Abstract

The journey made by a journal on its route to international recognition and influence involves a range of different steps, some of which are hesitant and stuttering, and some of which are effortless confident strides. In many ways the development of the concept and the recruitment of fellow academics to support the journal is the easiest part, whilst attracting the very best papers is a long and difficult process. In the September 2008 edition, I described many of the important developments that had taken place and some of the plans for future developments, many of which have now been put in place. The editorial concluded with the comment ‘we look forward to the next steps as the journal continues to grow and take its place amongst the influential international publications’. None of the academics associated with the journal at that time realised that we were only days away from walking into a major crisis, the outcome of which would determine not only those next steps, but also even whether the journal continued to exist. Shortly after the appearance of the September edition we were informed that the publishers, Sherborne Gibbs, were no longer able to continue publication of the journal and that the January 2009 edition would be the last unless a new owner were found. This revelation led to a sustained period of uncertainty that lasted through to March/April 2009 where manuscripts continued to be submitted, referees continued to referee and the editorial office continued to pass down judgement, without any certainty as to whether we would be able to fulfil our editorial obligations. This difficult time culminated in the announcement that publication of the journal was being taken over by SAGE. SAGE was founded in 1965 publishing a single title and has grown in the last 40 years to over 450 titles, 165 of which sit within Scientific, Technical and Medical publishing. This makes SAGE the world’s largest independent academic journals publisher, and the fifth largest academic journals publisher overall. Additionally, as a SAGE journal, Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research will be hosted electronically on SAGE Journals Online, an online platform powered by HighWire Press. The implications of this development are that the content of Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research will be published on the same platform as well-established and influential journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, The British Medical Journal and The Journal of the American Medical Association. All of this indicates that the future has arrived for this journal, and, as so often happens in life, without the influence of any strategy, mission statement or editorial decisions. SAGE is an academic publisher that operates on a global scale, with offices in London, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Singapore and New Delhi, and satellite sales offices across the globe. When you publish in this journal, you can now be certain that the support of an international organisation will be promoting your work. A word for Michael Gibbs of Sherborne Gibbs; although Mike would probably admit that he is only marginally less difficult to deal with than the current Editor in Chief, I think I can speak for both myself and the associate editors in applauding him for his vision and generosity in taking the journal this far. Today, however, is an exciting new beginning with the ownership of the journal passing to SAGE, and I hope you will join us in the exciting journey that the journal continues to follow.

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