Special Topic Calls

There are currently no special-topic calls for peer-reviewed papers. However, there is an ongoing open call for Value Chain Coordination Briefs. See below.

The Value Chain Coordination Editorial Circle Announces Two Calls for Value Chain Coordination Briefs

VCC CALL #1. OPEN CALL for a Broad Range of VCC Program, Policy, and Practice Briefs

JAFSCD’s Value Chain Coordination Editorial Circle (VCC EC) invites submissions to its ongoing series of Program, Policy, and Practice Briefs. This peer-reviewed series of 2-page briefs distills well-established policies, programs, and practices in local and regional food systems into concise, high-impact publications designed to inform and inspire practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and advocates working across the food system.

The VCC EC broadly defines value chain coordination as the development of networks, information channels, and partnerships that support thriving and sustainable regional food economies. Briefs in this series synthesize current best-known practices in VCC, with an emphasis on approaches that have demonstrated endurance over time or have been formally evaluated to demonstrate their effectiveness.

The 600-word submissions should offer broadly applicable lessons and may address any dimension of value chain coordination work, including but not limited to:

  • Financing and economics: Funding models, cost structures, and economic analyses of coordination infrastructure and enterprise development
  • Evaluation and learning: Measuring economic and non-economic impacts; building an evidence base for funders and policymakers
  • Coordination and governance: Cooperative structures, legal forms, and decision-making models for collaborative food enterprises
  • Strategic and business planning: Enterprise development, succession planning, and organizational sustainability
  • Scaling strategies: Expanding market reach and coordination capacity without compromising values
  • Distribution and logistics: Transportation, warehousing, and supply chain infrastructure in regional food systems
  • Market matchmaking: Connecting producers and buyers across diverse market contexts and geographies
  • Branding, marketing, and quality control: Labeling, differentiation, quality assurance, and identity-based marketing for values-aligned products
  • Institutional procurement: Engaging anchor institutions as stable markets; contract design and procurement policy levers
  • Information technology: Digital tools, data infrastructure, and barriers to adoption for smaller enterprises
  • Trust and transparency: Relationship-building, information-sharing, and accountability practices that sustain coordination over time
  • Regulatory compliance: Navigating food safety, licensing, and legal requirements across the supply chain
  • Economic opportunity and market access: Strategies for expanding market participation among small, beginning, and underserved producers and communities
  • Labor in the food supply chain: Workforce development, worker-centered enterprise models, and labor advocacy
  • Risk and resilience: Managing climate, market, and operational risk at the enterprise and system level
  • Policy and advocacy: Governance, political engagement, and policy design in support of values-based food systems

VCC CALL #2. SPECIAL TOPIC CALL: Institutional Food Procurement

Hospitals, schools, universities, and other anchor institutions spend billions on food each year, yet purchasing largely defaults to national supply chains — bypassing the regional farms, food hubs, and cooperatives best positioned to deliver on institutional values. Closing this gap requires coordination infrastructure that connects aligned producers and buyers operating under procurement rules designed for other purposes.

The VCC Brief Series is actively soliciting submissions on this theme, including segment-specific coordination (K–12, healthcare, higher education), contract and RFP design, policy as coordination driver, and measuring values-based outcomes.

GENERAL DETAILS ON BRIEFS

Briefs should be grounded in well-documented programs, policies, or practices, including post-mortem analyses of initiatives that were restructured or discontinued. Co-authors are encouraged to collaborate across practitioner, researcher, and policy roles.

Program, Policy and Practice briefs are peer-reviewed and follow a concise format (approximately 600-word narrative, plus references and resource links). See the JAFSCD Briefs guidelines for guidance.

VCC Briefs require presubmission evaluation and invitation. To submit a query form and share your draft, CLICK HERE. Associate Editor Anaya Hall will follow up with you within two weeks with a decision on whether you are invited to submit your brief for peer review.

For more information about the VCC Editorial Circle or the VCC briefs series, contact JAFSCD's VCC Associate Editor Dr. Anaya Hall.