Managing associate/commissioning editors and your editorial board effectively

Associate/commissioning editors and editorial boards can both play an important part in ensuring the smooth running of journal operations. In practice, though, there are substantial variations in the roles they play. This chapter focuses primarily on the diverse ways in which editorial boards operate, with an emphasis on the inter-relationship between the editor-in-chief and board members. Journals receiving large numbers of manuscripts to consider usually appoint at least one associate editor to help manage the load. So, the chapter also examines the roles that these associate editors can play. In some cases, they act as commissioning editors, but often these are separate individuals who can help the editor direct the journal in a particular direction by encouraging submissions of manuscripts in a specific field or region. The chapter will also elaborate the ways in which an editor-in-chief can liaise effectively with both associate editors and commissioning editors. The main aim of the chapter is to examine how organisational arrangements involving associate/commissioning editors and editorial boards can best assist the editor-in-chief to think strategically about the future development of the journal and the evolving foci of topics it is intending to address.