No funder, partner, commissioning client, board member, government body or political organisation has any right to influence Foundation research findings or to delay publication. This is the defining commitment of the institution.

What this policy covers

This policy applies to all research, polling, advisory, advocacy and DemTech outputs published or distributed by the Foundation, whether self-initiated or commissioned.

What "editorial independence" means here

1. Findings are determined by evidence, not by funder preference. Researchers retain final authority over substantive conclusions. No external party may revise, suppress, soften or delay findings on substantive grounds.
2. Methodology is disclosed publicly. Every quantitative output is published with its methodology note, sample design and limitations. Anyone may inspect or challenge the basis of our claims.
3. Funders are publicly disclosed. The Foundation publishes its full funder list annually. Funders of specific outputs are credited within the output itself.
4. Commissioned work is published openly. Commissioning a piece of research does not buy ownership of its findings. All commissioned outputs are published under the same terms as self-initiated work.
5. Embargoes are limited and disclosed. First-look briefings to commissioning partners may be granted under embargo of up to 6 weeks, after which the work is released publicly.

What this policy explicitly prohibits

• Anonymous funding
• Funding contingent on specific findings
• Pre-publication veto over conclusions by funders or commissioning clients
• Suppression of inconvenient findings
• Quiet methodological pivots after data collection has revealed unwelcome results
• Ghost-authorship, contract authorship, or authorship of work the named author did not substantially conduct

Comments on accuracy

Funders, partners and commissioning clients may comment on factual accuracy, clarity and presentation in pre-publication drafts. Such comments are welcomed. They are treated as input to the researcher's editorial judgement, not as direction.

Enforcement

This policy is binding on Foundation staff, board members, contracted researchers and partners. Breaches are investigated by the Board's ethics chair and reported in the annual report. Confidential concerns can be raised to ethics@dgfoundation.pk.

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This policy is reviewed annually by the Board. Last revised: 2025. The version in force at the time of any specific output is the one that governs that output.