The African Continuous Improvement Journal (ACIJ) only considers original manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not currently under review by another journal, book, conference proceeding, institutional repository, or online publication platform. Authors must ensure that their submission represents new scholarly work and does not duplicate material already published elsewhere.At the point of submission, the Corresponding Author is required to confirm that the manuscript is not under consideration by any other publisher. Any form of duplicate submission, redundant publication, or self-plagiarism may result in immediate rejection of the manuscript. Where parts of the manuscript are based on previous conference papers, working papers, reports, theses, or dissertations, this must be clearly declared during submission, and the manuscript must show substantial development beyond the earlier version.

File Format
All manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format only, either as a DOC or DOCX file. PDF files will not be accepted for the main manuscript because the editorial and peer-review process requires editable text.Authors should ensure that the submitted file is complete and includes the title, author details, abstract, keywords, main text, references, tables, figures, and any required declarations. Where supplementary materials are included, they should be uploaded separately and clearly labelled.

Title and Subtitle
The manuscript title should be concise, informative, and reflective of the content of the article. It should clearly communicate the main focus of the study and include relevant keywords that improve discoverability in indexing databases and search engines.Where a subtitle is used, it should provide additional clarity without making the title unnecessarily long. Authors should avoid vague, overly general, or promotional titles. The title should accurately represent the scope, context, and contribution of the manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations
The full names of all authors must appear below the title, followed by their institutional affiliations. Affiliations should include the department, faculty or school, institution, city, and country where applicable.Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID IDs to support accurate author identification and improve the visibility of their research. One author must be clearly identified as the Corresponding Author. The Corresponding Author will be responsible for all communication with the journal throughout the submission, review, revision, and publication process.All listed authors must have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the manuscript. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be recognised in the acknowledgements section.

Abstract
Each manuscript must include an abstract of 150–200 words. The abstract should provide a clear and concise summary of the study and should briefly indicate the background or problem, aim of the study, methodology, key findings, and main conclusion.The abstract should be written as a single paragraph and formatted using 1.5 line spacing. It should not include citations, tables, figures, unexplained abbreviations, or detailed statistical information unless essential. The abstract should be able to stand alone as a summary of the article.

Keywords
Authors must provide 5–7 keywords immediately after the abstract. Keywords should reflect the central concepts, context, methodology, and subject area of the manuscript.Authors should select keywords carefully because they support indexing, searchability, and discoverability. Keywords should not simply repeat words from the title but should include related terms that potential readers may use when searching for articles in the field.

Main Text
Articles submitted to ACIJ should normally be between 6,000 and 7,000 words, including references, tables, figures, and appendices where applicable. Manuscripts should be typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with 1.5 line spacing throughout.Pages must be numbered consecutively. The manuscript should be presented in a clean and readable format, with consistent spacing, margins, headings, and paragraph structure. Authors should avoid unnecessary formatting, decorative fonts, excessive bolding, or complex layout designs.Footnotes should not be used. Any additional explanations should be incorporated into the main text or included in the reference list where appropriate. Authors must ensure that the manuscript is professionally edited and free from spelling, grammar, referencing, and formatting errors before submission.All submissions will be screened using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is original, properly cited, and compliant with accepted standards of academic integrity.

Manuscript Structure
Although the structure may vary depending on the type of article, empirical research manuscripts submitted should generally include the following sections:·       Introduction·       Literature Review·       Theoretical or Conceptual Framework, where applicable·       Methodology·       Results or Findings·       Discussion·       Conclusion and Recommendations·       ReferencesReview articles, conceptual papers, case studies, and practice-based contributions may follow a different structure, provided that the manuscript is logically organised and academically rigorous.

Headings and Subheadings
Headings should be used to organise the manuscript clearly and guide the reader through the argument. Authors should use no more than four levels of headings.Heading levels must be formatted consistently throughout the manuscript. Authors should avoid excessive subdivision of sections, as this may disrupt the flow of the article. Each heading should clearly reflect the content of the section that follows. 

Language and Style
All manuscripts must be written in British English, using spelling and grammar conventions consistent with the Oxford English Dictionary. Authors should set the language in Microsoft Word to UK English before submission.The writing style should be formal, academic, and accessible. Authors should avoid informal language, unexplained jargon, overly long sentences, and unsupported claims. The manuscript should be written in a manner that is understandable to an interdisciplinary academic audience while maintaining scholarly depth. 

Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviations and acronyms must be written out in full at first mention, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used consistently throughout the manuscript.Authors should only use abbreviations for terms that appear repeatedly in the manuscript. Excessive use of abbreviations should be avoided, as this may make the article difficult to read. 

Illustrations
Illustrations, images, diagrams, or visual materials should only be included where they add clear value to the manuscript. All illustrations must be of high quality, clearly labelled, and directly relevant to the content of the article.Illustrations should be embedded in the manuscript near the point where they are first discussed. Each illustration must include a clear caption and, where applicable, a source acknowledgement or permission statement.Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted images, diagrams, or other visual material. 

Tables
Tables must be created using editable text and not inserted as images. Each table should be numbered consecutively, for example, Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3.The title of the table should appear above the table, left-aligned, and written clearly. Any explanatory notes should appear below the table. Tables should be placed as close as possible to the first point of reference in the manuscript.Authors should ensure that tables are readable, well-structured, and fit within the page margins. Tables should not duplicate information already explained in detail in the text. Instead, they should summarise or organise information in a way that supports the analysis. 

