Sentralisasi is committed to ensuring transparency, fairness, objectivity, and integrity throughout the research and publication process. All authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and other parties involved in the publication process must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment. This policy follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, particularly Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests, which call for clear definitions and procedures for managing competing interests involving authors, reviewers, editors, journals, and publishers.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily imply misconduct or improper conduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may undermine confidence in the objectivity, credibility, and reliability of scholarly research and editorial decisions. Sentralisasi therefore requires relevant interests to be disclosed and assessed appropriately, in accordance with the principles outlined in the official COPE Core Practices document.

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, exists when financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, intellectual, or other relationships may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the objectivity of research, manuscript preparation, peer review, editorial assessment, or publication decisions. Such interests may be direct or indirect and may exist even when no actual bias or improper conduct has occurred. This approach is consistent with the discussion of competing interests in COPE's guidance document on handling competing interests.

Competing interests may include, but are not limited to, financial relationships, employment, research funding, consultancy, personal relationships, professional collaborations, academic competition, institutional affiliations, intellectual commitments, and other interests that could reasonably be perceived as affecting impartial judgment. COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers specifically recognize that competing interests may be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political, or religious in nature.

All authors submitting manuscripts to Sentralisasi must disclose any financial and non-financial competing interests relevant to their research. Disclosures should include, where applicable, research grants, sponsorship, employment, consultancy fees, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, financial support, personal relationships, professional affiliations, and other interests that may affect or appear to affect the interpretation of the research findings.

Authors must provide a Conflict of Interest Statement during manuscript submission. If no competing interests exist, the manuscript should include the statement: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests." Authors must ensure that the declaration is accurate, complete, and agreed upon by all co-authors. This requirement is consistent with COPE's Core Practices on Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests, which require journals to establish clear processes for identifying and managing authors' competing interests.

Authors must disclose relevant interests associated with the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Funding sources and the role of sponsors in the research process should be transparently reported where applicable. Authors should not conceal or misrepresent relevant competing interests, as transparency is essential to evaluating the independence and credibility of research.

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, impartially, and confidentially. Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must consider whether any financial, personal, professional, institutional, intellectual, or other competing interest could affect their ability to provide an unbiased assessment. If a relevant competing interest exists, reviewers must disclose it promptly to the handling editor and follow the editor's instructions regarding whether they should proceed with the review.

Reviewers should decline a review invitation when a competing interest prevents them from providing a fair and impartial evaluation. Relevant circumstances may include close personal relationships with an author, current employment at the same institution, recent supervisory relationships, recent close collaboration, joint grant holding, or direct competition involving substantially related research. COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers advise reviewers to disclose potential competing interests and identify circumstances that may compromise impartiality, including recent professional relationships and collaborations.

Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained through peer review for personal advantage, professional gain, or to disadvantage others. They must also notify the editor if they discover a previously unrecognized competing interest or circumstances that could affect the fairness of their review. These responsibilities are consistent with COPE's guidelines on confidentiality, bias, and competing interests in peer review.

Editors and editorial board members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived competing interests that could influence their handling of a manuscript or an editorial decision. Such interests may include co-authorship, recent collaboration, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, financial interests, academic competition, or other professional relationships with the authors or organizations associated with the submitted work.

An editor who has a relevant competing interest must inform the Editor-in-Chief or another designated editor and must not participate in decisions concerning the affected manuscript when impartiality may reasonably be questioned. The manuscript should be assigned to an independent editor who has no relevant competing interest. This procedure implements the principles in COPE's Core Practices on Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests, which require journals to establish processes for managing editors' and editorial board members' competing interests.

The Editor-in-Chief must ensure that competing interests are managed consistently and that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, methodological quality, relevance, originality, and compliance with publication ethics rather than personal, institutional, financial, or commercial considerations. Editors must also ensure that their own competing interests do not compromise editorial independence.

Sentralisasi and its publisher are responsible for maintaining transparent procedures for identifying, disclosing, evaluating, and managing competing interests throughout the publication process. These procedures must cover authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and relevant institutional or publishing relationships. This requirement follows COPE's Core Practices, which explicitly address competing interests involving journals and publishers as well as individual participants in publication.

The journal will make relevant competing interest declarations available to readers through the published article or an appropriate accompanying statement, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements. Disclosure is intended to support transparency and allow readers to assess relevant relationships independently; disclosure alone does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration.

All authors must submit their competing interest declarations during manuscript submission. Reviewers must disclose relevant interests when responding to review invitations and whenever new information emerges during the review process. Editors and editorial board members must disclose competing interests as soon as they become aware of them and before participating in a relevant editorial decision.

When a competing interest is identified, the journal will assess its nature, significance, relevance, and potential effect on the integrity of the research or the impartiality of the publication process. Depending on the circumstances, the journal may request further information, require an amended disclosure statement, appoint an alternative reviewer or editor, establish additional safeguards, or take other proportionate measures. These procedures are informed by COPE's discussion document on handling competing interests.

The existence of a competing interest will not automatically result in rejection of a manuscript. The editorial decision will depend on whether the interest can be adequately disclosed and managed without compromising the credibility of the research, the fairness of peer review, or the independence of editorial judgment.

If the journal discovers that a relevant competing interest was not disclosed before publication, the Editor-in-Chief will assess the circumstances, request an explanation from the authors or other relevant parties, and determine whether a correction or other editorial action is necessary. The journal will consider the seriousness of the omission, whether the undisclosed interest affects the interpretation or credibility of the work, and whether readers require additional information.

Where a published article requires clarification of an omitted competing interest, the journal may publish a correction or another appropriate notice to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record. COPE's guidance on handling competing interests discusses the importance of addressing competing interests that come to light after publication and the role of corrections in maintaining the research record.

If the undisclosed interest raises concerns about research integrity, editorial manipulation, or other potential misconduct, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or research integrity authority and follow its applicable publication ethics procedures. Any corrective action shall be proportionate to the evidence and the effect on the published record.

Competing interest declarations and related correspondence will be handled confidentially and accessed only by individuals who need the information to assess or manage the matter. The journal will retain appropriate records of declarations, editorial decisions, disclosures, and actions taken in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and institutional procedures.

Confidentiality shall not prevent the journal from publishing relevant disclosures or corrections where transparency is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record. The journal's approach is informed by the COPE Core Practices and its Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Authors submitting manuscripts to Sentralisasi should include one of the following statements, as applicable, in the manuscript or the journal's designated submission field.

When no competing interests exist: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

When competing interests exist: "The authors declare the following competing interests: [provide a clear description of the relevant financial or non-financial interests]."

Funding disclosure: "This research was supported by [name of funding organization, grant number, if applicable]. The funder's role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to publish was [describe the role or state that the funder had no role, as applicable]."

Editorial or reviewer competing interest: Where an editor or reviewer has a relevant competing interest, the individual must disclose it to the journal and withdraw from the affected editorial or review process when necessary to preserve impartiality.

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial board are responsible for implementing and periodically reviewing this policy to ensure that it remains consistent with COPE guidance, recognized publication ethics standards, and the journal's editorial procedures. Updates may be made when relevant guidance or applicable institutional requirements change.