Editorial Guidelines for Guest Contributors

Public CIO is a peer publication representing the community of public sector CIOs. While most of our articles are written by professional journalists, we also rely on contributions from subject matter experts and government officials. These articles fall into three categories:

1. Subject matter expert feature
2. Leadership essay
3. Commentary

Subject matter expert features are the most common type of contributed article and are written by government officials, consultants, academics, industry analysts and experts who have a specific knowledge about a subject matter. The contributor is a recognized expert in their field of work and has either published or presented on the topic of their feature, or has worked for a government agency. These articles explain the "what" and "how" of the subject matter, with an emphasis on expert advice that will help CIOs and their peers do a better job. These features typically run 1500-2500 words.

Leadership essays are primarily written by CIOs and other c-level executives in the public sector and provide a personal view on an issue. These essays often rely on the writer's own experience in a leadership position within government and convey the lessons they learned while working in the public sector. These essays typically run 1000-2000 words.

Commentary articles are short opinion pieces written by either a subject matter expert or a government official. The article must take a stand on a specific issue that is relevant to the public sector CIO community. These articles typically run 600-800 words.

Specific Guidelines:

• All article ideas must be submitted as a proposal (1-2 paragraphs) stating what the article is about and why it's important to the public sector CIO community. The author must be identified and accompanied by a brief bio. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be accepted.
• All proposals will receive a response from the editor within 1-2 weeks. All articles accepted for publication in the magazine can take up to 8 weeks to appear in print.
• All articles must be an original, unpublished work. Articles that have been previously published in another magazine, journal or as a white paper will not be accepted.
• Articles must be written for a general audience. Technical jargon is frowned upon and will be edited (except in particular circumstances).
• Any attempt to promote a specific product or service provided by a vendor will be edited from the article or will be grounds for refusing publication of the article. However, contributors are welcome to discuss their government customers as a way to illustrate a point in the article.
• Contributors are encouraged to include material for sidebars (such as case studies) or data for tables and graphs.
• It is the contributor's responsibility to make sure all facts are accurate and all names of persons, agencies and organizations mentioned in the article are spelled correctly.
• All contributors will have their biography and photograph published on the contributors' page in the magazine.
• All print articles will also appear on the Public CIO Website at the time of publication (www.public-cio.com).
• Contributors will receive a small number of complimentary copies of the magazine with their article. Article reprints are also available for a fee.

For further information, contact:

Tod Newcombe
Editor
Public CIO
413-567-2408
tnewcombe@govtech.com