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Waiver Policy

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power is committed to supporting equitable access to scholarly publishing. The journal recognizes that publication fees may create barriers for authors, particularly those from under-resourced institutions, early-career researchers, independent scholars, and researchers from low- and middle-income countries.

At present, GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power does not charge submission fees, article processing charges, publication fees, page charges, or any other author fees. Therefore, a waiver is not required for authors submitting to or publishing in the journal.

If the journal introduces article processing charges or other publication fees in the future, this Waiver Policy will apply to ensure that financial limitations do not prevent the publication of academically sound and ethically conducted research.

1. Current Fee Status

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power currently operates as a no-fee open access journal.

The journal does not charge:

  1. Submission fees.
  2. Article processing charges.
  3. Publication fees.
  4. Page charges.
  5. Colour figure charges.
  6. Editorial processing fees.
  7. Review fees.
  8. Language editing fees.
  9. Supplementary file charges.
  10. Any other mandatory author fees.

Authors are not required to request a waiver because no publication fee is currently charged.

2. Purpose of the Waiver Policy

This policy is provided to ensure transparency regarding author fees and to establish a clear procedure if the journal introduces publication charges in the future.

The purposes of this policy are to:

  1. Promote equitable participation in scholarly publishing.
  2. Prevent financial barriers to publication.
  3. Ensure transparency in author fee policies.
  4. Protect editorial independence.
  5. Ensure that publication charges, discounts, or waivers do not influence editorial decisions.
  6. Support authors from under-resourced institutions or countries.

3. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, and the outcome of peer review.

The ability or inability of authors to pay publication fees must not influence:

  1. Initial editorial screening.
  2. Peer review.
  3. Reviewer selection.
  4. Editorial decision-making.
  5. Acceptance or rejection.
  6. Publication timing.
  7. Article visibility.
  8. Post-publication handling.

Editors and reviewers are not informed of authors’ waiver requests during the peer review process.

4. Future Waiver Eligibility

If publication fees are introduced in the future, authors may be eligible for a full or partial waiver based on the following conditions:

  1. Authors from low-income or lower-middle-income countries.
  2. Authors from institutions with limited research funding.
  3. Early-career researchers without institutional funding.
  4. Independent researchers without external funding.
  5. Graduate students without publication support.
  6. Authors whose research is not supported by grants or sponsors.
  7. Authors affected by emergency, conflict, disaster, or financial hardship.
  8. Authors invited by the journal for special academic contributions, where appropriate.

Waiver eligibility will be assessed fairly and transparently.

5. Types of Waiver

If publication fees are introduced, the journal may provide:

  1. Full waiver
    The author is exempted from paying the entire publication fee.
  2. Partial waiver
    The author receives a reduction in the publication fee.
  3. Institutional waiver
    The fee is waived for authors affiliated with institutions that have a formal agreement with the journal or publisher.
  4. Special circumstance waiver
    The fee is waived due to financial hardship, emergency, or other justified circumstances.

The availability of waivers depends on the journal’s financial capacity and publication model.

6. Waiver Request Procedure

If publication fees are introduced in the future, authors may request a waiver during submission or before final acceptance.

A waiver request should include:

  1. Manuscript title.
  2. Corresponding author name.
  3. Author affiliation.
  4. Country of affiliation.
  5. Type of waiver requested.
  6. Reason for requesting a waiver.
  7. Funding status of the research.
  8. Statement confirming that no publication funding is available.
  9. Supporting documentation, if requested by the editorial office.

Waiver requests should be submitted to the editorial office through the journal’s official communication channel.

7. Timing of Waiver Requests

Authors are encouraged to request a waiver as early as possible, preferably during submission.

Waiver requests submitted after acceptance may still be considered, but authors should not wait until the final production stage unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The journal will not use waiver requests as a basis for editorial acceptance or rejection.

8. Confidentiality of Waiver Requests

All waiver requests are treated confidentially.

Information related to an author’s financial situation, institutional funding, country status, or hardship circumstances will only be accessed by authorized editorial or administrative staff responsible for fee management.

Reviewers and editors involved in academic evaluation will not consider fee or waiver information when making editorial decisions.

9. No Retrospective Fee Requirement

If an article has been submitted or accepted under a no-fee policy, the journal will not impose publication fees retrospectively.

Authors will not be charged after submission or acceptance unless the fee policy was clearly stated before submission and agreed upon by the author.

10. Transparency of Fees

If the journal introduces publication fees in the future, all fee information will be clearly displayed on the journal website before submission.

The journal will state:

  1. The amount of any publication fee.
  2. The currency.
  3. What the fee covers.
  4. When the fee is charged.
  5. Whether taxes or additional charges apply.
  6. Whether waivers or discounts are available.
  7. How authors may request a waiver.
  8. Whether inability to pay affects publication decisions.

The journal will not hide fees or disclose mandatory charges only after acceptance.

11. No Guaranteed Acceptance

A waiver request, discount, institutional agreement, sponsorship, or payment does not guarantee acceptance.

All manuscripts must undergo the journal’s standard editorial screening and peer review process.

The journal does not accept payment in exchange for publication, fast-track acceptance, positive peer review, citation manipulation, or editorial favour.

12. Appeals Regarding Waiver Decisions

Authors may appeal a waiver decision if they believe that relevant information was not considered.

An appeal must include:

  1. Manuscript title.
  2. Original waiver request.
  3. Explanation of the appeal.
  4. Additional supporting information.

Appeals will be reviewed by the editorial office or publisher representative responsible for fee administration.

Waiver appeals do not affect the academic evaluation of the manuscript.

13. Changes to the Waiver Policy

Any change to this Waiver Policy will be published on the journal website.

Changes to publication fees or waiver availability will not be applied retroactively to manuscripts already submitted under a previous fee policy.

14. Policy Review

This Waiver Policy is reviewed periodically to ensure that the journal’s practices remain transparent, fair, inclusive, and aligned with international standards of scholarly publishing