About the Journal

AIMS AND SCOPE

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) African Journal of Infrastructure Development (DAJID) aims to serve as a preeminent platform for scholarly discourse, presenting cutting-edge research and analytical insights into the complexities of infrastructure development in the African context. It aspires to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue that spans economics, urban planning, engineering, environmental science, finance, and public policy.

DAJID publication is dedicated to examining the multifaceted nature of infrastructure projects, from conceptualization to implementation, including the evaluation of economic impacts, the exploration of innovative financing mechanisms, and the assessment of sustainability and governance practices. It seeks to discuss and expand the challenges and opportunities inherent in developing resilient infrastructure that can withstand socio-economic and environmental pressures while propelling inclusive growth and regional integration. The journal's scope encompasses both macro and micro perspectives, inviting contributions that analyze national frameworks, regional cooperation models, and case studies of specific infrastructure projects. By providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among academics, practitioners, policymakers, and international development agencies, the journal endeavours to influence the discourse on infrastructure development policies and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals in the African continent. With a commitment to rigour and relevance, the DBSA African Journal of Infrastructure Development strives to impact not only the academic community but also practical applications in the field. It encourages submissions that employ diverse methodologies, from quantitative studies and policy analyses to qualitative research and comparative reviews, all aimed at enriching understanding and guiding effective action in Africa's infrastructure sector.

 

EDITORIAL POLICY AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Overview

As part of the process of ensuring quality, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) African Journal of Infrastructure Development (DAJID) Editors subscribe to the open-access publishing code of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).

Only papers with a clear focus on construction project management and innovations with relevance to the built environment are and will be published in the journal.

The DAJID is an open-access journal that publishes research and scholarly work on the complexities of infrastructure development in the African context. It aspires to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue that spans economics, urban planning, engineering, environmental science, finance, and public policy. This scholarly publication is dedicated to examining the multifaceted nature of infrastructure projects, from conceptualisation to implementation, including the evaluation of economic impacts, the exploration of innovative financing mechanisms, and the assessment of sustainability and governance practices. It seeks to discuss and expand the challenges and opportunities inherent in developing resilient infrastructure that can withstand socio-economic and environmental pressures while propelling inclusive growth, regional integration, and emerging infrastructure issues in developing countries, as well as other issues. The goal of the DAJID is to broaden the knowledge of professionals and academicians by promoting free access and providing valuable insight into infrastructure-related information, research, and ideas.

The journal strives to ensure diversity in its publication by ensuring papers from different countries are represented in each issue and volume published. Authors are encouraged to submit scholarly articles, review articles, practical library work, short communications, book reviews or letters to the editor. Items that have been published elsewhere should be submitted only with permission of the original publisher, and this should be clearly indicated and the improvement to such publication annotated for ease of reference.

Mission

The mission of the peer review process is to achieve excellence and rigour in scholarly publications and research.

Vision

Our vision is to give voice to professionals in the subject area who contribute unique and diverse scholarly perspectives to the field.

Values

The journal values diverse perspectives from the field and reviewers who provide critical, constructive, and respectful feedback to authors. Reviewers come from a variety of organisations, careers, and backgrounds from around the world.

Editing Procedure (Peer Review Policy)

All submitted manuscripts are reviewed by an editor and members of the Editorial Board or at least two qualified outside reviewers. Authors cannot nominate reviewers. Only reviewers selected from the journal’s database with specialisation in the subject area will be contacted to evaluate the manuscripts. The review process will be double-blind review. The feedback from reviewers is checked and reviewed by the journal editor assigned to the manuscript to ensure quality and relevance of the review comments, while all final review communications are sent to the authors by the Editor-in-Chief.
In submitting a revised manuscript, authors are mandated to submit a report detailing how they have responded to the reviewers’ comments. The journal editor checks to ensure that all recommended changes for the improvement of the article have been substantively attended to before initiating a follow-up blind reviewer process. After the peer reviewers have read and evaluated the manuscript, one of the following three recommendations for publication is made:

  • Accept the manuscript for publication with minor revisions.
  • Accept the manuscript for publication with major revisions.
  • Reject the manuscript for publication.

After the editor receives the peer reviewers’ recommendations, they are forwarded to the author, who will then perform the necessary revisions and submit a new draft within a time frame determined by the editor. The editor then reviews the final draft to determine whether the manuscript is ready for publication, or if it requires further peer review. Once a manuscript is ready for publication, it is forwarded to the copy editor who will review the manuscript to correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and to ensure that the text adheres to DAJID’s formatting and style guidelines. Once the copy editor’s work is done, the managing editor performs a final review of the manuscript and publishes it. It is the goal of the DAJID to publish manuscripts within the shortest possible time after submission.

