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ANZSOG increases Australian Journal of Public Administration’s impact

26 June 2019

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An ANZSOG-led editorial team has significantly increased the impact of the Australian Journal of Public Administration (AJPA) – a publication committed to the study and practice of public administration, public management and policy making.

The editorial team, headed by ANZSOG Deputy Dean Catherine Althaus, has almost doubled the journal’s “Impact Factor” since 2015. The Impact Factor is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year or period, and is an indicator of a journal’s academic influence.

The AJPA’s impact factor, as measured by Journal Citation Reports, is 1.311, a considerable improvement from 2015’s figure of 0.667. The increased impact figure reflects the goal of the team to increase the academic standing of the journal.

Another goal of the editorial team has been to internationalise the journal, with a greater focus on the Asia-Pacific region. While the AJPA aims to be the leading journal for public administration scholarship in Australia, to be on the cutting edge of this it needs to be on top of developments in the Asia-Pacific region. Two upcoming special issues reflect this goal: an issue on Australian and Chinese evidence-based policy, and an issue on innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Half of the journal’s readership now comes from outside Australia and New Zealand.

ANZSOG Professor of Public Management Janine O’Flynn is a leading part of the all-female editorial team, working closely with Professor Helen Dickinson and Maria Katsonis.

“We take seriously the quality of AJPA articles and have been implementing not only rigorous academic standards but also deliberate attention to practitioner impact,” Associate Professor Althaus said.

“Maria Katsonis’ work through The Drop – a fortnightly research series published by The Mandarin – is a significant translation of scholarly research into accessible practitioner insights. This is really important in today’s time-pressured environment. Coupled with the efforts of AJPA Social Media Editor, Sophie Yates, we have direct ways to demonstrate the relevance of academic insights for policymaking and public administration, both domestically and at the international level.”

The journal is owned by the Institute of Public Administration Australia and published by Wiley. Professor O’Flynn summarised the views of the editorial team by recognising the value of many contributors to the journal’s success: “It is an awesome team and we’re very proud to be part of it. Thanks to our amazing authors and reviewers, to our editorial board, to IPAA, and to our incredible team at Wiley”.