Editorial Governance Policy
This policy outlines how United Frontiers Publisher governs editorial decision-making, editor appointments and international representation across its portfolio of journals, in alignment with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
01 Editorial Governance Framework
02 Editorial Independence
03 Appointment of Editors-in-Chief
04 Editorial Board Membership & Criteria
05 Editorial Performance Review & De-appointment
06 Succession Planning & Operational Continuity
07 Conflicts of Interest (CoI) for Editors
08 Diversity, Equity and International Representation
1. Editorial Governance Framework
United Frontiers Publisher (UFP) is committed to maintaining transparent, independent, and accountable editorial governance across its entire portfolio of journals. This framework ensures that all UFP journals operate under the highest standards of academic integrity, rigorous peer review, and professional ethics, in alignment with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
2. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are the sole responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board.
Separation of Interests — Corporate, commercial, institutional, or political interests shall not influence, alter, or compromise editorial decisions.
Merit-Based Selection — Acceptance or rejection of any manuscript is based strictly on scholarly merit, originality, research quality, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
Publisher Role — UFP guarantees the protection of editorial independence and will not interfere with individual manuscript decisions except in documented cases of severe research misconduct or legal/ethical breaches.
3. Appointment of Editors-in-Chief
Editors-in-Chief are appointed directly by UFP via a formal institutional contract.
Term Length — Appointments are made for a fixed, renewable term of three (3) to five (5) years.
Criteria for Selection — Appointment is based on recognized academic qualifications, an established research track record, editorial experience, professional integrity, and a demonstrated commitment to open-access scholarly publishing.
Reappointment — Renewal is not automatic. It is contingent upon a periodic performance review evaluating journal growth, leadership, and adherence to publishing timelines.
4. Editorial Board Membership & Criteria
Editorial Board members are appointed by the Publisher in active consultation with the Editor-in-Chief. To maintain a high-calibre board, members are expected to meet the following criteria:
Active Research Profile — Maintain a consistent record of peer-reviewed publications within the journal’s disciplinary scope.
Peer-Review Support — Actively review manuscripts when requested and assist in identifying qualified external reviewers.
Ethical Stewardship — Uphold and enforce global publication ethics, research integrity, and COPE standards.
Strategic Advocacy — Promote the journal within the international research community and actively solicit high-quality submissions.
5. Editorial Performance Review & De-appointment
To safeguard journal quality and indexing status (Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ), the Publisher conducts periodic performance reviews of all editorial roles.
Evaluation Metrics — Reviews consider editorial leadership, peer-review turnaround times, adherence to publication ethics, and active participation.
Replacement and Removal — UFP retains the explicit right to replace or remove any Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor, or Board Member who becomes inactive, fails to uphold publication ethics, experiences unresolved conflicts of interest, or acts in a manner that compromises the journal’s reputation.
Note: UFP does not utilize a board-majority vote for the election or removal of editors.
6. Succession Planning & Operational Continuity
To ensure seamless manuscript processing and operational stability during leadership transitions:
Interim Appointments — In the event of an unexpected vacancy, resignation, or removal of an EiC, the Publisher will immediately appoint an Acting or Interim Editor-in-Chief.
Transition Periods — Outgoing Editors-in-Chief are expected to cooperate in a transition period to hand over active workflows to incoming leadership.
7. Conflicts of Interest (CoI) for Editors
Editors must maintain absolute transparency regarding potential biases.
Disclosure — Editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional conflicts of interest upon appointment and as they arise.
Recusal —No editor may handle, review, or make an editorial decision on a manuscript in which they have a conflict of interest (including papers authored by colleagues at their same institution, recent collaborators, or competitors).
Editor-Authored Papers — Component workflows for submissions where an editor is a co-author must be managed entirely independently by a designated alternative editor. The submitting editor shall have no access to the review process within the submission system.
8. Diversity, Equity and International Representation
UFP believes that a globally representative editorial team ensures fairer peer review and broader scientific impact.
Geographic & Demographics — UFP and its Editors-in-Chief actively strive for a diverse, gender-balanced, and internationally distributed Editorial Board that reflects the global community of researchers within the journal’s field.