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Hello, esteemed section members and colleagues! We hope your summer is going smoothly.

Submissions for Family Connections: Research Informing Policy

We are looking for authors, articles, and translational writers! The Family Policy (FP) Section is preparing to launch a series of research briefs, which will be called Family Connections: Research Informing Policy. These 1–2 page research briefs will be ideal for sharing information about your research in a way that is relevant to policy. If you have recently (in the last year or so) published an article (or publish one going forward) that is relevant to family policies, please submit your work for review. The articles do not need to feature research designs that are embedded in or that emerge from policies. A review committee will work with you to include policy relevance.

The research brief of your article will summarize your work succinctly; highlight how methods and findings might inform public policy; reference policy-relevant outcomes (e.g., access, cost, well-being); explain how findings might affect prevention or intervention programs; or articulate implications for policies and practices that affect individuals, families, and communities in the United States or globally. Note that research briefs are based on single articles. They won’t make specific policy recommendations, but they will highlight ways research might inform policy.

To submit an article for consideration (or to volunteer as reviewer), follow these steps:

1. Contact Erica Jordan, the current FP Section secretary and treasurer ([email protected]), to receive a submission link.
2. Upon receiving the link, submit basic information (author and coauthor names, article title, journal title, abstract, a brief statement about how the article is policy relevant) about the article you would like considered.
3. Your submission will be reviewed by the FP Section officers (and volunteers), and you will be contacted within approximately 30 days with a decision. (Please note that we expect a longer review period for the first round of these.)
4. Work collaboratively with the FP Section officer (or volunteer) to complete the research brief and acknowledge final approval of the research brief featuring your work. Briefs will contain a citation to the original article, the first author’s contact information, and a permalink to the original research.

There is no deadline, as submission is ongoing. Your brief will be made available to FP Section members through the NCFR Family Policy Section discussion board upon its completion. All NCFR members (including those not currently in the FP Section) are invited to submit briefs for Family Connections: Research Informing Policy, and all features will be nonpartisan with the precise goal of communicating research findings and potential policy impacts.