressing a significant gap in development practice knowledge and offering a decolonising epistemology to development administration. The journal provides an essential venue for researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of governance, community development, and policy to share their scholarship with broader audiences. Each issue features five to six research articles, with contributions of up to 5,000 words.

Established in 2016 by the Institute of Development Administration through the Africa Social Work and Development Network, the journal has maintained a consistent publishing record, producing at least two issues annually. People Centred is now published by Pluto Journals in partnership with African Books Collective and hosted on ScienceOpen’s open-access platform, expanding its reach to global audiences while maintaining its commitment to diamond open-access publishing.

The journal is indexed in DOAJ and AJOL, and operates under a completely charge-free model. There are no submission fees, no article processing charges, and no paywalls. Published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence, the journal remains fully accessible to African scholars, practitioners, and readers worldwide. The backlog is archived on AJOL and hosted on the Africa Social Work and Development Network platform.

Submission and publication process

All manuscripts undergo initial editorial screening followed by double-blind peer review for those deemed suitable. Authors are expected to adhere to the highest ethical, scholarly, and professional standards throughout the submission and publication process. Upon acceptance, authors will receive a Copyright Form for electronic signature to agree to the Pluto Journals Publishing Agreement (https://www.plutojournals.com/publishing-agreement/). Moral rights are retained by the original author or authors, and copyright is held by the authors. Contributors are responsible for obtaining written permission to use material for which they do not hold copyright, in both print and electronic media, and for ensuring that appropriate acknowledgements are included in their manuscripts.

Editorial leadership

Editor-in-Chief

Rugare Mugumbate, Social Work and Community Development, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia (rugare@africasocialwork.net).

Editorial Advisory Board

• Adiko Adiko Francis, Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Économiques et Sociales (CIRES), Université Félix Houphouët Boigny Cocody, Côte d’Ivoire
• Kefasi Nyikahadzoyi, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
• Mandla Mfundo Masuku, College of Humanities, School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Akashraj Devanga, Bule Hora University, Ethiopia
• Fidelis Lucas Kisusi, Department of Economics and Community Economic Development, Open University of Tanzania
• William Abur, Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Chamunogwa Nyoni, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe
• Jotham Dhemba, University of Eswatini, Eswatini
• Edmos Mtetwa, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
• Bishnu Mohan Dash, University of Delhi, India
• Leonorah T. Nyaruwata, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
• Janestic Twikirize, Makerere University, Uganda
• Moffat C. Tarusikirwa, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
• Jude Emordi Promise, Development Practitioner, Nigeria

We invite authors to use the new portal for all future submissions and look forward to receiving your work.