By submitting a manuscript to DAJID, authors agree that journal editors have the right to check their manuscript via iThenticate. However, it is the responsibility of authors to check their papers for any plagiarism issue before submitting to the journal. But, all submitted papers are by default checked for plagiarism using iThenticate on the OJS platform. Should the editors detect potential plagiarism issues, the paper will be temporarily suspended and sent back to the authors.

 

DAJID ETHICS STATEMENT

The DBSA: African Journal of Infrastructure Development (DAJID) is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics in the publication of scholarly research. This Ethics Statement outlines the principles and standards that guide the conduct and decision-making of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher to ensure the reliability, reproducibility, and fairness of DAJID’s scholarly record.

General Principles

  • Integrity: All parties involved in the act of publishing (the publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors) must act with integrity and in the spirit of scholarly rigour.
  • Transparency: Decisions on manuscript submissions are based solely on the work’s intellectual merit and its contribution to the broad field of infrastructure development.
  • Accountability: All participants in the publishing process are accountable for their roles and must be willing to justify their actions.

Authors' Responsibilities

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their submitted work is original and has not been published previously in any form. Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is strictly prohibited. Proper citations and references to prior work must be provided.
  • Authorship: All individuals who have made substantial contributions to the research must be listed as authors, and those who have participated in a minor way should be acknowledged appropriately. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.
  • Data Integrity: Authors must present accurate and reliable research findings. Data manipulation, fabrication, and falsification are unacceptable practices. Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such, if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
  • Multiple Publications: An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
  • Acknowledgment of Funding Sources: The sources of funding for the research reported in the article should be duly acknowledged at the end of the article.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
  • Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Generative AI usage and key principles

  • Copywriting any part of an article using a generative AI tool/Large Language Model (LLM) would not be permissible, including the generation of the abstract or the literature review, for as per DAJID’s authorship criteria, the author(s) must be responsible for the work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity, and validity.
  • The generation or reporting of results using a generative AI tool/LLM is not permissible, for as per DAJID’s authorship criteria, the author(s) must be responsible for the creation and interpretation of their work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity, and validity.
  • The in-text reporting of statistics using a generative AI tool/LLM is not permissible due to concerns over the authenticity, integrity, and validity of the data produced, although the use of such a tool to aid in the analysis of the work would be permissible.
  • Copy-editing an article using a generative AI tool/LLM in order to improve its language and readability would be permissible, as this mirrors standard tools already employed to improve spelling and grammar, and uses existing author-created material, rather than generating wholly new content, while the author(s) remains responsible for the original work.
  • The submission and publication of images created by AI tools or large-scale generative models is not permitted.
  • If your article involves human participants, you must ensure you have considered whether or not you require ethical approval for your research, and include this information as part of your submission. Find out more about informed consent.

Editorial Responsibilities

  • Fair Review Process: The journal is committed to providing a fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process. Editors and reviewers should evaluate manuscripts based on their scholarly merits, without any bias related to the authors' identity, affiliation, or other characteristics.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Editors and reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could affect their judgment during the review process. They should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in cases where such conflicts exist.
  • Confidentiality: The editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
  • Decision on the Publication of Articles: The Editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The Editor may be guided by the policies of the journal and subjected to such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communication with authors, may assist authors in improving their manuscripts.
  • Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
  • Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
  • Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, and observations should be formulated clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author.
  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. The content and findings of the manuscript should not be shared or discussed with others except with the journal's editorial team.
  • Timeliness and Constructive Feedback: Reviewers should provide timely and constructive feedback to authors. Personal criticism or any form of disrespectful language is unacceptable.
  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

This statement applies to all individuals involved in the editorial process, including but not limited to Editors-in-Chief, Deputy Editors, Editorial Board Members, Reviewers, and Authors.

Editorial Contributions

  • Editors-in-Chief: The Editors-in-Chief of DAJID hold the right to publish their scholarly work in the journal, provided that the subject matter is strictly within the scope of the built environment. To preserve the integrity of the peer-review process, any submission by an Editor-in-Chief will undergo a rigorous review process overseen by a designated Deputy Editor. The Editor-in-Chief will have no involvement in the decision-making process concerning their manuscript to ensure an unbiased and fair review.
  • Deputy Editors: Similarly, Deputy Editors may contribute scholarly articles to DAJID on an occasional basis. Such submissions must align with the thematic focus of the journal and will be subjected to a stringent review process, coordinated and managed by an appointed Editor-in-Chief who is not in any way affiliated with the research in question. This approach guarantees that the evaluation of the manuscript is impartial and the publication decision is made without any conflict of interest.

