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Open Calls for Papers: Accepting abstracts for consideration.

► Quantum Disruption: Building, Managing & Governing the Next Wave of Software

► Corporate Boards: Navigating Decision Making and Priorities in Complex Times

► Innovating for Competitive & Successful Clinical Trials 

► Corporate Sustainability Strategies: Unifying Efforts for Greater Impact

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Quantum Disruption: Building, Managing & Governing the Next Wave of Software

Guest Editors: Mario Piattini and Ricardo Pérez-Castillo
Abstract Deadline: OPEN
Article Deadline: Full articles due January 20, 2025 (upon acceptance of abstract)

As the field of quantum computing advances, the development of quantum software is becoming crucial for organizations aiming to leverage this disruptive technology. Unlike classical software, quantum software introduces unique challenges and opportunities that require new paradigms for development, management, and governance. With applications spanning sectors like finance, healthcare, logistics, and cybersecurity, the effective creation, deployment, and management of quantum software will shape the future of industries and innovation.

An upcoming issue of Amplify, with Guest Editors Mario Piattini and Ricardo Pérez-Castillo, invites contributions that explore both theoretical frameworks and practical implementations of quantum software, focusing on development methodologies, governance structures, and management strategies tailored for quantum computing environments. As the quantum landscape evolves, this issue seeks to offer insights into how organizations can successfully build quantum software systems that are robust, scalable, and aligned with both technical and regulatory standards.

Articles can address, but are not limited to, topics such as:

• What are the latest advancements in quantum and hybrid software design, development, and integration?
• What unique challenges and opportunities in quantum software require new paradigms for development, management, and governance?
• Which governance structures/techniques are key to successful quantum software initiatives?
• What are the latest advancements in testing, debugging, and quality assurance for quantum software?
• How can hybrid software systems be integrated and made interoperable?
• What are the key takeaways from organizations developing quantum software?
• What does the future hold for quantum and hybrid software engineering?
• What project management and collaboration approaches can enhance the effectiveness of quantum software projects?
• Which governance models are most effective for managing quantum software ecosystems?
• How can quantum software drive advancements in AI and strengthen cybersecurity?

FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~300 words or less of proposed article scope and author bios) to Mario Piattini, Ricardo Pérez del Castillo, Christine Generali. Authors will be notified after the evaluation of all abstracts is complete. Final article length is 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics. More editorial guidelines.

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Corporate Boards: Navigating Decision Making and Priorities in Complex Times

Guest Editors: Mirko Benischke
Abstract Deadline: Now accepting abstracts for consideration.
Article Deadline: February 28, 2025 

Corporate boards today face complex and potentially existential challenges as they navigate ongoing societal transitions, geopolitical tensions, and grand global challenges. Despite an abundance of research, opinion pieces, and policy guidance on the role of boards, the question of what constitutes effective board decision-making remains unresolved. Even more contentious is the debate around what “effectiveness” truly means in the board context: Should boards primarily focus on offering strategic counsel and advice, or should they prioritize monitoring and oversight?

These questions take on added urgency in an era increasingly influenced by AI-assisted decision-making, prompting fresh debates about the role of technology in shaping boardroom processes and outcomes.

In an upcoming issue of Amplify with Guest Editor Mirko Benischke, we invite articles exploring the fundamental challenges facing corporate boards, including how priorities should be established, and what strategies will drive continuous improvement in governance and decision-making practices.

Articles can address, but are not limited to, topics such as:

• What are the core characteristics of an effective board, and what should its mandate truly encompass?
• What processes and structures enable boards to operate effectively in complex environments?
• How can AI enhance or reshape board decision-making processes?
• How can boards support executives in balancing increasingly conflicting demands from diverse internal and external stakeholders?
• What strategies can boards adopt to foster ongoing improvement in governance and decision-making practices?

FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~300 words or less of proposed article scope and author(s) bio) to Mirko Benischke and Christine Generali. Authors will be notified after the evaluation of all abstracts is complete. Final article length is 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics. More editorial guidelines.

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Innovating for Competitive & Successful Clinical Trials

Guest Editors: Ulrica Sehlstedt, Ben Enejo, Franziska Thomas
Abstract Deadline: OPEN
Article Deadline: Full articles due February 28

As the number of competing clinical trials increases each year, often targeting the same disease areas and patient pools, the successful completion of these trials and subsequent regulatory submissions is becoming increasingly challenging. Furthermore, with the rapid pace of technological breakthroughs and evolving therapy types, the stakes are higher for many sponsors. Finishing second-in-class often results in a meager return on investment. However, many drug developers are implementing significant cost-cutting measures. Balancing the need to stay innovative and competitive for the future while addressing operational efficiencies for today presents a major dilemma for the industry.

