Hi Elisabeth, 

Thank you for raising this important question. In the process of matching authors and mentors, we will be offering guidance on the question of authorship. We anticipate that in many cases the mentor will provide substantive intellectual contribution in supporting the shaping and rigour of the paper, and involvement as a co-author would be appropriate. However, there may be other cases where the contribution would be more appropriately noted in ‘acknowledgements’. We will be encouraging authors and mentors to discuss this question at the start of their collaborative process to clarify expectations on both sides. We will also be referring them to generic guidance about what is considered a substantial contribution to a research paper that would constitute authorship, in line with the IWA Publishing Statement on Ethics for Authors . The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)  has a number of helpful resources to guide authorship discussions, e.g. this discussion paper on Authorship , which includes an overview of definitions on page 4.

The editorial team will also be happy to support discussions around authorship at any phase of the process. 

Best wishes,
Naomi

Hi Naomi,

You wrote:

For those who experienced with publishing, please do nominate to be a mentor for this Special Issue. This role would comprise supporting a lead author with their submission and being a named co-author on the paper.

The concept of mentoring is a good one but I don't think a mentor should automatically become a co-author of the paper. Co-authors should only be people who have been involved in all stages of the research or project - conception, methodology development, data gathering, data analysis, copy editing, etc. I think it's unlikely that this would apply to mentors, except in some rare circumstances. Mentors are more likely to act like reviewers, aren't they? Or perhaps I misunderstood the role that you foresee for such mentors.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Dear SuSanA members,
 
A reminder that abstracts for the special edition of  H2Open  journal are due on 31 January.  
 
We hope to see strong representation of SuSanA members, so please do submit your 250-word abstract on strengthening systems and realising the human rights to water and sanitation.
 
Submissions are made through:  www.editorialmanager.com/h2open/  
When submitting to the journal, choose the WASH Special Issue Article Type, and the Section/Category “Special Issue: Strengthening systems and realising human rights - Strategies to progress WASH” 
 
For those who experienced with publishing, please do nominate to be a mentor for this Special Issue. This role would comprise supporting a lead author with their submission and being a named co-author on the paper. Register to be a mentor (2 min form)   here .
 
Please get in touch if you need further information or advice on navigating the submission portal.
 
Best wishes,
Naomi

Good initiative.

It will be good if the process is seen as a two way learning.

Will be good to have some senior practitioners and academia from southern countries, providing mentoring support. 

Dear SuSanA colleagues
The call for papers for a special edition of the journal H2Open has been released. The theme is strengthening systems and realising human rights: strategies to progress water, sanitation, and hygiene. Please see details below.  Submissions are through a 3stage process described below. First stage is submission of a 250-wordabstract by 31 January 2021

  Call for Pa pers  

The issue was initiated by WaterAid and Guest Editors for the special issue are  Prof Juliet Willetts  (UTS Australia),  Dr Mova Al’Afghani  (CPRG Indonesia)and  Naomi Carrard  (UTS Australia).

This special issue aims to bring the voices of practitioners and researchers in low-and middle- income countries (LMICs) to the fore. A mentorship system will be available to support quality submissions from a range of contributors. All papers must have at least one author from LMIC, and where feasible and appropriate LMIC authors should be lead authors.
  
About the issue: 
 
Systems strengthening is widely recognised as foundational for ensuring access to sustainable, equitable WASH services in low- and middle-income countries, leaving no-one behind. Such systems comprise clear sector policy and strategy, effective institutional arrangements, sufficient sector financing, regular cycles of planning, monitoring and review and capacity development across the sector; as well as the people, interactions, power relations and behaviours that shape these elements.
 
Equally, the human rights to water and sanitation provide numerous entry points for change, both in supporting people to claim and realise their rights and in
supporting and advocating for governments at all levels to respond.
 
Effective approaches to strengthen systems and realise the rights depend on inclusive processes that meaningfully involve people and advance equality, including gender equality. They facilitate mutual learning, capacity building and increased accountability, promote informed choice and place development in the hands of those it concerns.
 
This issue will bring together research and analysis related to strengthening of WASH systems and empowering people towards realisation of the rights to water and sanitation and sustained hygiene behaviour change. We encourage the submission of manuscripts by policy and programme practitioners, as well as researchers, focusing on this subject. 
 
Possible topics will reflect the explanation above and may include (but are not limited
to):  

• Strengthening water, sanitation and/or hygiene sector policy and strategy: institutional arrangements; financing; planning, monitoring and review; or capacity development
•  Using WASH monitoring or other data at local and national levels for better decisions and stronger systems 
• Decentralising fiscal responsibility and budgets for WASH to subnational governments and building local capacity and accountability
• Practical steps to transform gender relations within WASH systems, and as outcomes of WASH initiatives 
• Working with people to claim their human rights to water and sanitation
• Working with governments to support realisation of the human rights to water and sanitation
• Systems approaches to achieving hygiene behaviour change and menstrual hygiene
• Building effective partnerships for WASH systems strengthening and realisation of human rights across global, national or local scales
•  Working with gender and disability specialists and other strategies to make WASH systems
• inclusive, and achieve inclusive outcomes
•  Working with the health or education sectors to integrate WASH in plans, budgets and systems 
• Designing and monitoring WASH systems strengthening programmes to achieve and track quality outcomes

 
This special issue will also include invited articles from experts in relevant domains. 
 
