EDITORIAL POLICIES

Editorial Independence

The Editorial Team exercises full independence in making editorial decisions. Manuscript evaluation is based solely on scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal's scope, and contribution to theory and practice. Editorial decisions are not influenced by the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, religion, political views, or sources of research funding.

The Publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions and respects the academic independence of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team.

Peer Review Policy

The Journal operates a double-anonymous peer-review process. Each manuscript that passes initial editorial screening is normally evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers. Detailed procedures are set out in the Journal’s Peer Review Policy.

Editorial Decision-Making

Editorial decisions are based on originality and novelty, scientific quality and methodological soundness, significance for civil service reform and public administration research, clarity of presentation, compliance with ethical standards. The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for all publication decisions.

Research Integrity

The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity. Authors are expected to submit original work, accurately report research methods and findings, appropriately acknowledge the work of others, retain research data where applicable, disclose conflicts of interest, comply with ethical standards governing research involving human participants. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, image manipulation, duplicate publication, and other forms of research misconduct are not tolerated.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence by authors, reviewers, and editors is governed by the Journal’s Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence. All users remain responsible for maintaining accuracy, confidentiality, transparency, and research integrity.

Publication Ethics

The Journal follows the Principles of Publication Ethics established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to act with honesty, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, and accountability throughout the publication process.

Allegations of publication misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidance.

Plagiarism Policy

All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity using plagiarism-detection software before external peer review

Manuscripts containing plagiarism, extensive unattributed overlap, duplicate publication, or manipulated citations may be rejected immediately.

Confirmed plagiarism discovered after publication may result in correction, retraction, or other editorial action.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence their judgment.

Editors and reviewers with conflicts of interest must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript.

Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.

Information obtained through peer review must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal advantage.

Corrections and Retractions

Post-publication corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are handled in accordance with the Journal’s Corrections and Retractions Policy and relevant COPE guidance.

Appeals and Complaints

Appeals and complaints are considered under the Journal’s Appeals and Complaints Policy and in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

Data Availability

Authors of empirical studies must include a Data Availability Statement. Detailed requirements are set out in the Journal’s Data Sharing Policy.

Copyright and Open Access

The Journal publishes all articles under its Open Access Policy.

Authors retain copyright in their work and grant the Journal the right of first publication. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Archiving and Preservation

The Journal is committed to the long-term preservation and accessibility of published content. Copies of published articles and metadata are retained on the Journal’s publishing platform and institutional digital infrastructure. Additional preservation arrangements will be introduced as appropriate.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in published articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher, the Editorial Team, or the Astana Civil Service Hub.

The Publisher and Editors assume no responsibility for errors or consequences arising from the use of published information.