Editorial Structure and Governance Model
NOVAXIS
Editorial Structure and Governance Model
This page states who holds editorial authority at NOVAXIS, how those people are appointed and replaced, and how the journal is held accountable. The governing principle is separation of powers: scholarly decisions belong to editors, operations belong to the editorial office, and business belongs to the publisher — and none of the three may direct the others' domain.
Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Appointment and term | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Editor-in-Chief | Appointed by the publisher on the recommendation of an independent search committee; five-year term, renewable once | Final authority over scholarly content and standards; appoints editors and board members; owns this policy framework; represents the journal publicly |
| Associate Editors | Appointed by the Editor-in-Chief; three-year renewable terms | Handle manuscripts end to end within their expertise: desk assessment, reviewer selection, decisions, revisions and appeals at first instance |
| Editorial Board | Appointed by the Editor-in-Chief following open calls and nominations; three-year terms with staggered rotation | Review manuscripts, advise on scope and policy, propose special issues, and act as the journal's link to its communities. Board membership confers no publication privilege of any kind |
| Editorial Office | Professional staff of the publisher | Integrity screening, timelines, records, correspondence and production. The office has no authority to accept or reject a manuscript |
Editorial independence
Decisions on individual manuscripts are made solely by editors, solely on scholarly grounds. The publisher sets the journal's business model, budget and staffing, but may not direct the acceptance or rejection of any submission, may not access peer review content for commercial purposes, and derives no editorial influence from revenue of any kind, consistent with the journal's open access policy. The Editor-in-Chief may be removed before the end of term only for documented cause and through a fair, recorded procedure — never for editorial decisions taken in good faith.
Submissions by editors and board members
- Editors and board members may submit to the journal, and must declare their role at submission.
- Such manuscripts are handled entirely by an editor with no conflict of interest; the submitting editor is excluded from the manuscript's records and editorial system visibility throughout.
- Submissions by the Editor-in-Chief are handled by a designated senior editor with full and final authority for that manuscript.
- Every published article by an editor or board member carries a statement naming the independent handling arrangement.
Appointments, renewal and removal
- Editorial and board positions are filled through open calls and reasoned nomination, assessed on demonstrated expertise and standing in the field.
- Composition is deliberately balanced across institutions, regions, genders and career stages, and the balance is reviewed at every appointment round.
- Renewal is not automatic: it follows an activity review covering handling volume, timeliness and report quality.
- Members may be removed for sustained inactivity, breach of confidentiality, undeclared conflicts of interest, or research misconduct, after the member has been heard and the decision recorded.
Accountability and policy change
The journal follows COPE guidance in all editorial matters and applies it to its own editors no less than to authors and reviewers. Each year the journal publishes a short public report covering submission volumes, decision times, acceptance rate and the composition of its editorial bodies. Changes to editorial policy are proposed by the Editor-in-Chief, considered by the Editorial Board, and published with a version date; the policy in force at submission is the policy that applies to a manuscript.