Revenue and Funding Model

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations is committed to maintaining transparency regarding the financial arrangements that support its editorial, technical, administrative, and publishing activities. The journal recognizes that readers, authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, and other stakeholders should be able to understand how the journal is supported financially and whether financial relationships could influence editorial decision-making.

The journal's financial arrangements are managed separately from decisions concerning manuscript evaluation, peer review, acceptance, rejection, correction, or retraction. Scholarly decisions are based on academic quality, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological soundness, originality, ethical compliance, and the integrity of the research.

1. Purpose of the Policy

This policy explains the principles governing the journal's revenue, financial support, author-facing charges, sponsorship, grants, advertising income, and other potential sources of operational funding.

The principal objectives are to:

  • maintain transparency concerning the financial operation of the journal;

  • protect editorial independence;

  • prevent financial considerations from influencing peer review or publication decisions;

  • disclose author charges accurately;

  • identify relevant external financial support where applicable;

  • distinguish commercial activity from scholarly decision-making; and

  • ensure that financial relationships do not compromise publication ethics or research integrity.

2. Publisher and Operational Support

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations is published by GalaxiaUniverse.

The publisher is responsible for supporting the administrative and technical infrastructure required for journal operation, including website administration, manuscript-processing infrastructure, publication management, article hosting, metadata preparation, production-related activities, and other services necessary for scholarly publishing.

The existence of publisher support does not give the publisher authority to require the acceptance or rejection of individual manuscripts for financial, promotional, institutional, or commercial reasons.

3. Revenue Sources

The journal may obtain operational support from legitimate sources associated with scholarly publishing. Depending on the journal's current financial arrangements, these may include:

  • publisher-provided financial or administrative support;

  • author-side publication charges where applicable and publicly disclosed;

  • institutional support;

  • research or publishing grants;

  • sponsorship provided under transparent conditions;

  • advertising revenue where advertising is accepted under the journal's Advertising Policy;

  • donations or other lawful financial contributions; and

  • other legitimate publishing-related income that does not compromise editorial independence.

The existence of a potential revenue category does not imply that the journal currently receives income from every source listed above.

Where a material source of external financial support applies to the journal, it should be disclosed transparently where appropriate.

4. Article Processing Charges and Author Fees

Information concerning charges payable by authors is maintained separately under the journal's Article Processing Charges policy.

Any fee required for manuscript submission, editorial processing, publication, page preparation, color reproduction, supplementary material, or another publishing service should be disclosed clearly to authors before the charge becomes applicable.

Where the journal does not charge a particular fee, it should not represent that fee as payable.

Authors should consult the current Article Processing Charges page for the applicable fee information rather than relying on outdated third-party information.

5. Separation of Fees From Editorial Decisions

Payment or non-payment of a publication-related fee must not determine whether a manuscript is sent for peer review, accepted, rejected, corrected, or retracted.

Editors and reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts according to scholarly and ethical criteria.

Financial staff, administrative personnel, sponsors, advertisers, donors, or other parties with a commercial interest must not improperly influence:

  • reviewer selection;

  • reviewer reports;

  • editorial recommendations;

  • acceptance decisions;

  • rejection decisions;

  • authorship determinations;

  • research-integrity investigations;

  • corrections;

  • expressions of concern; or

  • retractions.

This separation is intended to preserve confidence in the independence of the editorial process.

6. Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief and authorized editorial team retain responsibility for editorial decisions within the journal's governance structure.

Editorial decisions should be based on considerations such as:

  • relevance to the journal's aims and scope;

  • originality;

  • methodological quality;

  • reliability of evidence;

  • scholarly significance;

  • clarity of reporting;

  • ethical compliance;

  • research integrity; and

  • recommendations arising from appropriate peer review.

Revenue expectations, potential citation performance, an author's financial resources, commercial relationships, or institutional influence should not determine editorial outcomes.

7. Funding From External Organizations

The journal may receive financial or non-financial support from universities, research institutions, foundations, professional organizations, governmental bodies, nonprofit organizations, or other legitimate entities.

Acceptance of external support must not provide the supporting organization with inappropriate control over:

  • editorial policy;

  • manuscript selection;

  • reviewer appointment;

  • publication decisions;

  • interpretation of research;

  • criticism published by the journal; or

  • post-publication editorial action.

