Journal of Community Applied Research - Global Journal seeking Global People

We are building the editorial team of a fee-free, open-access research journal. Three roles are open. All are voluntary and remote. The roles at a glance Peer Reviewer. Ongoing intake. Two to three reviews a year, four to six hours each. No prior reviewing experience needed.

Editorial Advisory Board

Member. Six positions. Two video meetings a year, in June and December. Around two to three hours a month averaged across the year. Three-year term.

Associate

Editor. Three positions. Monthly video meeting with the Editor-in-Chief. Around three to five hours a month. Three-year term. A working editorial role. About the journal JCAR publishes independent, peer-reviewed research at the intersection of society, ethics and business.

We cover corporate governance, regulatory policy, human rights, ethics, community wellbeing, social policy and applied social science. Research affecting governance, corporate accountability and social equity too often stays locked away from the communities the research concerns. We publish work anyone reads for free, written by people who otherwise get no hearing.

Volume 1 published six papers in 2025. Every paper carries a DOI, appears under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, and is indexed in Google Scholar. All submissions run through double-blind peer review.

Peer Reviewer (ongoing intake)

You review two to three manuscripts a year, matched to your expertise. Reviews run double-blind, so you and the author stay anonymous to each other. We ask for a structured report within three weeks of accepting an assignment.

You assess methodology, evidence, sourcing and the strength of the argument. Copy editing is not your job. We welcome academic researchers,



practitioners and community-based researchers. Public sector officers, lawyers, auditors, health professionals, evaluators and community workers bring judgement academic reviewers lack, and the reverse holds too.

We provide a review template and guidance.

Editorial Advisory Board

Member (Closes 31 August)

You advise on direction, scope, thematic coverage and special issues. You promote the journal within your networks. You attend two video meetings a year. You review papers occasionally where your expertise fits, and no conflict exists.

Associate

Editor (Closes 31 August)

You shepherd assigned papers through peer review. You select and invite reviewers, weigh their reports, and recommend acceptance, revision or rejection to the Editor-in-Chief. You recruit reviewers into the pool and keep manuscripts moving. Who we want on the board

We appoint on expertise, alignment with the journal's mission, and diversity of geography, sector, discipline, gender, orientation and cultural background. Our Charter commits us to a board reaching beyond Australia and beyond universities, spanning government, non-government organisations, the private sector and community organisations. We particularly want to hear from researchers and practitioners based outside Australia, from First Nations researchers (around the globe),



and from people working in community organisations rather than universities.

The full Editorial Board Charter, covering appointment, conflicts of interest, meetings and removal, sits at https://jcarjournal.org/policies/editorial-board.html Why are these roles volunteer?

JCAR charges authors nothing to publish. Article processing charges at commercial open access journals run from several hundred to several thousand dollars a paper. A community organisation, an independent researcher or a small NGO rarely holds a grant covering this.

Their work goes unpublished, or lands in a journal charging readers for access, which locks out the same communities the research describes. Remove the author fee, and you remove the revenue. JCAR therefore runs on volunteered expertise and a publisher who absorbs the operating costs.

This matches wider practice. Peer reviewers work unpaid across nearly all scholarly publishing, including at commercial publishers reporting substantial margins. The difference at JCAR is where your unpaid work goes.

What you receive

Named acknowledgement on the journal website and in published issues, with your affiliation, if you consent. Written confirmation of service for your career development record. Reviewing and editorial work counts toward continuing professional development under most professional body schemes, so check your own body's rules. How to apply

Email [email protected]. Name the role you want. Attach your CV or a link to your professional profile, a short statement of interest, and your ORCID identifier if you hold one.

Applications for editorial advisory board positions and associate editors close 31 August 2026.

Peer Reviewer applications stay open continuously.

📌 Join the Founding Editorial Team from anywhere/Peer Reviewers/Associate Editors/Editorial Advisory Board (Sydney)
🏢 Journal of Community Applied Research
📍 Sydney