Editorial Charter
Our Principles for Publishing, Partnerships, and Trust
1. Our Purpose
The Trading Post was created to re-think how meaningful public sector partnerships take shape. We exist to make the public sector marketplace easier to understand, more transparent to navigate, and far more collaborative to participate in.
Our mission is to publish ideas, insights, and examples that help public sector leaders, practitioners, and innovators do real homework — not just on technologies, but on the full picture of what makes or breaks innovation: incentive alignment, policy, program design, procurement, budgeting, and solution delivery.
We believe business in the public sector doesn’t have to be adversarial. Everyone benefits when all incentives are aligned around clearly defined objectives for success.
2. Our Editorial Philosophy
Trust is our currency, and education is our purpose. Every piece of content on The Trading Post — whether written by our team or contributed by others — must reflect three guiding principles:
Education Over Promotion
We inform before we inspire. Each story should teach something useful and practical, not simply highlight a product or service.
Ecosystem Over Ego
Public sector innovation succeeds when every stakeholder understands how the others operate. Content must help bridge those gaps, not widen them.
Transparency Over Tactics
Our financial model is simple: participation supports the cost to maintain and grow the platform, but trust governs it. Every piece you read on The Trading Post — paid or unpaid — is held to the same standards of fairness, clarity, and educational value.
3. What We Publish
We publish content that helps readers understand how meaningful public sector partnerships work in practice. That includes:
- Policy and regulatory analysis that impacts how solutions are evaluated or adopted.
- Procurement and cooperative purchasing insights that improve efficiency and access.
- Budgeting, planning, and program design lessons that influence success or failure.
- Real-world examples of implementation, adoption, and performance measurement.
- Thought leadership exploring incentive alignment, collaboration models, and partnership frameworks.
- Educational content from companies and experts that helps the ecosystem learn together — not compete for airtime.
4. Our Approach to Funding & Fairness
The Trading Post is sustained through transparent, equitable participation — much like a toll road: everyone contributes to maintain the platform, but no one can buy special access or exclusivity.
Access, Not Advantage
Companies and organizations may pay The Trading Post to create or host relevant content, but payment does not buy editorial control, preferred placement, or the ability to exclude others — including competitors. All participants operate under the same standards, the same pricing model, and the same review process.
Editorial Independence
Our editorial team retains full authority over final content, tone, and framing to preserve neutrality and educational integrity. Payment supports content creation and distribution — never outcomes, positioning, or perspective.
Transparency in Labeling
Every piece of content is labeled according to its origin:
- Editorial Feature – created by The Trading Post team.
- Contributor Insight – authored by a practitioner, agency, or organization.
- Co-Created Perspective – developed collaboratively through a paid or unpaid engagement, meeting full editorial standards.
This clarity ensures readers always know who created what, and under what context.
Equal Opportunity to Contribute
A paid engagement with The Trading Post never prevents others from contributing or being featured. Content collaborations will be processed in the order they are received because The Trading Post exists to broaden understanding — not to limit participation.
Performance-Based Recognition
When content is featured or amplified, it’s because it resonates with readers — not because it was purchased. Visibility is earned through insight, clarity, and value, not through financial leverage.
Sustainable Transparency
We are open about how we sustain our mission. Paid participation funds the platform’s operations, tools, and editorial development, but trust governs everything we publish.
In short: participation may cost something, but credibility is never for sale.
5. Standards for Company- or Solution-Specific Content
We welcome company and solution content when it educates the reader and contributes to broader understanding.
To maintain balance and integrity, all company content must:
- Teach Before It Tells – Share context, process, or lessons learned before describing a solution.
- Stay Grounded in Ecosystem Value – Explain how something fits into policy, process, or partnership outcomes.
- Disclose Authorship & Affiliation – Readers should always know who’s speaking.
- Avoid Competitive Claims – Use neutral, factual language — no unverified superlatives.
- Respect Reader Privacy –
- We never sell, share, or trade reader data.
- We do not enable third-party outreach based on readership or engagement.
- Readers may choose to connect with contributors, but no company or sponsor may initiate outreach.
This ensures all discovery is reader-led, and every connection is earned.
6. Review & Publishing Process
All submissions undergo editorial review to ensure alignment with our Charter.
Each piece is labeled transparently as:
- Editorial Feature – produced exclusively by The Trading Post team.
- Contributor Insight – content submitted by leaders in the ecosystem and reviewed for educational value.
- Co-Created Perspective – created in collaboration with third-parties and meeting editorial standards.
Sponsored Highlight – clearly marked sponsored feature.
We reserve the right to edit for clarity, tone, or neutrality and to decline content that does not meet our principles.
7. Our Commitments to Contributors
We view contributors as collaborators in a shared mission.
We commit to:
- A fair, transparent editorial process for every submission.
- Collaborative editing that preserves authentic voice.
- Honest labeling and credit.
- No preferential treatment for sponsors or partners beyond clearly identified placements.
Contributors earn visibility through relevance, accuracy, and value.
8. Our Promise to Readers
Your trust is the foundation of everything we do.
We promise to:
- Never sell or share your data.
- Never allow third-party outreach without your consent.
- Always disclose who created or funded a piece.
- Always prioritize education, context, and clarity over promotion.
Every article should help you:
- Understand the ecosystem and its stakeholders.
- Learn how partnerships form, succeed, or fail.
- Make informed decisions faster and with more confidence.
Your discovery process is always yours.
9. How to Engage
We invite public sector leaders, practitioners, and solution providers to participate in building a healthier, more transparent ecosystem.
Submit an insight
Share your perspective, framework, or story.
Collaborate with us
Co-create content that helps others learn.
Explore The Trading Post
See how ideas and partnerships take shape across the public sector.
10. Our North Star
Every word published on The Trading Post should serve one purpose:
To make public sector partnerships more transparent, collaborative, and effective — for everyone involved.
If a piece of content helps readers do their homework, understand others’ incentives, and move the ecosystem forward in an intellectually honest way, it belongs here.