Where external funding creates a relationship that readers or authors should reasonably know about, the relationship should be disclosed transparently.

8. Sponsorship

Sponsorship may be accepted only where it is compatible with editorial independence, scholarly integrity, and the journal's publication policies.

A sponsor must not receive a right to:

  • determine which manuscripts are accepted;

  • nominate favorable reviewers for individual papers;

  • suppress unfavorable findings;

  • alter conclusions;

  • influence correction or retraction decisions;

  • require citation of particular products or publications; or

  • interfere with independent editorial judgment.

Sponsored activities should be identified clearly where disclosure is relevant.

9. Advertising Revenue

Where the journal accepts advertising, advertising arrangements are governed separately by the journal's Advertising Policy.

Advertising must remain distinguishable from editorial and scholarly content.

An advertiser must not influence:

  • manuscript acceptance;

  • peer review;

  • editorial policy;

  • article conclusions;

  • reviewer selection; or

  • placement of scholarly content for the purpose of commercial advantage.

Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertised product, organization, service, or claim by the journal.

10. Grants and Institutional Funding

Grants or institutional financial support may contribute to journal development, publishing infrastructure, open-access activities, technical improvement, editorial training, scholarly communication, or other legitimate publishing functions.

Receipt of such support should not create an obligation to publish manuscripts from the funding institution or its affiliates.

Authors affiliated with a supporting organization should be subject to the same editorial standards and peer-review procedures as other authors.

11. Donations and Financial Contributions

The journal may accept lawful donations or financial contributions provided that such support does not compromise editorial independence.

A donor must not receive preferential publication treatment, influence peer-review decisions, or obtain editorial privileges merely because financial support has been provided.

Where a donation creates a significant relationship relevant to journal transparency, appropriate disclosure should be considered.

12. Funding of Individual Research Articles

Financial support for the research reported in an individual manuscript is separate from funding of the journal itself.

Authors are expected to disclose relevant research funding in their manuscripts in accordance with the journal's author guidelines and conflict-of-interest requirements.

A funding statement should identify, where applicable:

  • the funding organization;

  • grant or project information;

  • the role of the funder; and

  • whether the funder influenced research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work.

Where no external research funding was received, authors may state this where required by the journal.

13. Commercially Funded Research

Research receiving commercial or industry funding may be considered for publication provided that the manuscript satisfies the same scholarly, ethical, and peer-review standards applied to other submissions.

Commercial funding must be disclosed where relevant.

Authors should retain appropriate academic responsibility for:

  • research design;

  • data integrity;

  • analysis;

  • interpretation;

  • access to relevant research information; and

  • preparation of the manuscript.

Funding relationships should not be concealed where they could reasonably affect interpretation of the research.

14. Conflict of Interest and Financial Relationships

Financial relationships that may constitute a competing interest should be disclosed in accordance with the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy.

Relevant relationships may include:

  • research sponsorship;

  • employment;

  • consultancy;

  • advisory roles;

  • stock ownership;

  • patents;

  • licensing arrangements;

  • honoraria;

  • commercial partnerships; or

  • other financial interests related to the research.

Disclosure of a financial interest does not automatically prevent publication. The purpose of disclosure is to allow appropriate editorial management and informed interpretation.

15. Special Issues and Financial Independence

Where the journal publishes a special issue, thematic collection, or externally supported publication initiative, financial support must not compromise editorial standards.

Guest editors, sponsors, partner organizations, or supporting institutions must not be permitted to bypass:

  • editorial screening;

  • peer review;

  • conflict-of-interest assessment;

  • publication-ethics requirements; or

  • final editorial oversight.

Special issues should remain subject to the journal's established scholarly and ethical standards.

16. Reviewer and Editorial Decisions

Reviewer recommendations should be based exclusively on the scholarly content of the manuscript.

Reviewers should not be informed of an author's financial status where that information is irrelevant to the scholarly evaluation.

Editors should not accept or reject manuscripts because publication is expected to generate revenue or because an author, institution, sponsor, or commercial organization has provided financial support to the journal.

17. Waivers and Discounts

Where the journal operates an author-fee model and offers waivers or discounts, applicable conditions should be stated transparently in the relevant fee policy.

Requests for fee assistance should, wherever practicable, be handled separately from the scholarly assessment of the manuscript.

