A. Introduction

B. Editorial guidelines

C. Contributions

D. Guidelines for Contributors

Please review EPIC-Africa’s submission guidelines below before sending in your contribution.

Content

•  Submissions may address any themes or topics but must demonstrate a clear link to civil society and philanthropy in Africa.
• All manuscripts should contain the following details:
  • Article title (must capture the essence of the content)
  • Author title, name and surname
  • Author affiliation and designation
  • Details of any funding or collaborations that contributed to the data discussed in the manuscript (see section on Values & Ethics below)
  • Contact details: email address, telephone numbers, social media handles/profiles
  • A 1-2 line biography to be included at the end of the article if it is published.

How to submit

•  For articles related to the African CSO Platform, contributors should submit their articles directly on the African CSO Platform, an initiative of EPIC-Africa geared on supporting the African civil society sector.
• For all non-article content (e.g., event announcements and reports, news, training, funding and job opportunities), contributors should submit their contributions directly on the African CSO Platform. Please note that only registered subscribers can upload content to the Platform.
• All other content should be submitted to the editorial team at editorial@epic-africa.org with the article title in the subject line, accompanied by a brief email explaining what their submissions are about.

Format

•  Articles submitted directly to the editorial team should use Word format.
• Articles should be no longer than 1000 words. In exceptional circumstances, and at EPICAfrica’s discretion, we may accept longer articles.
• Authors should include with their article a high-quality photo of themselves or that they have the right to use. If the latter, the image must correspond to the article submitted. EPIC-Africa reserves the right to approve the image that accompanies every piece.

Language & Writing style

•  Submissions should be written in simple, professional language to meet our goal of reaching a broad audience. We encourage writing that is concise, free of jargon, and presents clear and well-defined arguments.
• Contributors should use US spelling (unless quoting directly from a document with UK spelling).
• Use endnotes for references (numbering style: 1,2,3..). Please limit the number of endnotes to 5.
• Spell out any numbers smaller than eleven. All other numbers eleven and greater must be written in numerical form.
• Explain all acronyms in full the first time they are used in the article, followed by the acronym in brackets. Subsequently, only the acronym may be used.
• Use no more than ten hyperlinks per article and only to direct readers to more detailed reports or associated research, news items, and other online sources.
• Credit sources where applicable and avoid plagiarism at all costs. EPIC-Africa will run a plagiarism check on articles submitted and will not accept contributions from anyone found to have violated this principle.

Copyright

EPIC-Africa retains copyright of any material or articles it publishes on its website, the African CSO Platform or any of its media platforms.

E. Editorial Process & Publication

Once articles are submitted, successful authors are informed whether their manuscripts have been accepted for publication and/or need to be revised before publication. Accepted manuscripts will be reviewed and fact-checked by the editorial team, who may edit them to enhance readability to EPIC-Africa’s audience. If substantive changes are made, the author will be sent a tracked final version of their submission to review prior to publication.

Manuscripts needing revision must be returned to the editorial team within seven working days or other specified time limit to allow for scheduling and publication. This process takes up to two weeks. Submission of an article does not guarantee publication. The EPIC-Africa editorial team has the final right to determine content for publication. For more information or to discuss ideas for publication, please email editorial@epic-africa.org

F. Values & Ethics

All authors and editors are required to sign up to our Privacy Policy and abide by our organizational values/standards as listed below:

•  Accuracy: We do not publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines that are not supported by the main content of an article. All articles published on our social media platforms and the African CSO Platform are supported by evidence, thoroughly fact-checked, presented in clear, precise language, and clearly attributed and accredited.
• Fairness: Fair reporting provides relevant background and context, does not omit relevant facts and strives to be honest with readers, especially about what we know and what we do not know. EPIC-Africa aims to present all relevant sides in the stories we publish, ensuring that they are balanced and add context.
• Respect: EPIC-Africa will not accept content that is considered discriminatory or disrespectful, or that which infringes on anyone’s privacy. We will also not accept content that is defamatory or otherwise legally questionable, including copyright infringement or plagiarism, or accept content likely to offend or target any ethnic, national, gender or religious group. In this regard, EPIC-Africa’s editorial team reserves the right to determine if any content infringes on these parameters, and the right to the final decision to publish or not.
• Transparency & Attribution: EPIC-Africa strives to ensure transparency on the sources of the content we publish and will always identify our authors unless there are security or legally binding issues. Contributors are expected to disclose any conflicts of interests that are relevant, or could be perceived to be relevant, to the subject of their submissions. These will be disclosed on the EPIC-Africa media platforms when the content is published. Conflicts may include, but not limited to, the receipt of funding, political affiliations or a financial interest such as holding shares in a company attributed to the article. Contributors are required to hyperlink to original sources and to ensure that all information is correct and understandable within context.
• Impartiality: As an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, EPIC-Africa aims to be inclusive of a diverse viewpoint from those who have expertise on our areas of interest All content that is of an “opinion” in nature shall be clearly identified and labelled as an opinion or analysis and clearly attributed to the source of the opinion. Views expressed by contributors reflect their views and do not necessarily reflect the views of EPIC-Africa.
• Accountability: EPIC-Africa will acknowledge when we commit errors and correct them and, where needed and in most cases, offer an apology for the same. We strive to listen to the concerns of our audience and respond positively at all times.
• Editorial Integrity and Independence: EPIC-Africa’s editorial decisions are independent, fair, objective and professional, and are not influenced by outside interests, political or commercial pressures, or personal interests.
• Humanity & “Do-No-Harm”: EPIC-Africa’s editorial approach seeks to protect and safeguard vulnerable groups or persons in vulnerable situations, notably children and people with disabilities. We will not publish names, photographs or any other identifiable material that could lead to harm against such persons. We are also keenly aware of and take every precaution to measure the impact of our articles and images on the lives of others.

G. Republication

All content is available free for republication via Creative Commons provided it follows these guidelines:

• Republished EPIC-Africa material cannot be edited.
• Republications must credit authors of material as published by EPIC-Africa and include a link back to either our home page or the article URL.
• EPIC-Africa’s published content cannot be sold.