GUIDELINE FOR AUTHORS
Evidence-backed insights that help navigate
At HBA Boardroom, we equip ambitious healthcare leaders, executives, and innovators across Africa with evidence-backed insights that help them navigate complexity, lead with confidence, and build resilient systems. To achieve this, we publish the ideas of forward-thinking executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, academics, and practitioners who bring both expertise and vision to the future of healthcare.
We cover a wide range of subjects at the intersection of healthcare and business, including: strategy, leadership, health technology, financing models, public–private partnerships, organizational culture, innovation, regulation, policy, and workforce development. We publish long-form features, magazine essays, commentary pieces, and digital-first web articles, alongside infographics, interviews, and other media that help share ideas effectively.
What We Look for in Submissions
We evaluate submissions according to five criteria:
- Expertise: You don’t have to be a household name, but you must have credible, demonstrated knowledge of the subject you’re writing about.
- Evidence: Insight is not enough; you need to support your ideas with data, case studies, field experience, or research. Anecdotes are welcome if they illustrate a broader point.
- Originality: Fresh thinking is rare, and that’s why readers come to us. If you are writing about a well-explored topic, we expect a new perspective, a counterintuitive angle, or an urgent application to African healthcare.
- Usefulness: Our audience includes executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and senior practitioners. They want ideas they can put into practice immediately. Your article should help leaders solve real problems or see global trends in a way that makes sense for Africa.
Good Writing: Our readers are intelligent, busy, and skeptical. The best articles are clear, persuasive, and a pleasure to read. Open with a hook, state the problem, and deliver insight without jargon.
Across all these dimensions, we strive to publish content that aligns with our organizational commitment to serve a diverse audience of leaders overseeing a diverse array of organizations. We look for pieces that are representative of that audience and their organizations, both in the application of their ideas and in the examples that bring those ideas to life. We strive to ensure that our content avoids stereotypes, bias, and language that diminishes any particular group.
Notes on the Proposal Process
Individual authors and editors work differently, so there is no standard proposal process. Some authors prefer to start with a short pitch to determine whether an idea is a good fit, while others send a more detailed outline or a complete draft. No matter what format you use, your pitch should answer the following questions, though it doesn’t need to be in a Q&A format.
- What is the central message of the article you propose to write?
- What is essential, practical, or counterintuitive about your idea?
- What is new about your idea?
- Why do senior leaders need to know about it? How can your idea be applied today?
- What is the source of your authority? On what previous work (either your own or others’) does this idea build?
- What research and/or examples will you provide to back up your idea?
What academic, professional, or personal experience will you draw on?
For Magazine Articles:
- Purpose: Deep, feature-length pieces that explore big ideas, provide context, and advance thinking about African healthcare and leadership.
- Length: 2,500–4,000 words (4–6 pages in print).
- Style: Analytical yet accessible. Combine data, case studies, and storytelling to make arguments engaging.
- Format: A strong opening, a central thesis, supporting analysis, and a conclusion that highlights implications for leaders.
- Process: Begin with a 400–600-word proposal that outlines your idea, why it matters now, and how you’ll support it. If accepted, you’ll work with an editor to refine an outline before drafting.
For Website Articles
- Purpose: Timely commentary or sharp analysis of emerging issues in healthcare and leadership.
- Length: 1,000–2,000 words.
- Style: Concise, authoritative, and immediately applicable. Focus on one strong idea.
- Format: Clear introduction, focused analysis, and actionable takeaway.
Process: You may submit either a brief pitch (one paragraph) or a complete draft.
We trust that the work you present to us is original. We don’t publish pieces that have appeared elsewhere, that don’t appropriately credit the ideas they present, that come across as promotional of your products or services, or that do not include rigorous citations (though these may not appear in the finished piece). We ask our authors to disclose any financial relationships they have with companies cited in the proposed article. We will ask you to sign a copyright form before publishing your final piece, but authors retain ownership of the underlying ideas in their articles.
Regarding the use of generative AI, we understand that our contributors may want to utilize these tools to brainstorm story ideas or pressure-test their arguments. We believe in the transformative power of AI to change our business and many others, but the legal and ethical guardrails are constantly evolving. We ask our contributors to forthrightly share whether and how they’ve used these tools with their editor and on our copyright form. Critically, humans must always be responsible for the work we create. Our authors are accountable for the accuracy, integrity, sourcing, and originality of their content.
We appreciate your interest in HBA Boardroom.