Review Process

For both Editors-in-Chief and Deputy Editors, the following protocols will be observed:

  • Blind Review: Manuscripts will be reviewed blindly in accordance with DAJID’s standard review protocols.
  • Decision Authority: The final publication decision will be made by the managing editor (either a Deputy Editor or Editor-in-Chief) who is not the author of the manuscript, based on the reviewers' recommendations and in consultation with the Editorial Board as necessary.
  • Disclosure: To maintain transparency, any articles authored by Editors-in-Chief or Deputy Editors that are published in DAJID will include a statement disclosing the position of the author(s) within the journal’s editorial hierarchy.

Managing Conflicts of Interest

  • Declaration: All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission that could be perceived to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
  • Recusal: Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling or reviewing any manuscript where there is a potential conflict of interest, including but not limited to close personal or professional relationships with the authors, or a direct involvement in the work submitted.
  • Transparency: DAJID is committed to transparency in its conflict of interest policy. Any exceptions, deviations, or potential conflicts will be clearly disclosed to the readers, authors, and reviewers.

Monitoring and Compliance

DAJID will monitor compliance with this Conflict of Interest Statement and address any deviations from the policy as matters of ethical concern. Any allegations of policy violations will be investigated thoroughly and resolved in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.

 

ERRATA AND CORRECTIONS POLICY

The integrity of the content published in the DBSA: African Journal of Infrastructure Development (DAJID) is paramount, and as such, the journal maintains a stringent editorial review process to ensure accuracy and clarity in all published materials. The following policy outlines the procedures for handling corrections post-publication.

Review and Proofreading Process

Upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication, the corresponding author will receive electronic page proofs for review. These proofs must be scrutinised by the author(s) to confirm that the typeset version corresponds with the accepted manuscript, both textually and graphically.

  • Electronic Proofs: Proofs will be provided as a PDF file via email and should be returned with corrections within the timeframe specified by the journal.
  • Final Version: The page proofs are to be considered the final version of the manuscript. Authors are expected to carefully examine their proofs for typographical, grammatical, or factual errors.
  • Author Corrections: Authors are responsible for returning corrections and answering any queries within the stipulated deadline. It is understood that only minimal changes will be accepted at this stage, primarily typographical or minor clerical errors.

Post-Publication Corrections

  • Notification of Errors: In the event that an author discovers an error in the published article, the author must promptly notify the Journal Manager.
  • Assessment of Impact: The Journal Manager, in consultation with the editorial team, will assess the nature and impact of the error. The criterion for correction is the potential impact on the reader's understanding or the scholarly record.
  • Types of Corrections:
    • Errata: For minor errors that do not affect the article's understanding, an erratum will be issued. An erratum refers to a correction of errors introduced to the article by the publisher.
    • Corrigenda: For author-introduced errors of significance, a corrigendum will be published. A corrigendum refers to a correction of errors identified by the author(s) after the article's publication.
  • Process for Corrections: Corrections will be made in accordance with the following process:
    • A new corrected version of the article will be published online.
    • The correction will be linked to the original article.
    • The original version of the article will retain the error, alongside a notice indicating that a correction has been published.
    • The correction notice will detail the change(s) made and the date on which the correction was added.

Responsibilities

  • Authors: Must ensure that any and all errors noted post-publication are communicated to the DAJID promptly.
  • Journal Staff: Will handle reported errors with due diligence, maintaining transparency and integrity in correcting the scholarly record.

 

PUBLICATION ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE POLICY

Post-Publication Discussions

Open Dialogue: DAJID provides options for post-publication discussions, corrections, and retractions. If errors are identified in published articles, the journal will work with authors to issue corrections or retractions as necessary. Readers are encouraged to engage in constructive discussions through comments and letters to the editor.

Handling of Misconduct

  • Plagiarism and Fabrication: If instances of plagiarism, data fabrication, or falsification are detected, the manuscript will be rejected or retracted. Authors found guilty of such misconduct may be barred from submitting to the journal in the future.
  • Authorship Disputes: Any disputes related to authorship should be resolved among the involved parties. The journal will follow COPE's guidance (https://publicationethics.org/authorship) for handling such cases.
  • Corrections and Retractions: If errors or inaccuracies are identified in published work, the journal will consider issuing corrections, errata, or retractions based on COPE's guidance.

Reporting and Investigation

Allegations of Misconduct: The journal will handle allegations of misconduct in accordance with COPE's guidelines. An investigation will be initiated to assess the validity of the claims, involving relevant parties.

 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
See guidelines:

https://ojs.sabinet.co.za/index.php/ajid/about/submissions

AFFILIATION

DAJID is an institutional journal, and editors are accountable to the Development Bank of Southern Africa. DAJID is published bi-annually (twice per year) by the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

DAJID is an open-access journal, and pdf versions of all papers are available on the journal website: