The twenty-second meeting of the Editorial Board of the scientific–research Journal of Program and Development Studies was held on Monday, September 22, 2025, with the presence of Dr. Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht, Editor-in-Chief of the journal; Dr. Seyed Mehdi Pakzat, Managing Director of the journal and Head of the Center for Development and Foresight Research; Dr. Samad Nejad-Ebrahimi, Director General of the Office of Policy-Making and Research Planning at the Ministry of Science; and the esteemed members of the Editorial Board, both in-person and virtually, at the Center.
At the beginning of the session, Dr. Nejad-Ebrahimi expressed appreciation for the efforts made, describing the recent growth and achievements of the journal as a turning point in strengthening its scientific standing. While affirming the favorable conditions of the journal for obtaining “A” status in the Ministry of Science’s evaluations, he emphasized that the long-term vision of the journal should extend beyond national borders, aiming for inclusion in prestigious international indexing databases such as Scopus and alignment with international standards of scholarly publishing. He also highlighted the thematic breadth of the journal and its relevance to future scientific and research trends in the country and the world, considering it well-positioned to meet international benchmarks. Furthermore, he announced the Ministry of Science’s readiness to cooperate with the journal and provide guidance along this path.
In the second and concluding part of the meeting, the esteemed Editorial Board members carefully reviewed the articles submitted to the journal, offering their comments, suggestions, and revisions. This constructive and scholarly exchange created an opportunity to enhance the quality of the received manuscripts. Finally, after discussions and consolidation of opinions, the selected articles were approved for publication in the upcoming issue of the journal.