Policies on Conflict

Conflict of Interest Policy

Disclosure and management of relationships that may influence scholarly judgment

Jurnal Pengabdian dan Pengembangan Masyarakat Indonesia (JPPMI) requires authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members to disclose relationships or interests that could influence—or reasonably appear to influence—their professional judgment.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily constitute misconduct or prevent publication. Transparent disclosure allows editors and readers to evaluate the potential influence and enables the journal to manage the conflict appropriately.

General Principle

When uncertain whether an interest should be disclosed, authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose it. The editor will determine whether and how the interest should be managed.

1. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Category Examples
Financial Employment, consultancy, honoraria, grants, business ownership, shares, patents, royalties, or paid services
Institutional Institutional relationships, administrative authority, organizational competition, or institutional benefit
Academic or professional Recent collaboration, supervision, professional rivalry, shared projects, or competing scholarly positions
Personal Family, close friendship, personal dispute, or another relationship that could affect impartiality
Intellectual or ideological Strongly held positions, advocacy roles, or commitments that could prevent balanced evaluation

2. Author Disclosures

Authors must disclose:

  • Relevant financial and non-financial relationships;
  • All funding and material support;
  • The funder's role in the program and publication;
  • Relationships with products, services, organizations, or interventions discussed;
  • Employment, consulting, ownership, or intellectual-property interests; and
  • Any circumstance that readers could reasonably consider influential.

3. Funding and Sponsor Involvement

Funding sources must be reported separately from the Conflict of Interest statement. Authors should describe whether the funder participated in program design, implementation, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, the decision to submit, or publication. When the funder had no such role, this should be stated.

4. Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must decline or consult the editor when a relationship could compromise independent evaluation. Relevant circumstances may include:

  • Employment at the same institution as an author;
  • Recent co-authorship, collaboration, or supervision;
  • A close personal relationship or active professional dispute;
  • Direct financial or competitive interest in the findings;
  • Previous involvement in the manuscript or program; or
  • Inability to provide an impartial assessment.

Receiving an invitation does not require a reviewer to accept it. Reviewers should disclose uncertainty to the editor rather than independently decide that a potentially relevant conflict is unimportant.

5. Editor Conflicts of Interest

An editor must not manage a manuscript when the editor:

  • Is an author or contributor;
  • Works in the same department or has a close institutional relationship with the authors;
  • Recently collaborated with or supervised an author;
  • Has a close personal relationship or active dispute with an author;
  • Has a relevant financial or commercial interest; or
  • Cannot make an independent and impartial decision.

6. Manuscripts Submitted by Editors

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, reviewers, or publisher-affiliated individuals do not receive preferential treatment. Such manuscripts are assigned to an independent editor who is not involved with the authors. The submitting editor has no role in reviewer selection, access to reviewer identities, evaluation, or the final decision.

7. Management of Disclosed Conflicts

Depending on the nature and severity of the conflict, JPPMI may:

  • Publish the disclosure with the article;
  • Appoint another reviewer or editor;
  • Request clarification or additional documentation;
  • Restrict access to confidential information;
  • Require revision of the disclosure statement;
  • Decline the manuscript when the conflict cannot be adequately managed; or
  • Take post-publication action when a material conflict was not disclosed.

8. Suggested Author Statements

No conflict of interest

“The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest relevant to this article.”

Conflict disclosed

“Author [initials] reports [describe the relevant relationship or interest]. The other authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest.”

Funder had no role

“The funder had no role in program design, implementation, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the article for publication.”

Undisclosed Conflicts After Publication

When a relevant undisclosed conflict is identified after publication, the journal will assess whether it affected the article, peer review, or editorial decision. Appropriate action may include clarification, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or referral to the relevant institution.