Client governance and service levels
A corporate publishing relationship needs more than a list of tasks. It needs a clear operating rhythm: who owns each responsibility, where editorial authority sits, how active work is reported and how issues move to a decision.
The Harrowell approach
Harrowell scopes governance around the journal and the assignment. The final model depends on the service, but each engagement should make its decision rights, escalation routes, information flows and review meetings explicit.
In practice
The engagement should identify what is included, what is outside scope, the expected deliverables, client dependencies and the people authorised to make decisions. This avoids ambiguity as work moves between editorial, operational and technical teams.
Useful reporting focuses on work in progress, capacity, delivery status, active risks, decisions needed and recurring blockers. The purpose is to help a client act, not to produce reporting for its own sake.
The operating model should identify what can be resolved in routine delivery, which issues require editorial judgement, and which require client or senior stakeholder direction. Urgent concerns should have a named route and response expectation in the agreed scope.
Regular operational and strategic reviews turn delivery information into practical priorities. This can include workflow improvements, technology changes, policy needs, supplier interfaces and planned journal development.
Working framework
01
Named client, editorial and service contacts, plus the decisions each role may make.
02
The delivery measures, status information and reporting cadence appropriate to the work.
03
Working meetings, governance reviews, issue logs and the method for recording decisions.
04
How a changed requirement, dependency or risk is assessed, approved and incorporated into the work.
Common questions
No. Appropriate response times and service measures depend on the scope, operating hours, criticality and partners involved. They should be agreed in writing for the engagement.
Editors and editorial boards retain the scholarly authority assigned to them. The service model supports those decisions without replacing them.
Yes. Harrowell can work within an existing client governance model where responsibilities, approvals and information requirements are clear.
Speak with Harrowell
Share the journal, programme or requirement. We’ll establish whether there is a suitable next step and the information needed for a considered discussion.
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