Journal of Indonesian Society Empowerment (JISE) is committed to ensuring that all scholarly evaluations, editorial decisions, and published research remain entirely objective, impartial, and free from undue influence. A Conflict of Interest (also referred to as a Competing Interest) exists when financial, personal, commercial, academic, or institutional relationships could compromise, or be reasonably perceived to compromise, the objectivity, integrity, or credibility of the research or its evaluation.

In strict adherence to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), JISE enforces a policy of mandatory, transparent disclosure and active management of conflicts of interest for Authors, Peer Reviewers, and Editors.

Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial, direct or indirect. They include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

• Financial Competing Interests:
  • Direct Financial Support: Grants, research funding, honoraria, consulting fees, speaking fees, or travel reimbursements provided by commercial entities or organizations with a direct financial interest in the research outcomes.
  • Commercial Relationships: Employment, paid consultancies, board memberships, advisory roles, or holding stock, shares, or stock options in companies that stand to gain or lose financially from the published findings.
  • Intellectual Property: Patents, patent applications, copyrights, or licensing agreements held or pending by the authors or their institutions that could yield financial returns based on the research.
• Non-Financial Competing Interests:
  • Personal & Relational Conflicts: Close personal friendships, family ties, romantic relationships, or ongoing interpersonal rivalries between authors, reviewers, or editors.
  • Academic & Intellectual Conflicts: Deeply held personal, political, religious, or ideological beliefs that prevent an objective evaluation of competing research; or direct scientific competition/rivalry in the exact same narrow field of research.
  • Institutional Conflicts: Affiliations with organizations, advocacy groups, or institutions that have a political, financial, or commercial stake in promoting a specific scientific outcome.

• Mandatory Conflict of Interest Disclosure: All submitted manuscripts must include a dedicated section titled "Conflict of Interest Statement" placed immediately before the Reference list. Authors must explicitly declare whether any potential competing interests exist.
• Standard Declaration Wording:
  • When conflicts exist: Authors must detail the specific nature of the conflict (e.g., "Author A has received research grants from Company X. Author B serves as a paid consultant for Organization Y. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.").
  • When no conflicts exist: Authors must explicitly state: "The authors declare that they have no financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest that could have influenced or appeared to influence the research, analysis, or presentation of this manuscript."
• Funding Source and Funder Role Disclosure: Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the study in the Acknowledgments or Funding Statement section, including grant numbers and funding agency names. Authors must explicitly describe the specific role played by the funding sponsor(s) in:
  1. Study design and conceptualization;
  2. Data collection, analysis, and interpretation;
  3. Writing and drafting the manuscript;
  4. The decision to submit the paper for publication.

  If the funder had no involvement in these aspects, authors must explicitly state: "The funding body had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."

• Duty to Disclose and Mandatory Recusal: Peer reviewers must evaluate submitted manuscripts with absolute impartiality. Reviewers are required to decline a review invitation and notify the Handling Editor immediately if any of the following conditions apply:
  • They have co-authored a publication, grant proposal, or research project with any of the manuscript's authors within the past 3 years;
  • They belong to the same immediate department, research lab, or institutional unit as any of the authors;
  • They maintain a close personal, familial, mentor/mentee, or professional relationship with any author;
  • They have a direct financial or commercial interest in a competing product, methodology, or technology discussed in the paper;
  • They feel unable to provide a fair, objective, and unbiased evaluation due to intellectual or personal competition.
• Post-Acceptance Identification: If a reviewer discovers a conflict of interest only after accepting the review invitation or while examining the manuscript text, they must cease the review immediately and notify the Handling Editor to allow for manuscript reassignment.

• Editorial Recusal: Editors, Section Editors, and Guest Editors must recuse themselves from handling, evaluating, or rendering publishing decisions on any manuscript where a conflict of interest exists. This includes manuscripts authored by:
  • Current or recent research collaborators (within the past 3 years);
  • Institutional colleagues from the editor's home department or faculty;
  • Relatives, family members, or close personal friends;
  • Individuals with whom the editor has an active financial or commercial relationship.
• Handling Submissions from Editors and Editorial Board Members: To prevent bias and preserve public trust, submissions authored by JISE Editors, Section Editors, or Editorial Board members are subjected to rigorous independent evaluation:
  • The author-editor is completely excluded from the editorial workflow and has no access to internal editorial notes, reviewer identities, or decision logs in OJS.
  • The manuscript is assigned to an independent external Handling Editor or Section Editor who manages the double-blind peer review process entirely independently.
  • A formal statement is published alongside accepted papers noting: "This manuscript was handled by an independent Handling Editor, and the author [Editor Name] had no involvement in the peer review or decision-making process."

When an undeclared conflict of interest is reported or discovered—whether prior to publication or after the article is live—the Editorial Board conducts a formal investigation following COPE Flowcharts for Undisclosed Competing Interests.

• Pre-Publication Resolution: If an undisclosed conflict is identified during review, the Handling Editor requests clarification from the corresponding author. If the omission was unintentional, the author must submit a formal disclosure statement before publication proceed. If the conflict compromised the integrity of the study design or peer review, the manuscript will be rejected.
• Post-Publication Corrective Action: If a significant conflict of interest is confirmed post-publication:
  • Addition of Disclosure: A formal Correction / Erratum notice will be published to append the missing Conflict of Interest Statement to the online record.
  • Article Retraction: If the undisclosed conflict fundamentally undermines the scientific validity, impartiality, or credibility of the published findings or editorial process, the article will be officially Retracted in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines.