IST-Africa Editorial Policy

Scope

Focused on Information Society and ICT Policy Dialogues, International Development and Research Cooperation and Community Building, each IST-Africa Conference brings together senior representatives of leading public, private, education and research organisations from Africa, Europe and other parts of the world to discuss policy, share insight and identify collaboration opportunities.

The goals of the IST-Africa Conference Series are to

- Support Development of the Information Society and Knowledge Economy in Africa

- Promote International Research Innovation, and Policy Cooperation and Coordination

- Showcase African Research and Innovation Capacity

- Stimulate exploitation of research results by the public and private sectors

The IST-Africa Conference Series provides a world-class international forum to showcase existing Research, Innovation, technology-enabled Entrepreneurship and ICT4D (ICT for Development) activities and capacity in Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.

The Scientific Programme for each IST-Africa Conference is based on a double blind peer review of full papers submitted to an open Call for Papers.

The IST-Africa Conference Programme and Proceedings combine technical, policy, case studies and practitioner papers. These contributions on government, industry, educational and societal exploitation of applied technology innovation represent cutting edge research, innovation or practical eAdoption. These can be used to benchmark developments and identify adaptation, exploitation, scaling and collaboration opportunities.

Thematic Areas

Core thematic priorities for IST-Africa Conferences include:

- Technology-enabled Healthcare (mHealth /eHealth)

- Technology-enhanced Learning and eSkills

- Technology-enabled Agriculture (mAgriculture /eAgriculture) & Environmental Sustainability

- Energy - ICT for Power Delivery, Micro-grids

- eInfrastructures and NRENs (National Research and Education Networks)

- Next Generation Computing including Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Future Internet, Internet of Things (IoT)

- eGovernment and Public Service Delivery

- Content Technologies including Languages; Digital Preservation

- Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust

- Collaborative Open Innovation and Technology-enabled Entrepreneurship (including Social Entrepreneurship)

- Global Development (including ICT4D)

- Societal Implications of Technology

Submission Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit full papers (8 - 10 pages including references using the IST-Africa paper template) for double blind peer review. See Paper Guidelines for more details on recommended paper structure, access to paper template and general guidelines.

Papers should not be submitted to other conferences or journals while under review. See IST-Africa Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

As all papers will be double blind peer reviewed by the IST-Africa Programme Committee, please ensure that no contact details are provided within the text or properties of the paper submitted.

All author details should be submitted online in the Author List as part of the Online Submission Process - including the name and organisation for the author submitting the paper.

Papers must present analysis of initial or final research results or a case study. It is important to highlight actual or expected impact as well as the level of innovation.

General project descriptions are not appropriate.

It is necessary for papers submitted to include content not previously been published, to warrant inclusion in the conference proceedings. Any visionary elements in paper should be supported by mini use cases where appropriate to illustrate applicability.

Authors are requested to run a plagiarism check prior to submission. Please ensure that all previously published author and third party content is appropriately referenced.

By submitting a paper for double blind peer review for consideration of inclusion in the IST-Africa Conference Programme and Proceedings, the author is confirming that

a) this paper is the original work of the authors listed;

b) this paper has not previously been published;

c) all material is appropriately referenced with no plagiarism (including self-plagiarism); and

d) any use of AI is appropriate and ethical and has been fully disclosed in the Acknowledgements section of the paper - See IST-Africa GenAI Policy

Each author listed in a paper is expected to have made a substantial contribution and have approved the paper versions submitted for review and publication.

Each presenter can present ONE paper in the Programme. It is necessary for papers to be presented by an author / co-author during the event, with live questions to ensure inclusion in the Proceedings.

Please only submit papers for review where there are authors/co-authors who will complete registration and present the results if accepted for inclusion in the Programme.

Technical Review Process

All full papers submitted under the Call for Papers are checked for plagiarism.

Papers are independently blind peer reviewed by at least two subject matter experts. Reviewers are expected to disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest so papers can be reassigned as required.

Evaluation criteria include:

- Quality and Relevance of Objectives;

- Technical/Business Case Quality;

- Industrial Significance and Expected Benefit / Impact;

- Balance, Structure and Clarity;

- Conclusion and Recommendations (Level of Innovation and Contribution)

The double blind peer review process is confidential. All author (including co-author) details should be input in the online submission form. The Organising Committee will only communicate with the submitting author. Authors should ensure that names and any author-identifying information (Including acknowledgements) are not included in the paper submitted for double blind peer review, either in the full text, file properties or file name.

The submitting author receives online access to a confidential combined review report that provides constructive, actionable feedback. The decision of the International Programme Committee in relation to acceptance of papers is final.

Following the double blind peer review process, authors are required to update the paper taking account of the feedback provided in the technical review report. Authors are required to submit a change log outlining how the review feedback has been addressed in the final paper submitted for editorial review.

Papers submitted for inclusion in the IST-Africa Conference Proceedings should not be submitted to other conferences or journals while under review, should not already be published and cannot be republished in another proceedings, publication or repository.

Conference Proceedings

Papers in the IST-Africa Proceedings are double blind peer reviewed and published after the conference with an ISBN Number on an Open Access basis in the IST-Africa Conference Repository for individual non-commercial use only.

Each author retains copyright in relation to their individual paper. No paper or part thereof may be reproduced without the written permission of the appropriate author(s).

The Conference Proceedings is the intellectual property of the IST-Africa Conference Proceedings Publisher (IST-Africa Institute and IIMC). No part of the proceedings may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, or processed in the context of any AI tool or large language model without prior written permission from the publisher.