Figures
Figures include graphs, charts, diagrams, models, maps, and other visual representations. Figures must be numbered consecutively and placed near the point where they are first cited in the manuscript.Captions should appear below each figure and should clearly describe the content of the figure. Authors must ensure that all figures are high resolution and readable in black and white, where applicable.The text must explain and interpret the figure rather than simply referring to it. Figures should support the argument of the article and must not be included for decorative purposes. 

References and Citation Style
All in-text citations and reference list entries must follow APA 7th edition style. Authors should ensure that every source cited in the text appears in the reference list and that every source in the reference list is cited in the manuscript.The reference list must appear at the end of the manuscript, arranged alphabetically by author surname and double-spaced. Authors should check all references carefully for accuracy, completeness, and consistency.Where possible, authors are encouraged to use recent sources, preferably from the past five years, especially when discussing current debates, policies, practices, or empirical developments. However, older foundational sources may be used where they are theoretically or historically important. 

Ethical Considerations
Authors must ensure that their research complies with recognised ethical standards. Where the study involves human participants, the manuscript must clearly state that ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate institutional ethics committee or review board.The ethical considerations section should include the name of the approving institution, ethics approval number where available, and a brief explanation of how informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, anonymity, and data protection were ensured.Where ethics approval was not required, authors should provide a clear explanation. Research involving vulnerable groups, sensitive data, organisational information, or community-based participants must include sufficient detail on how participants were protected.

Data Protection and Confidentiality
Authors must ensure that all personal, organisational, and research data are handled responsibly. Participants should not be identifiable unless they have given explicit written permission.Any names, locations, institutions, or other identifying details should be anonymised where necessary. Authors must ensure that interview extracts, survey data, case descriptions, and organisational examples do not compromise participant confidentiality.

Conflict of Interest
Authors must include a conflict-of-interest declaration in the manuscript. This declaration should disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other relationships that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the research.Where no conflict of interest exists, authors should state: “The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.”Transparency in declaring potential conflicts supports the credibility and integrity of the publication process.

Funding Declaration
Authors should disclose any funding, sponsorship, grant support, or institutional assistance received for the research. The declaration should include the name of the funding body and, where applicable, the grant number.If the research received no specific funding, authors should state: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

Acknowledgements
The acknowledgements section should recognise individuals, institutions, organisations, or support staff who contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet the criteria for authorship.This may include administrative support, technical assistance, language editing, data collection support, or institutional cooperation. Authors should ensure that anyone named in the acknowledgements has agreed to be acknowledged. 

Use of Artificial Intelligence
Generative Artificial Intelligence tools, including chatbots, writing assistants, image generators, data analysis tools, and automated editing tools, may not be listed as authors. Authorship is limited to human contributors who take responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of the work.Where AI tools have been used to support writing, editing, translation, data analysis, literature searching, image generation, coding, or any other part of the research process, authors must disclose this use clearly in the manuscript.The declaration should include the name of the tool, version where known, provider, date of use where relevant, and the purpose for which the tool was used. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, originality, reliability, and ethical acceptability of all AI-assisted content.Authors may be asked to provide prompts, outputs, or descriptions of AI-assisted processes as supplementary material where necessary. AI-generated content must not be used to fabricate data, references, quotations, participant responses, or research findings. 

Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any copyrighted material, including images, figures, tables, questionnaires, scales, diagrams, photographs, or large extracts from previously published work.Permission must be obtained before submission, and appropriate acknowledgements must be included in the manuscript. Failure to obtain permission may delay or prevent publication. 

Before submitting the manuscript, authors should ensure that:• The manuscript complies with all ACIJ author guidelines.
• The manuscript is submitted in DOC or DOCX format.
• The title is clear, concise, and informative.
• All authors and affiliations are correctly listed.
• The Corresponding Author is clearly identified.
• The abstract is between 150 and 200 words.
• Five to seven keywords are included.
• The manuscript follows the required word count and formatting style.
• Tables and figures are numbered, titled, and cited in the text.
• All references follow APA 7th edition style.
• Ethical approval details are included where applicable.
• Conflict of interest, funding, acknowledgements, and AI-use declarations are included.
• All authors have reviewed and approved the final version.
• Permission has been obtained for any third-party material.
• The manuscript has been checked for grammar, clarity, originality, and plagiarism concerns.

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal’s online submission system. Authors who do not already have an account must register on the platform before submitting their manuscript.The Corresponding Author is responsible for ensuring that all required information, files, declarations, and supporting documents are uploaded correctly. Incomplete submissions may be returned for correction before editorial assessment begins.After successful submission, the Corresponding Author will receive confirmation from the system. Authors will be able to track the progress of their submission through the online platform.

All manuscripts submitted to ACIJ will first undergo an initial editorial screening to assess suitability, originality, formatting compliance, ethical completeness, and alignment with the journal’s scope.Manuscripts that meet the initial requirements may be sent for peer review. The review process is intended to assess the academic quality, originality, methodological soundness, clarity, relevance, and contribution of the manuscript.Authors may be required to revise their manuscript in response to reviewer and editorial comments. Revised manuscripts should be accompanied by a response document explaining how each comment has been addressed.The final decision to accept, request further revisions, or reject a manuscript rests with the editorial team.

The journal aims to process submissions within a reasonable timeframe. The estimated timeline is as follows:• First editorial decision: approximately 5 weeks
• Review completion: approximately 5 weeks
• Average time from submission to publication: approximately 3 monthsThese timelines are indicative and may vary depending on the availability of reviewers, the extent of revisions required, the responsiveness of authors, and the editorial workflow.Authors are encouraged to respond to editorial and reviewer requests promptly to avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process.