SLGR – The Year Behind, the Year Ahead

• Author: Eric Zeemering,Kimberly Nelson
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221092077
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Date: 01 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Editorial

SLGR –The Year Behind, the

Year Ahead

Kimberly Nelson and Eric Zeemering

In 2021, State and Local Government Review

(SLGR) began a new chapter. We have just

completed our f‌irst year as the second editorial

team for the journal since its publication

moved from the Carl Vinson Institute of

Government at the University of Georgia to

Sage Publications. This year has been one of

considerable change for the journal. We hope

that the work we have done in this past year

will serve as a foundation for the future, posi-

tioning State and Local Government Review

as the premier journal of scholarship in state

and local government and intergovernmental

relations. As we shared last year, SLGR has

over half a century of publishing scholarship

“that advances our theoretical understanding

of state and local public administration and

policy while also framing practical implications

for government professionals working in the

f‌ield.”

We began 2021 with two primary goals. The

f‌irst was to ensure timely publication of each

issue, returning SLGR to on-time publication

by the end of the year. We are happy to report

that we reached this goal. In 2022, SLGR will

be delivered on-time to subscribers’mailboxes.

The second goal was to publish high-quality

and insightful scholarship in the journal. This

will be a central goal throughout our tenure as

editors. In 2021, we have published articles

that are already cited by scholars engaged

with the most pressing questions in public

administration and policy. The journal’s

research articles and f‌ield notes are also refer-

enced by practitioners to inform their work.

For example, Reese and Li’s (2021) analysis

of animal welfare service networks in

Metropolitan Detroit was discussed in an

episode of the GovLove podcast from

Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL).

Justin Marlowe’s (2021) Field Note on senti-

ment about government f‌inances garnered

attention on the London School of

Economics’United States Politics and Policy

blog. Research on government takeovers by

Hughes, Dick, and Kopec (2021) drew attention

from local media in Michigan. These examples,

and many others, illustrate how State and Local

Government Review publishes research that

engages the most salient topics in state and

local government.

Looking into 2022 and beyond, we have set

two additional long-term goals. The f‌irst is to

have SLGR recognized as a premier publication

by its inclusion into the Social Science Citation

Index (SSCI). Returning the journal to on-time

publication was essential to make progress

towards this goal. We have also worked hard

to broaden the representation on our editorial

board and improve outreach to reviewers and

potential authors who have not contributed

work to SLGR in the past. We have already

seen some of this work payoff in the metrics

that we track for the journal.

The second goal is to continue to broaden

our engagement with scholars and practitioners

both in the United States and beyond. By think-

ing more broadly about the journal’s contribu-

tors and readers, we believe the journal’s

reputation in the f‌ield will continue improve.

With the addition of the Perspectives Essays

section of the journal in Volume 53, we have

been able to share insights from leaders in

state and local government practice such as

Editorial

State and Local Government Review

2022, Vol. 54(1) 3-4

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221092077

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