Competing Interests Policy
Education, Innovation and Social Futures (EISF) is committed to transparency and integrity in scholarly publishing. Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their research, interpretation, peer review, or editorial decision-making.
Definition of Competing Interests
A competing interest may arise when financial, professional, personal, academic, institutional, or other relationships have the potential to influence, or appear to influence, scholarly judgement.
The existence of a competing interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in the editorial process. However, relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.
Author Disclosure
All authors must disclose any competing interests relevant to the submitted work.
Potential competing interests may include:
- employment, consultancy, or advisory relationships;
- research funding, grants, sponsorship, or financial support;
- honoraria, payments, or other financial relationships;
- ownership of shares, patents, or other relevant intellectual property;
- personal or professional relationships that could influence the research;
- institutional affiliations or responsibilities that may create a conflict; and
- other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as affecting impartiality.
Where no relevant competing interests exist, authors should provide a statement indicating that they have no competing interests to declare.
Funding and Sponsorship
Authors should disclose relevant sources of research funding and financial support.
Where applicable, the role of a funder or sponsor in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work for publication should be clearly described.
Reviewer Competing Interests
Reviewers should decline a review or inform the editorial team when a financial, professional, personal, academic, institutional, or other relationship could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality.
Reviewers should not use information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, financial, or competitive advantage.
Editor Competing Interests
Editors must disclose relevant competing interests and should not handle manuscripts where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
Where a conflict exists, editorial responsibility will be transferred to another suitably qualified editor who can manage the manuscript independently.
Editorial Board Submissions
Manuscripts submitted by editors or members of the EISF Editorial Board will not receive preferential treatment.
Such manuscripts will be handled by another editor who has no relevant conflict of interest, and the submitting editor or board member will not participate in the peer-review process or editorial decision concerning the manuscript.
Institutional Relationships
An author, reviewer, or editor sharing an institutional affiliation with another participant in the publication process may constitute a potential conflict depending on the circumstances.
EISF will consider the nature and relevance of such relationships when determining whether additional safeguards or reassignment are necessary.
Undisclosed Competing Interests
If an undisclosed competing interest is identified during review, the journal may request clarification or additional disclosure and may reassign reviewers or editors where necessary.
If a significant undisclosed competing interest is identified after publication, EISF may take appropriate corrective action, including publication of a correction, disclosure statement, expression of concern, or other notice where warranted.
Transparency and Editorial Independence
Disclosure of competing interests enables editors and readers to assess potential influences on scholarly work. Editorial decisions at EISF are based on the quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigour, and integrity of submissions.
