About the Journal

Our Public Procurement Journal is an academic publication that disseminates work by professionals and specialists, both national and international, in the field of public procurement and related areas. It also seeks contributors committed to this field who are willing to share their knowledge, experiences and perspectives on issues related to public procurement, government contracting and acquisitions. Enrich our editorial space with your knowledge, analysis and perspectives on the latest trends, challenges and best practices.

Your experience can enrich our content and contribute to the growth of the professional community in this field. Whether you are an established professional or someone bringing forward new ideas, we want to hear your voice.

Writing for our Journal will give you the opportunity to strengthen your profile as an expert in your field, connect with other professionals and contribute to the advancement of best practices in public procurement.

Do not miss the opportunity to be part of this knowledge-sharing platform.

We look forward to your participation as an author in our Public Procurement Journal!

Objectives and scope

The Journal has the following objectives:

• To serve as a peer-reviewed forum for the dissemination of academic knowledge related to public procurement and related fields.
• To foster research, analysis and knowledge production in the field of public procurement.
• To promote debate and reflection on trends, challenges, reforms, innovations and good practices related to public procurement systems.
• To promote academic exchange and cooperation with national and international institutions, professionals, specialists and researchers.
• To contribute to the strengthening, innovation and professionalization of the National Public Supply System.

The Journal accepts contributions related to public procurement and related fields, including: administrative contracting, public administration and management, public budgeting, transparency, integrity, sustainability, innovation, technology, professionalization, oversight, public policy, contract management, and other subjects related to public procurement systems.

Frequency, call for submissions and publication languages

The Journal is published annually, with one issue released during the second half of each year.

The call for submissions remains open throughout the year. The Editorial Committee is responsible for assembling each issue in accordance with the process for receiving, evaluating and approving contributions.

The Journal accepts contributions in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Articles must include the title, abstract and keywords in Spanish, English and Portuguese, in accordance with the Instructions for Authors.

Essential editorial information and the Journal's metadata will be progressively incorporated and maintained in all three languages.

Journal sections

The Public Procurement Journal includes the following sections:

For more information about each type of contribution, please refer to Submissions.

Free of charge, open access, copyright and license

The Public Procurement Journal is a non-profit publication.

Submission, editorial processing, evaluation and publication of contributions are not subject to any fees or charges payable by authors.

The Journal provides immediate open access to published content, with no embargo period.

Content is published under the Creative Commons CC BY license adopted by the Journal, which permits use and dissemination with appropriate acknowledgment of authorship and the original source.

Authors retain ownership of their copyright and authorize the Public Procurement Journal to publish and disseminate their contributions in accordance with the adopted license.

When a work published in the Journal is subsequently reproduced or disseminated in another academic or scientific venue, its original publication in the Public Procurement Journal must be properly acknowledged.

Code of ethics and good editorial practices

The Public Procurement Journal has its own Code of Ethics and Good Editorial Practices, set out throughout the following sections, which governs the expected conduct of authors, reviewers and members of the Editorial Committee at all stages of the editorial process. This Code is guided by internationally recognized general principles of good editorial practice, without implying formal adherence to any specific organization.

Contributions submitted to the Journal must be original and unpublished and may not be simultaneously under review by another journal or publication.

When a contribution derives from a thesis, academic paper, conference paper, report, presentation delivered at an event or other related prior work, this circumstance must be expressly declared by the author. The Editorial Committee will determine its compatibility with the Journal's requirements of originality and unpublished status.

Authorship must accurately reflect the intellectual contribution of the individuals who effectively participated in preparing the work.

In cases of co-authorship, the contribution made by each author must be identified and a corresponding author designated to act as the liaison with the Journal throughout the editorial process.

Authors must provide their institutional affiliation and any other information required by the Journal. The use of persistent academic identifiers, such as ORCID, will also be encouraged when available.

Academic integrity and originality verification

The Journal promotes integrity, honesty and transparency at all stages of the editorial process.

The Journal may use similarity, originality or academic-integrity verification tools as part of the submission, evaluation or editing process.

The detection of indications of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or manipulation of data, manipulation of sources, nonexistent references, improper use of citations, or other practices that may compromise academic integrity may result in requests for clarification or correction, rejection of the contribution or, where appropriate, the adoption of measures after publication.

The use of verification tools does not replace the analysis carried out by the Editorial Committee or the reviewers.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy, integrity and correspondence of citations, references, data, tables, figures and all other information included in the contribution.

Conflicts of interest, funding and ethical considerations

Authors, reviewers and members of the Editorial Committee must disclose any personal, professional, institutional, academic, financial or other circumstance that could affect, or could reasonably be perceived as capable of affecting, the independence and impartiality of the editorial process.

Authors must disclose the sources of funding related to the preparation of the contribution and whether any conflicts of interest exist.

Where required by the nature of the research, applicable ethical principles and legal provisions must be observed, including obtaining the relevant authorizations, informed consent or approvals.

Authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions to use or publish images, documents, databases, tables, figures or other third-party materials subject to rights or use restrictions.

Policy on the use of artificial intelligence tools

Authors must expressly declare whether or not generative or assisted artificial intelligence tools were used in preparing the contribution.

Where such tools have been used, authors must identify the tool, the purpose and the scope of its use, in accordance with the Authorship Letter and the Instructions for Authors.

Artificial intelligence tools may not be recognized as authors or co-authors. Their use is supplementary and does not replace the intellectual, academic and ethical responsibility of authors for the originality, accuracy, integrity, citations, references, data, arguments and conclusions of the manuscript.

