DLO is a journal focused on the practice of Organizational Development and Learning & Development in organizations. As such, we are keen to hear from you if you are not affiliated to any academic institution and you're looking to share your experiences with peers around the globe. 

If you are undecided about the benefits of publishing, please take a look at the information on ‘How to write for a practitioner journal’.  If you are clear that you are looking for double-blind peer review, we can support you through that process and you will find all the guidance set out under our Author Guidelines.

Alternatively, you may simply want to share something (a viewpoint, a case study, some action-based research) that you have done that has made a difference in your organization.  Please don’t be put off by the more complex requirements for our academic contributors mentioned above.  They won’t apply to your article – the editor and/or members of the Editorial Advisory Board will make the decision.

Below are the key guidelines that do apply for practitioner contributions:

Guidelines for writing an article

1. Your article should be between 1000 and 1500 words long.
2. It is important that the article focuses on an area of development and learning in organizations.
3. Please indicate a one-line heading with a second line providing a development on the main heading. For example, if the text is about a particular approach and it is used in a specific company this could look as follows:
   Developing knowledge workers on the factory floor
   The case of ABB-Alamo
   Alternatively the second line could add a comment to the main heading, for example:
   The manager's role in coaching
   Overcoming barriers to success
4. Get to the detail straight away. You do not need to "introduce" such and such, covering "the following six areas". Let the material speak for itself.
5. Where possible, avoid technical jargon. Many of our readers are in countries where English is the second or third language.
6. Use USA spelling and other conventions e.g. 'organization' not 'organisation'.
7. Use sub headings to break up the text.  Keep paragraphs short and sentences short and uncomplicated.
8. Use bullet-point paragraphs for action points. Kick off each bullet-point with lower case, and separate each bullet-point with a semi-colon.
9. Keep references to a maximum of five - DLO is not meant to be a heavy academic journal.
10. Please ensure that the article does not sound like an advertorial for a company. Blatantly promotional material will not be published.
11. You will need to supply a Structured Abstract which people will be able to read to decide whether they want to download your full article.  It should be no more than 250 words long and include a sentence or two underneath each of the following headings:
    • Purpose 
    • Design/methodology/approach
    • Findings
    • Practical implications
    • Social implications (if applicable)
    • Originality/value
12. Papers are classified in two ways, firstly a Type and you would choose either no 1 if you are reporting on a case study, or any other form of evidenced practice, and no 3 if your article is going to be based on your expertise/expert opinion.
    1. Original Paper
    2. Review Paper
    3. Viewpoint

Secondly, under one of the following Categories.  You should choose no 7:

12. 1. Research paper
    2. Viewpoint
    3. Technical paper
    4. Conceptual paper
    5. Case study
    6. Literature review
    7. Practitioner paper
13. You will need to submit your manuscript via the ScholarOne portal.  It can seem a little daunting or over-complicated on first sight but is logical once you get going.  The editor of DLO is always happy to help if you get stuck.