Granting or refusing a waiver or discount must not alter the academic standards applied to the manuscript.

18. No Payment for Favorable Editorial Outcomes

The journal does not permit payments, gifts, financial incentives, sponsorship arrangements, or other benefits to be exchanged for:

  • manuscript acceptance;

  • favorable peer-review reports;

  • accelerated acceptance without appropriate evaluation;

  • guaranteed publication;

  • removal of legitimate criticism;

  • manipulation of citations; or

  • suppression of research-integrity concerns.

Any attempt to influence editorial decisions through inappropriate financial incentives may be investigated under the journal's publication-ethics procedures.

19. Citation and Revenue Independence

Editorial or financial arrangements must not be used to manipulate citation behavior.

Authors should not be required to add irrelevant citations for the purpose of increasing journal metrics, editor citations, reviewer citations, or commercial value.

Reviewers and editors may recommend additional references only when they are genuinely relevant to improving the scholarly accuracy or context of the manuscript.

20. Transparency to Authors

Authors should be able to determine the journal's applicable financial requirements before proceeding substantially through the publication process.

The journal should provide accessible information concerning:

  • applicable publication charges;

  • circumstances in which fees are payable;

  • available waivers or discounts where offered;

  • relevant refund conditions where applicable; and

  • other material author-facing financial obligations.

Financial information should be kept current and should not be presented in a misleading manner.

21. Financial Information and Third-Party Websites

Authors should rely on financial information published through the journal's official website and authorized communication channels.

The journal is not responsible for incorrect fee information published by unauthorized third-party websites, directories, agents, or intermediaries.

Authors who receive a payment request that appears inconsistent with the journal's published policy should contact the journal through its official communication channel before making payment.

22. Independence From Manuscript Submission Volume

Editorial standards should not be reduced for the purpose of increasing publication volume or revenue.

The journal should maintain appropriate editorial screening and peer review regardless of:

  • submission volume;

  • financial targets;

  • publication targets;

  • sponsor expectations; or

  • commercial considerations.

Maintaining the reliability of the scholarly record takes precedence over revenue generation.

23. Financial Support and Research Integrity Investigations

Financial relationships must not prevent the journal from investigating legitimate allegations concerning published or submitted research.

Where necessary, the journal may undertake appropriate action concerning:

  • plagiarism;

  • fabricated or falsified data;

  • inappropriate authorship;

  • undisclosed competing interests;

  • manipulated peer review;

  • duplicate publication; or

  • other forms of misconduct.

A sponsor, advertiser, donor, author, or supporting institution must not be permitted to prevent appropriate correction or retraction solely because of a financial relationship with the journal.

24. Changes to the Revenue Model

The journal may revise its financial or operational model when necessary to support sustainable scholarly publishing.

Material changes affecting authors should be communicated transparently through the journal website before they become applicable.

Changes may include revisions to:

  • article processing charges;

  • waiver arrangements;

  • sponsorship models;

  • institutional support;

  • advertising practices; or

  • other financial arrangements.

Previously accepted financial terms should not be represented inaccurately after a policy change.

25. Financial Record and Accountability

The publisher is responsible for maintaining appropriate administrative oversight of journal-related financial activities in accordance with applicable organizational and legal requirements.

Financial processes should support transparency, accountability, and separation between commercial administration and scholarly decision-making.

Editors should not be required to make publication decisions for the purpose of achieving financial targets.

26. Relationship With Other Journal Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's:

  • Article Processing Charges Policy

  • Advertising Policy

  • Conflict of Interest Policy

  • Publication Ethics Policy

  • Peer Review Policy

  • Copyright and Licensing Policy

  • Open Access Statement

  • Research Misconduct Policy

  • Corrections and Retractions Policy

Where a specific financial matter is addressed in a more specialized policy, the specialized policy should provide the applicable operational details.

Financial Transparency Statement

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations seeks to maintain a publishing model in which financial sustainability and editorial integrity remain clearly separated.

Revenue, sponsorship, institutional support, author charges, advertising, grants, or other financial arrangements must not purchase editorial influence or favorable publication outcomes. Manuscripts are to be evaluated according to scholarly merit, methodological quality, relevance, ethical compliance, and research integrity.

The journal is committed to presenting applicable financial information accurately and updating its public policies when material changes occur.