An upcoming issue of Amplify, with Guest Editors Ulrica Sehlstedt, Ben Enejo, and Franziska Thomas will explore innovative strategies and approaches to ensure clinical trial competitiveness and success.

Articles can address, but are not limited to, topics such as:

• What is the future of clinical trials and what criteria are required to “win”?
• How can drug developers cultivate capabilities today to avoid going extinct tomorrow?
• Given the lack of mastery, does the rapid expanse of technological advances offer “real” innovation and competitiveness?
• What measures can be taken by drug developers to reduce unnecessary complexity in clinical trials?
• What innovative approaches can drive true patient centricity in clinical trials and treatments of the future?
• How can the experience of patients, investigators and trial centers be improved to ensure more effective recruitment and treatment of patients?
• What are the risks of leveraging AI to accelerate trial cycles and patient outcomes?
• How should data privacy frameworks be adapted to fit future clinical trial needs while protecting patient confidentiality?
• What innovative strategies can accelerate the registration pathway for new therapies?

FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~300 words or less of proposed article scope and author(s) bio) to Ulrica Sehlstedt, Ben Enejo, Franziska Thomas and Christine Generali. Authors will be notified after the evaluation of all abstracts is complete. Final article length is 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics. More editorial guidelines.

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Corporate Sustainability Strategies: Unifying Efforts for Greater Impact

Guest Editors: Margaret O'Gorman and Frank Werner
Abstract Deadline: October 25
Article Deadline: Full articles due December 20 (upon acceptance of abstract)

The private sector faces a multitude of sustainability concerns, including climate adaptation and resilience, water quality, quantity and stewardship, biodiversity preservation and restoration, circularity, environmental equity, Indigenous rights, STEM education and workforce development. In many companies, these concerns are managed in different departments, siloed with disparate budgets, resources and personnel. Once a year, reporting and disclosures are gathered from these various sustainability efforts, projecting the appearance of a continuum of impact from a suite of disjunctive activities.

Yet, intersections exist between these sustainability concerns that could realize increased efficiencies and synergies and, most importantly, greater impacts. For example: water quality can be improved with nature-based solutions that also create uplift for biodiversity; environmental inequities can be addressed with corporate contributions to climate resilience; and circularity can contribute to decarbonization. Business managers seeking to further develop strategies for procurement and product development find value in understanding the many intersections that exist.

An upcoming issue of Amplify, with Guest Editors Margaret O’Gorman and Frank Werner will curate a selection of articles exploring these intersections to highlight best practices and showcase innovations across the breadth of corporate sustainability.

Articles can address, but are not limited to, topics such as:

• Sustainability solutions that focus on two or more environmental or social issues.
• Development of enabling conditions to build an integrated sustainability program.
• Meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders through sustainability intersections.
• The challenges, both internal and external, of building intersections into sustainability programs.
• Moving beyond materiality by recognizing, measuring and reporting at the intersections.
• Gathering data and disclosing integrated activities.
• The challenge of both Greenhushing and Greenwashing when building an integrated program.

FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~300 words or less of proposed article scope and author(s) bio) to Margaret O'Gorman, Frank Werner and Christine Generali. Authors will be notified after the evaluation of all abstracts is complete. Final article length is 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics. More editorial guidelines.

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Author Editorial Guidelines

These notes are intended to give authors some guidance and direction for articles submitted to Amplify for publication. Additional Amplify editorial guidelines can be found here.

Editorial: Amplify is professionally edited by our team who evaluates articles for content, substance, grammar, and style and provides valuable feedback so that authors can revise and improve their papers before publication. Publishing turnaround times are short. Articles are also peer-reviewed by the Guest Editor who is an expert in the field.

Length: The recommended article length is 2,000-3,500 words, not including graphics. Please do your best to keep your article to this recommended length.

Article Format: Please send your article in word document format for editing purposes. Please do not send it as a PDF.

Editorial process: Once we get your article, we commence two parallel editorial passes: one for content (by the guest editor) and one for substance, grammar, and style (by a Cutter editor). Either or both of these initial editorial reviews may result in some questions or feedback from us. Most likely, we will send you a first draft "page proof" of your article for your review and approval.

Articles published in the journal must meet certain criteria relating to audience, technical content, alignment with issue theme, and presentation. In the unlikely occurrence that, upon editorial review, your completed article does not meet with these requirements, Cutter Consortium reserves the right to decline the publishing of your article in the journal. Upon final acceptance, the article moves to additional copyediting and proofing stages, including layout. You will receive a PDF in layout form for final approval. We ask that this review take no more than 2-3 days.

Audience: Publishing with Arthur D. Little affords the opportunity to present your insights and research to a global audience of corporate executives, top academics, and leaders in the private, public and NGO/IGO sectors highly interested in emerging developments across the spectrum of business and technology. Typical readers of Amplify range from CxOs and other business leaders to technology executives, program leaders, product managers, engineering managers and development executives, along with professors from universities worldwide. Most work in fairly large organizations: Fortune 500 organizations, universities, NGOs/IGOs, and government agencies. Industries span finance and banking, education, energy, entertainment, food, healthcare, insurance, travel/transportation and manufacturing.

Editorial advice: Introductory-level, tutorial coverage of a topic is not very popular with our readership as they are senior-level people. Delete the introductory "fluff" and get to the meat of the topic. Assume you're writing for someone who has been in the industry for 10 to 20 years, is very busy, and very impatient. Assume he or she is mentally asking, while reading your article, "What's the point? What do I do with this information?" Apply the "so what?" test to everything you write.

General comments: We enjoy controversy and strong opinion; we like the fact that we can provide an alternative to standard "refereed" journals that sanitize articles. Because we don't carry any advertising, we can publish critical or negative comments about specific vendors or products. However, we obviously don't want to publish anything libelous or slanderous. Conversely, we don't publish self-serving commercial messages praising one's own product or service.

Style, grammar, and mechanics: For advice on good writing style, we recommend Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, The Chicago Manual of Style, and The Elements of Style (Strunk and White). We are fanatics about the editorial quality of Amplify; anything you can do to help us in this regard will be greatly appreciated.

Graphics: Please keep your use of graphics to a maximum of 4 and submit original, editable files (not static images). Preferably, create your graphics in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and submit them as a separate editable Office file. If this is not possible, send files as high-res PNG, JPEG, PDF, or Adobe Illustrator CC/EPS. All images owned by another party may only be used with owner's permission. It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission. Copying images off the Internet without permission infringes on copyright and is unacceptable for publication. All graphics (figures and tables) must include captions and a reference within the text; for example: “(see Figure 1)” or “Figure 1 illustrates….” Please note that we may remove graphics deemed unnecessary. Please be minimalistic in your design: limit colors, shadings, and typefaces. For additional questions, please contact Linda Dias (dias.linda@adlittle.com).

Deadlines: Timely submission is crucial to meet our publishing deadline. If you anticipate delays, please inform us promptly so we can make necessary adjustments. Late submissions may not be included in the issue.

Biographical sketch: At the end of each Amplify article, we like to include a brief (200 words or less) biographical sketch of each author along with email address of author(s). Click here for a sample. We also like to provide a color headshot. Please include a high-res color headshot (at least 300x300 pixels) of each author. We accept formal or casual photos that present authors in a professional manner. For samples, see our "Meet the Cutter Experts" section.

Copyrights: When you submit an article to us, you transfer copyright to Arthur D. Little and you warrant that you (or your employer) are the sole owner of the article, that it has not been previously published elsewhere, and that you have full power and authority to grant copyright to Arthur D. Little. You also warrant that it does not infringe on any copyright, violate any property rights, or contain scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter.

Sourcing Content: Please limit to 20 if possible, prioritizing original thought. When you do draw on the work of other authors and researchers, cite your sources accordingly in the relevant part of the text (using endnote numbers or hyperlinks). Given that Arthur D. Little has no relationships with vendors, we cannot permit the use of references, quotes, statistics, and figures from analyst/research firms with vendor ties (Gartner, MetaGroup, Yankee Group, Forrester, IDC, McKinsey, among others), as the data may be biased. If you feel information from one of these sources is critical to your article, please bring it to our attention early in the editorial process and we will be happy to discuss the issue. Keep in mind that if your article uses too many sources, it is often an indicator that your piece summarizes research too heavily and lacks original thought. Remember our readers are interested in your insights; above all, speak in an expert voice.

Promotion: Once the issue is published, we will provide you with a PDF of your individual article to share with your colleagues or to post on your website, social networks, academic research bases, etc. We will also provide you with a link to the entire issue to share with your contacts, post on your website, blog, social networks, etc. We ask that once the issue is published, that you do not post the entire issue PDF on any websites or social media sites unless given express permission.

Author Compensation: We are pleased to offer Amplify authors a complimentary online subscription to Amplify upon signing an author agreement. In addition, we occasionally pull excerpts, along with the author's bio, to include in weekly email Advisors to clients and in our bi-monthly Amplify Spotlight email newsletter, which reaches another 8,000 readers, and we publish excerpts on the Cutter LinkedIn feeds. 