Link for submission of manuscripts:  www.editorialmanager.com/h2open/  
When submitting to the journal, choose the WASH Special Issue Article Type,and the Section/Category “Special Issue: Strengthening systems and realising human rights - Strategies to progress WASH” 
 
 
ThisSpecial Issue will take a phased approach to submission with three steps.
First, submission of a 250-word abstract by 31 January 2021. Then,those selected will be asked to provide an extended abstract by 31March 2021. Selected extended abstracts will be offered mentorship support for LMIC authors where that may be helpful, with full papers to be submitted
by 30 June 2021. Papers will be published immediately on final approval, and the virtual special edition will be launched when all papers are finalised.
 
 
Mentorship Options:
 
If you are new to publishing or are not sure about writing an academic article, we encourage you to submit an abstract. A mentoring system will be provided to those who request support and whose abstracts are accepted.
 
For those who are already published, you can nominate to be a mentor for this Special Issue. This role would comprise supporting a lead author with their submission and being a named co-author on the paper. Please fill out information on the website here to nominate your interest.

Dear colleagues 
The call for papers for a special edition of the journal H2Openhas been released. The theme is strengthening systems and realising human rights: strategies to progress water, sanitation, and hygiene. Please see details below. It would be great to see many sustainable sanitation abstracts submitted! Submissions are through a 3 stage process described below. 

 

First stage is submission of a 250-word abstract by 31 January 2021 Please share with your networks, colleagues and partners who may be interested in submitting a paper or being a mentor. 

Call for Papers   H₂Open Journal, the high impact interdisciplinary Open Access journal from IWA Publishing, is inviting submissions for a special issue on “Strengthening systems and realising human rights: strategies to progress water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)”.  The issue was initiated by WaterAid and Guest Editors for the special issue are   Prof Juliet Willetts   (UTS Australia),   Dr Mova Al’Afghani   (CPRG Indonesia) and   Naomi Carrard   (UTS Australia). This special issue aims to bring the voices of practitioners and researchers in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) to the fore. A mentorship system will be available to support quality submissions from a range of contributors. All papers must have at least one author from LMIC, and where feasible and appropriate LMIC authors should be
lead authors.  

About the issue:  Systems strengthening is widely recognised as foundational for ensuring access to sustainable, equitable WASH services in low- and middle-income countries, leaving no-one behind. Such systems comprise clear sector policy and strategy, effective institutional arrangements, sufficient sector financing, regular cycles of planning, monitoring and review and capacity development across the sector; as well as the people, interactions, power relations and behaviours that shape these elements. 

Equally, the human rights to water and sanitation provide numerous entry points for change, both in supporting people to claim and realise their rights and in supporting and advocating for governments at all levels to respond. 

Effective approaches to strengthen systems and realise the rights depend on inclusive processes that meaningfully involve people and advance equality, including gender equality. They facilitate mutual learning, capacity building and increased accountability, promote informed choice and place development in the hands of those it concerns. This issue will bring together research and analysis related to strengthening of WASH systems and empowering people towards realisation of the rights to water and sanitation and sustained hygiene behaviour change.

We encourage the submission of manuscripts by policy and programme practitioners, as well as researchers, focusing on this subject.  Possible topics will reflect the explanation above and may include (but are not limited to):  

• Strengthening water, sanitation and/or hygiene sector policy and strategy: institutional arrangements; financing; planning, monitoring and review; or capacity development
• Using WASH monitoring or other data at local and national levels for better decisions and stronger systems 
• Decentralising fiscal responsibility and budgets for WASH to subnational governments and building local capacity and accountability
• Practical steps to transform gender relations within WASH systems, and as outcomes of WASH initiatives 
• Working with people to claim their human rights to water and sanitation
• Working with governments to support realisation of the human rights to water and sanitation
• Systems approaches to achieving hygiene behaviour change and menstrual hygiene
• Building effective partnerships for WASH systems strengthening and realisation of human rights across global, national or local scales
• Working with gender and disability specialists and other strategies to make WASH systems inclusive, and achieve inclusive outcomes
• Working with the health or education sectors to integrate WASH in plans, budgets and systems 
• Designing and monitoring WASH systems strengthening programmes to achieve and track quality outcomes

This special issue will also include invited articles from experts in relevant domains.  Link for submission of manuscripts:    www.editorialmanager.com/h2open/    When submitting to the journal, choose the WASH Special Issue Article Type, and the Section/Category “Special Issue: Strengthening systems and realising human rights - Strategies to progress WASH”  

This Special Issue will take a phased approach to submission with three steps. First, submission of a 250-word abstract by 31 January 2021. Then, those selected will be asked to provide an extended abstract by 31 March 2021. Selected extended abstracts will be offered mentorship support for LMIC authors where that may be helpful, with full papers to be submitted by 30 June 2021. Papers will be published immediately on final approval, and the virtual special edition will be launched when all papers are finalised.  

Mentorship Options: If you are new to publishing or are not sure about writing an academic article, we encourage you to submit an abstract. A mentoring system will be provided to those who request support and whose abstracts are accepted. For those who are already published, you can nominate to be a mentor for this Special Issue. This role would comprise supporting a lead author with their submission and being a named co-author on the paper. Please fill out information on the   website here   to nominate your interest.