Conflicts of Interest

The International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) promotes research transparency and unbiased scholarly communication. Authors should avoid any agreements with sponsors, funders, or partner organizations—commercial or non-commercial—that limit authors’ access to the complete dataset, restrict independent analysis and interpretation, or constrain the authors’ ability to publish findings objectively.

Disclosure requirement

All authors must disclose any interests or relationships that could reasonably be seen as influencing the work. Conflicts may be financial or non-financial, and may be actual, potential, or perceived.

Illustrative examples include (but are not limited to):

Financial interests

·        employment, management, or board roles (paid or unpaid) in relevant entities;

·        consulting/advisory engagements;

·        honoraria, speaker fees, commissioned reports, paid training, or sponsored travel;

·        grants, contracts, donations, or in-kind support connected to the study;

·        ownership interests (stocks/shares) or other financial stakes;

·        paid expert testimony;

·        patents, patent applications, licensing arrangements, or royalties.

Non-financial interests

·        close professional/personal relationships that could affect objectivity;

·        institutional affiliations or formal roles relevant to the manuscript topic;

·        competing academic, organizational, or advocacy commitments that may introduce bias.

How to report conflicts

Conflicts must be declared during submission via the journal’s submission system. The corresponding author is responsible for collecting declarations from all co-authors and ensuring that the manuscript includes a dedicated “Conflicts of Interest” section placed immediately before the References.

IJDRM may request clarifications or additional information where needed to support transparent evaluation.

Funding and sponsor role

Authors must also include a Funding statement identifying all sources of financial or material support. Where relevant, the manuscript should explicitly describe the role of the funder/sponsor (if any) in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to publish. If the funder had no role, authors should state this clearly.

Editorial handling of declared conflicts

Declaring a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. However, IJDRM may apply additional safeguards to protect impartiality—such as assigning an independent handling editor, selecting reviewers with no competing interests, or requesting further transparency statements.

Sample statements

Example (conflicts declared):
Conflicts of Interest: Author A reports research funding from Organization A. Author B received speaker fees from Company X and holds shares in Company Y. Author C has provided consultancy/expert advisory services related to Company Z. Author D is named on a related patent application (Patent/Case No. XXX).

Example (no conflicts):
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Funding examples:
Funding: This research was supported by [Funder Name, Grant No. XXX]. The funder had no role in the study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript preparation; or the decision to publish.
— or —
Funding: This research was supported by [Funder Name]. The funder contributed to [describe role precisely], but did not influence [list stages where no influence occurred].