Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure Policy

The World Review of Research and Innovation (WRRI) asks everyone involved in publication to disclose interests and funding that could matter to readers. A declared interest does not disqualify a paper; it allows the journal to assess and manage it openly.

1. Definition

A conflict of interest arises when a financial, professional, institutional, academic or personal interest could reasonably be thought to affect how research is done or reported, or how it is reviewed or judged. Examples are:

  • shares, fees or other financial interests;
  • employment, consultancy or advisory roles;
  • research grants;
  • institutional ties;
  • personal or professional relationships;
  • recent collaboration with an author;
  • academic competition;
  • strong intellectual or ideological commitments directly related to the work; and
  • any other factor that could undermine impartiality.

2. Author Declarations

Authors must state any actual, potential or apparent conflict when they submit and must supply more detail if asked. Where there is none, the paper should say so, for example:

"The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest."

3. Funding Statement

Authors should list all financial and institutional support for the work, including:

  • the name of each funder;
  • grant or project numbers;
  • the nature of the support; and
  • the funder's role, if any.

If the work was not specifically funded, a statement such as this should be included:

"This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors."

4. Funder Involvement

For funded work, authors should state whether the funder had any part in the study's design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing or the decision to publish. If not, this should be stated explicitly.

5. Editors

Editors must declare conflicts and should not handle a paper where they:

  • have a close personal or professional relationship with an author;
  • are directly involved in competing research;
  • stand to gain or lose financially from the outcome;
  • have recently worked closely with an author; or
  • cannot otherwise be impartial.

Such papers are reassigned to another editor.

6. Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any conflict before agreeing to review and must decline where it could affect their objectivity, for example close collaboration with an author, competing unpublished research, personal ties, institutional conflicts or significant financial interests.

7. Effect of Disclosure

Disclosure does not lead automatically to rejection. WRRI considers the type and importance of the interest and decides what, if anything, needs to be done.

8. Possible Measures

When a conflict is identified, the journal may:

  • assign the paper to a different editor;
  • replace a reviewer;
  • request further information;
  • publish a disclosure statement with the article; or
  • take other proportionate steps to protect independence.

9. Conflicts Discovered Later

If an important undisclosed conflict comes to light after publication, WRRI may investigate and may publish a correction, clarification or expression of concern, or take other appropriate action.

10. Publication of Statements

Disclosure and funding statements may appear in the published article. Authors are responsible for their accuracy.

11. Individual Responsibility

Authors, editors and reviewers are each responsible for disclosing interests that relate to their own role.

12. Independence of Decisions

Interests and funding must never compromise editorial or review decisions, and paying the APC does not affect acceptance.

Journal: World Review of Research and Innovation (WRRI)
Email: editor@wrri.ibexinstitute.org