Governance
Public governance structure of Publi-Score — version 1.0 (March 2026).
Version 1.0 — Last updated: 18/04/2026
Publi-Score's credibility rests on two inseparable pillars: the rigor of the method and the independence of the organization deploying it. This charter defines the separation of roles between the commercial entity and the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), as well as the mechanisms guaranteeing methodological independence.
Public document — CC BY 4.0 — versioned on GitHub.
Entities and roles
Publi-Score
Responsibilities
- •Technical development and deployment
- •Infrastructure, hosting, pricing
- •Commercial partnerships
- •Communications and press relations
Limits
- ↳Cannot modify the methodological grid without SAC advice
- ↳Cannot exclude an article under commercial or editorial pressure
- ↳Cannot fund the SAC via funds from publishers or entities evaluated by Publi-Score
Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)
Responsibilities
- •Annual revision of the scoring grid
- •Review of methodological objections (protocols C1-C8)
- •Publication of an annual public Opinion
- •Public reporting of any major unresolved disagreement
Limits
- ↳Advisory role only — no veto on commercial decisions
- ↳Published and enforceable opinion
Conflict of interest declarations (COI)
Each SAC member publicly declares their institutional affiliations, research funding, ties to the pharmaceutical industry or scientific publishing, and participation in editorial boards. Declarations are updated annually.
Recusal rule : a member declaring a conflict on a specific topic withdraws from the corresponding deliberation.
Scientific committee being constituted (3–5 members planned, phase 1 voluntary). Selected profiles will be published here with their affiliations and COI declarations.
"Honorable exit" clause
Any SAC member can resign publicly at any time. In case of major disagreement with a methodological decision:
- 1The member notifies Publi-Score in writing.
- 2Publi-Score publishes the disagreement and its reasoned response within 30 days.
- 3The member may publish a statement of up to 500 words on this page.
Goal: that a resignation is never perceived as a quiet withdrawal, but as a strong, traceable signal.
Formal prohibitions
Funding by evaluated third parties
No SAC funding can come from scientific publishers, pharmaceutical laboratories, medical device manufacturers, or institutions whose publications are analyzed by Publi-Score.
Zero editorial pressure on scores
No score can be modified following a request from the authors, publishers or institutions concerned. Only a documented factual error can justify a publicly traced correction.
Universal retroactivity
Modifications to the methodological grid apply to the entire catalogue, never to an isolated article.
Reference models
Nutri-Score
Transnational volunteer committee (Hercberg + 6 countries) — separation of government / scientists / industry
Cochrane Collaboration
Volunteer researchers + institutions — open source governance, public protocols
ORCID
Organic adoption → institutional obligation after 10 years — key role of academic legitimacy
Eco-Score (counter-example)
Commercial governance without independent scientific committee → IFOAM lawsuit → contested legitimacy