Journal profile · Multiple
Science and Public Policy
ISSN 0302-3427 · eISSN 1471-5430 · Oxford University Press
Science and Public Policy: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.81; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,608; 103 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Science and Public Policy is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Innovation Policy and R&D, Regional Development and Policy and University-Industry-Government Innovation Models, together about 27.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Science and Public Policy is a leading international journal on public policies for science, technology and innovation. It covers all types of science and technology in both developed and developing countries. Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 2.8 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 3.5 Public Administration (Rank by Impact Factor) 32/97 Management (Rank by Impact Factor) 228/426 Environmental Studies (Rank by Impact Factor) 115/202 2025 Cited Half-Life 7.5 years 2025 Immediacy Index 0.6 2025 Eigenfactor Score 0.00312 2025 Article Influence Score 0.991 Scopus 2025 CiteScore 5.2 Geography, Planning And Development (Rank by CiteScore) 186/876 Public Administration (Rank by CiteScore) 56/248 Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law (Rank by CiteScore) 146/432 2025 Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 1.301 Readership 2025 Full Text Usage 253,071 About metrics Disclaimer Statements of fact and opinion in the articles in Science and Public Policy are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of the Journal or Oxford University Press. Neither Oxford University Press nor the Journal make any representation, express or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in the Journal and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Readers should make their own evaluation as to the appropriateness or otherwise of the information included.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United Kingdom 7, United States 5, South Korea 3, Mainland China 2, Japan 2 (40 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Innovation Policy and R&DEconomics, Econometrics and Finance12.7%
- Regional Development and PolicySocial Sciences7.8%
- University-Industry-Government Innovation ModelsBusiness, Management and Accounting6.6%
- Innovation and Knowledge ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting6.5%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.5%
- scientometrics and bibliometrics researchDecision Sciences5.4%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5%
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science4.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.81LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.85LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,292OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.56%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 83LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 253,071Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,575 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 74 | 42 | 22 |
| 2025 | 103 | 47 | 159 |
| 2024 | 99 | 52 | 658 |
| 2023 | 92 | 53 | 903 |
| 2022 | 79 | 38 | 1,181 |
| 2021 | 89 | 49 | 2,029 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 4,077 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access, Peer review
- Publication ethics Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) publicationethics.org
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access publishing option available. Model summary
Option to publish under an open-access license, allowing for wider dissemination.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymized peer review process. Model summary
A double-anonymized peer-reviewed journal supported by a rigorous editorial process to ensure it publishes only the highest quality research.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- ISSN
- 0302-3427
- Electronic ISSN
- 1471-5430
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 53, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Science and Public Policy
What CAS zone is Science and Public Policy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Science and Public Policy is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Studies / Management / Public Administration. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Science and Public Policy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.81; CiteScore 5.2, h-index 114.
Where are the editorial board members of Science and Public Policy based?
Of the 40 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (7), United States (5) and South Korea (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Science and Public Policy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Science and Public Policy is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Science and Public Policy open access, and what is the APC?
Science and Public Policy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,608.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .