General Information About NDE Proposals: The best proposals exhibit the following characteristics.

• Audience: The Issue must be written for an audience including practitioners, theorists, and methodologists. Issue Editors should keep in mind the varied constituencies of the American Evaluation Association in considering the target audience for the issue. Methodological and statistical contributions should be understandable to a wide audience. The audience for the proposed issue should be clearly identified in the proposal.

• Sufficient Detail: Each issue of NDE examines a single topic or theme, developed through the individual chapters. Proposals need to provide adequate content to insure the reviewers understand what is being proposed. This is especially important for individual chapter descriptions.

• Level of Presentation: Issue Editors must balance rigorous, detailed explication of the issues and readable, understandable presentation.

• Quality: The material presented in NDE must represent state-of-the-art, quality work in program evaluation.

• Novelty and Timeliness: NDE is an ideal venue for presenting new work in evaluation. The emphasis should be on recent developments and may provide a vehicle for new and diverse voices to present and test their ideas on a broad audience.

• Qualifications: A strong proposal will identify the contributing authors and present evidence of their qualifications to address the topic. Issue Editor(s) must secure the commitment of the guest authors prior to submission of the proposal.

In addition to these general characteristics the Proposal Review Guidelines provide specific requirements that will be considered in the review of the proposal.

Types of Issues: An NDE issue contains between 37,500 and 42,500 words. It usually consists of a brief editorial introduction and 6 to 8 chapters that address and develop the topic, method, or theme. Inclusion of at least one practical example or application is required. The following list illustrates formats that have been used, though other innovative approaches are encouraged.

• Exemplary Evaluations: Certain evaluations provide crucial exposure to a field of practice or exemplary application of an innovative methodology. A issue of this type might present a series of exemplary evaluations with a common methodological or substantive tread, followed by critical commentary on the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation method or approach.

• Methodological Focus: A issue can be directed towards a specific methodological issue or approach. A portion of the issue might focus on the theoretical and technical background of the methodology followed by an example illustrating the use of the method.

• Professional Practice: Topics that build capacity in the practice of evaluation will find a receptive audience in NDE. This type of issue provides a structured and informative approach to a relevant topic.

• Substantive Focus: A issue may have an emphasis on a specific area of evaluation within a broad context such as health, education, criminal justice, policy analysis, or mental health. This type of issue should relate the broad applicability to other substantive areas of interest to the evaluation audience.

• Symposia: Often “new directions” in evaluation first surface at a conference. The hosting organization does not necessarily have to be directly associated with the field of evaluation to have a relevant topic for evaluators.

• Theoretical Focus: The development of a broad issue in the theory of program evaluation could address use, influence, implementation, ethics, assessment of outcomes, or other theoretical issues. Applications and examples should be included to bridge the theory to practice.

The Editor-in-Chief encourages prospective Issue Editors to discuss their ideas before submitting a proposal.

Proposal Development and Review: Proposals are developed iteratively through ongoing review, negotiation, and revision. The following are typical steps, though each issue may differ depending on the topic and format.

• Pre-proposal Discussion: This is the initial phase of discussion and is largely informal. Anyone interested in editing a issue for NDE is encouraged to discuss his or her ideas with the Editor-in-Chief. Often a short discussion can help determine if an idea is appropriate for the series and how it is most likely to proceed. A draft of a proposal can also be sent for preliminary feedback. If all or part of a manuscript is available, it may also be included, however it does not replace the need for a full proposal in the format specified.

• Submitting a Proposal: Every prospective Issue Editor must develop and submit a proposal using the Proposal Format. Complete proposals will receive prompt attention. Agreement to participate in the issue should be obtained from all potential contributors prior to submitting a proposal. A Previously Accepted Proposal is provided as an example along with the Proposal Review Guidelines.
  
  Common Causes for Revision or Rejection:
  

  • Proposals are submitted in incomplete form

  • Chapters lack sufficient detail (i.e. abstracts should be 1-2 pages)

  • Topic is not developed in manner that relates to broad audience

  • Example of how the topic can be used or applied is weak or missing

  • Topic does not focus sufficiently on evaluation or make connections to evaluation explicit

  • Topic does not provide an original contribution or perspective

• Editorial Review Process: The Editorial Review Process is comprised of three steps:

  • Initial Editorial Review: The NDE Editor-in-Chief reviews each proposal. Incomplete proposals or those that do not comply with the Proposal Format, will be returned for revision prior to distribution for formal review.

  • Final Editorial Review: Once a complete proposal is submitted for formal consideration, Editorial Advisory Board members (see a current NDE issue) will be selected and asked to review the proposal, comment on its strengths and weaknesses, and make summary recommendations regarding acceptability for the journal. Reviewers are asked to address the questions in the Proposal Review Guidelines (pdf).

  • Editorial Summary Review: The reviews from the Advisory Board members are assembled and the Editor in Chief will prepare the summary review and make a recommendation to accept, revise, or reject the proposal.

• Proposal Acceptance: The Editor in Chief will work with the Issue Editor(s) on accepted proposals to provide feedback on the chapters and develop a timeline for submission of the manuscript which is outlined in a letter of agreement to edit an NDE issue. A stipend of $500 is provided to the Issue Editor(s).
  
  The manuscript is submitted to the NDE Editor-In-Chief for final review and transmission to Wiley Publications.
  
  The ultimate goal is to produce a valuable source for the evaluation field. Prospective Issue Editors should expect that the review will emphasize constructive critique and collaborative feedback designed to help shape their ideas into a high-quality and influential final publication.

Manuscript Preparation: Manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word (double spaced) and sent to the Editor in Chief as email attachments. Each chapter should be a separate file and include the formatted reference section. NDE uses APA style, details of which may be found online on the APA website at http://apastyle.apa.org/.

Graphics and tables should be included in the attachments as Wiley Publications does not render new artwork.

Appropriate permissions should be included with the final manuscript and sent to Wiley Publications. The Issue Editor(s) and authors are responsible for obtaining all permissions and paying any costs incurred. A Permissions Request Form is available for your use.

Footnotes should be minimized and included in the text where possible. If necessary, footnotes may be placed at the end of the chapter in a “notes” section before the references.

Questions and Contacts: