Contribute

A useful State & Local contribution explains a business question through the conditions of a place. We are interested in the connections between public decisions and commercial activity, the practical consequences of changing technology, and the organisations that make regional economies work.

Bring an argument, not only a subject

A proposal should identify what the reader will understand differently after reading it. “Infrastructure” is a subject; an explanation of why a documented local project is delayed offers a question that can be investigated. A narrow, well-supported case can be more revealing than a broad prediction about an entire industry.

Relevant areas include local enterprise, public finance, infrastructure, technology, workforce and trade. First-hand professional knowledge is welcome when its limits and interests are disclosed. A case study should offer insight beyond promoting the organisation involved.

Prepare a concise proposal

• A working headline and a short account of the central question or argument.
• The place, organisations and period covered, and why the topic matters now.
• The documents, data, interviews or direct experience that could support the piece.
• A brief biography and links to relevant previous work, if available.
• Your preferred language, proposed format and any genuine deadline.
• Relevant interests, prior publication and whether the proposal is being considered elsewhere.

Use Contact Desk for the available contact route and identify the message as a contribution proposal. Begin with the outline rather than an unsolicited finished manuscript or large attachments. Do not include material you are not entitled to share.

What a draft needs

Write in direct language, explain specialised terms and link factual claims to their evidence. Identify which statements come from an organisation, which are independently established and which are your analysis. Examples constructed to explain a mechanism must be labelled as hypothetical; they must not acquire invented customers, interviews or results.

For research and numerical comparisons, supply the relevant date, scope and definitions. Explain material limitations. A clear account of what a dataset cannot tell us is preferable to an impressive but unsupported conclusion. Read our Newsroom Principles before proposing work.

Originality and disclosure

Contributions must offer original work with appropriate attribution. Disclose relevant employment, investments, client relationships, funding and assistance with the work. Identify substantial use of automated tools in research, drafting, translation, analysis or image creation. Their involvement does not remove the responsibility to check sources and statements.

Provide the origin and publication permissions for any proposed images, charts or other third-party material. A source link is not permission to reproduce a work. Promotional copy, undisclosed commercial placement and submissions whose main purpose is to obtain links are not suitable editorial contributions. Company announcements should be identified separately rather than presented as independent analysis.

Review and publication

A proposal is not a commission, and acceptance of an outline does not guarantee publication of a draft. Scope, length, rights and any payment need to be agreed before commissioned work begins. Do not assume that unsolicited material carries a fee or a promised publication date.

Review may involve requests for evidence, a clearer structure or revisions to the argument. Headlines, presentation and timing remain editorial decisions. English and Russian versions must preserve factual meaning, and published contributions remain subject to correction. We cannot promise a personal response to every proposal; silence should not be treated as acceptance or an exclusivity agreement.