Endnotes/References: When you draw on the work of other authors and researchers, please cite your sources. All sources/side commentary must be noted in relevant part of text (using endnote numbers) and listed in sequential order (i.e., order of appearance, not alphabetical order) at end of article in "References." All sources should include basic publishing information (i.e., author(s) name(s), complete title, publisher, date, and hyperlink and/or URL). Sources can be repeated but must be listed as a new endnote. The following are examples of various types of endnotes:

¹DeMarco, Tom, and Timothy Lister. Waltzing with Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects. Dorset House, 2003.

²In this survey, “innovation” refers to any new initiatives to introduce innovative, leading-edge, or unconventional software project development methods, processes, tools, or techniques.

³Hall, Curt. “AI & Machine Learning in the Enterprise, Part XI: Success of AI Application Development Efforts.” Cutter Consortium Data Analytics & Digital Technologies, Executive Update, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2019.

⁴DeMarco and Lister (see 1).

⁵"About the Sustainability Practice." Cutter Consortium, accessed January 2021 .

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Guest Editor Guidelines

Amplify is a monthly publication, published 12x/year. The typical timeframe from issuing the Call for Papers to publication is approximately four months. 

The following is a list of guidelines and expectations of Amplify Guest Editors:

1. Collaborate on Issue Topic. Work with the Publisher to define and frame the theme of the issue.


2. Draft the Call for Papers. Create a draft of the Call for Papers (CFP) to solicit articles. The Publisher will review, edit, post the CFP on their website, and promote it via social media channels and internal networks.
    
3. Help Promote the Call for Papers. Help extend the CFP’s reach by identifying qualified authors through your professional network, inviting authors to contribute, sharing the CFP on your LinkedIn page or resharing related posts with your connections.
    
4. Select abstracts. Collaborate with the Publisher to review and select submitted abstracts for inclusion in the issue. Each issue includes 5-7 articles.
    
5. Review and Provide Feedback on Articles. Evaluate final submitted articles, in a timely manner, to ensure business value and alignment with the issue's theme. Provide constructive feedback to authors as necessary.
    
6. Write the Opening Statement. Prepare an approximately 1,500-word Opening Statement (OS) for the issue. The OS should restate and elaborate on the issue’s theme, offer additional insights into the topic, briefly introduce each article in the order they appear in the issue. Use final versions of all articles as reference material when crafting the OS.
    
7. Guest Editor Availability Throughout the Process. Please remain accessible to address any questions from the Publisher during the process. If you anticipate being unavailable for an extended period, kindly provide advance notice to ensure smooth communication and workflow. Adherence to the established process and deadlines is essential for ensuring that the publication schedule is met and that the high standards valued by our audience are maintained.

 

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Editorial Calendar 2025

Publishing Month	Topic	Guest Editor
January	Corporate Sustainability Strategies: Unifying Efforts for Greater Impact	Margaret O'Gorman and Frank Werner
February	Quantum Software: Development, Management, Governance	Mario Piattini and Ricardo Pérez-Castillo
March	Innovating for Competitive and Successful Clinical Trials	Ulrica Sehlsted, Franziska Thomas, Ben Enejo
April	Corporate Board Decision Making	Mirko Benischke
May	Supply Chain Regeneration	Oana Branzei
June	TBD
July	TBD
August	TBD
September	TBD
October	TBD
November	TBD
December	TBD

Editorial Calendar 2024

Publishing Month	Topic	Guest Editor
January	Embedding Character Leadership Into Organizational DNA	Dusya Vera and Ana Ruiz Pardo
February	Beyond Orbiting: Toward a Sustainable Space Economy	Matteo Ainardi and Guillaume Storck
March	Sustainable Urban Mobility	Ani Melkonyan-Gottschalk
April	The Future of Corporate Responsibility	Cynthia Clark
May	Maximizing Business Value with Analytics	Denis Dennehy
June	Analytics: The Catalyst for Economic Value & Innovation	Denis Dennehy
July	Cultivating Resilience: Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture	Athula Ginige
August	Scaffolding Purpose: An Infrastructure for Humanity	Oana Branzei and Dusya Vera
September	Scaffolding Purpose in Times of Polycrisis	Oana Branzei and Dusya Vera
October	The Twin Transition: Digital Innovation and Climate Action	Lukas Falcke
November	Charting a Sustainable Future with Digital-First Solutions	Lukas Falcke
December	Vision 2030: Toward Purposeful Leadership & Digital Era Stewardship	Noah Barsky