The Journal may update its criteria for the responsible use of these technologies in light of their evolution and developments in good editorial practice.

Peer-review system and process

The Journal's editorial process comprises an initial editorial review followed by external peer review.

1

Initial editorial review The Editorial Committee will verify that the contribution is consistent with the Journal's objectives, scope and thematic focus; that it meets the basic conditions for entering the editorial process; that the required documentation has been submitted; and that the manuscript has been appropriately anonymized for referral to reviewers. The Editorial Committee may request preliminary adjustments or decide that a contribution should not proceed to peer review when it does not meet the minimum admissibility requirements.

2

Peer review Accepted submissions will be sent to at least two expert reviewers who are not members of the Editorial Committee, under a double-blind review model, so that the identities of authors and reviewers remain confidential during the evaluation process. The reviewer will first conduct a preliminary formal review of the anonymized manuscript and will subsequently carry out the technical and academic evaluation, in accordance with the Instructions for Reviewers and the Reviewer's Editorial Assessment. Reviewers must act independently, objectively, confidentially, impartially and respectfully, and must disclose to the Editorial Committee any potential conflict of interest. The identity of reviewers will remain confidential. Participation on the panel of reviewers is academic and ad honorem. Recommendations issued by reviewers are technical and advisory in nature and do not replace the final editorial decision, which rests with the Editorial Committee.

3

Editorial Decisions and Review Rounds As a result of the evaluation, reviewers may make the following recommendations: a. Accept without changes or with minimal formatting adjustments. The contribution satisfactorily meets the quality criteria and is suitable for publication, although minor formal corrections that do not substantially affect its content may be required. b. Accept with minor revisions. The contribution requires specific corrections to wording, citations, references, presentation, details or clarifications that do not entail a substantial change to its content. c. Request major revisions and re-evaluation. The contribution shows academic or technical potential but requires significant revisions to its structure, argumentation, methodology, sources, analysis, results, conclusions or other substantive aspects. Once revised, it may be submitted to a new round of evaluation. d. Do not recommend publication. The contribution does not meet the Journal's minimum criteria of relevance, rigor, quality, originality or integrity, or presents deficiencies that cannot reasonably be remedied through the review process. Where reviews diverge, the Editorial Committee may request an additional evaluation or arrange a new review round. The final acceptance or rejection of a contribution is the responsibility of the Editorial Committee. All editorial decisions and related comments will be communicated exclusively to the corresponding author through the platform and/or the registered email address.

Traceability, bibliographic identification and metadata

The Journal will keep a record of the main stages of the editorial process for each contribution. Published articles must identify, at a minimum, the following dates:

Received	date on which the contribution is formally received by the Journal.
Accepted	date on which the final editorial decision to accept the contribution is adopted.
Published	date on which the contribution is published.

These dates will be visible in the publication and/or in the corresponding metadata on the editorial platform.

Published contributions must include sufficient bibliographic information to allow proper identification and citation, including, as applicable, the title of the Journal, volume or issue, year of publication, pages or equivalent identifier, and ISSN.

The platform will seek to maintain complete and up-to-date metadata for each contribution, including title, abstract, keywords, authorship, institutional affiliation and other elements required by the editorial policies.

Where an author has provided a persistent academic identifier, such as ORCID, it may be included in the corresponding metadata.

The visibility of editorial dates, metadata and bibliographic information enhances the transparency and discoverability of articles, which are factors considered in editorial standards used by indexing systems.

Corrections, retractions and withdrawal of contributions

The Journal seeks to maintain the integrity and reliability of published content.

When post-publication errors are identified that do not substantially invalidate the content of a contribution, the Editorial Committee may arrange for the publication of a correction, clarification or erratum, while seeking to keep the corresponding version identified and accessible.

Where serious circumstances are confirmed that substantially affect the reliability, originality or integrity of a published contribution, the Editorial Committee may order its retraction, making the decision and the reasons supporting it publicly available.

Requests for withdrawal submitted by authors before publication will be assessed by the Editorial Committee in light of the stage reached in the editorial process and the particular circumstances of the case.

The Journal may request information or clarification from authors, reviewers or other persons involved when necessary to assess a possible editorial irregularity.

Digital preservation and privacy statement

Digital preservation

The Journal maintains storage, backup and preservation mechanisms for its digital files in order to support the conservation, recovery and availability of published content.

The DNCP and the Higher Technical Institute of Public Procurement will adopt the available technical measures to reduce the risk of information loss and ensure continuity of access to the Journal's content.

Privacy

Names, email addresses and other data provided to the Journal will be used exclusively for purposes related to editorial management and will not be provided to third parties or used for other purposes, except where required by law or duly authorized.

Copyright

Authors retain ownership of their copyright so that contributions may be published and disseminated in any form or medium. However, if an author wishes to publish the work in other scientific venues, the publication details of the version published in the Journal must be acknowledged in a note.

Editorial team, responsibility for content and contact

The composition of the Editorial Committee, Editorial Board and other persons responsible for managing the Journal will be published and kept up to date on the institutional platform.

Published information must identify the roles and institutional affiliations of its members so that the composition and editorial responsibilities of the Journal are clearly visible.

The Journal will progressively promote the participation of specialists and leading experts from different institutions and professional and academic fields, both national and international, thereby fostering institutional diversity within its editorial bodies.