ABOUT WIASN

PRIVACY

This is our Privacy Policy section outlining our terms & conditions and privacy policy for easy access.

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WIASN Privacy Policy

Women in Academia Support Network (WIASN) take your privacy very seriously and we are committed to protecting your personal data and handling it responsibly. We take great care in protecting your privacy and the information you provide whilst participating or wanting to participate in our consultancy, training or research projects.

All research is conducted by trained researchers, with an informed consent process and right to withdraw.

We commit to not mislead about the nature of any data collection and how it will be used and disseminated. All responses are kept confidential unless you have consented to be identified and understand the uses of your data.

We are committed to meeting the requirements of the following laws and codes:

• The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• Data Protection Act 1998 and the new Data Protection Act which will enact GDPR requirements

This policy covers the personal data that WIASN collects as part of our consultancy,

1. Personal data WIASN collects from you

Information we collect will depend upon the activity you are undertaking.

• Consultancy/research: Data collected may include personal opinions, personal information (name, address, postcode, gender, occupation, age, date of birth, email address, telephone number etc.) We may collect business contact information, such as company name, job title, and department. We collect all different types of personal data and sensitive data dependent on the research project, therefore the data is collected on the grounds of consent.

• Training: Name, address, postcode, gender, occupation, age, date of birth, email address, telephone number etc. We may collect business contact information, such as company name, job title, and department. Bank Detail (to take payment and not stored). This data will be used to process training requests and take payment.

2. Personal data WIASN and third parties

We do not do any invisible processing of data from your computer. For online surveys we will extract data and destroy the original survey where IP address storage has a possibility of being stored.

All devices and computers that we store your data on are password protected.

All devices and computers that we store your data have anti-virus software and are constantly updated to the most recent operating system.
We store your data on computers and devices owned by us (private computers password protected) and, on occasion, those of our contractors who may store our data on their computers, servers and any such cloud storage they may access; in accordance with WIASN data policy.  

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, your obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.
We use the following third-party software and some of your data may be stored on their servers:
Google email servers:

• Google Drive cloud storage and forms;

• One Drive cloud storage;

• Online surveys such as Survey Monkey; Google Forms.

3. How and why WIASN processes your personal data
Personal information we collect is:

• Combined with the responses / views / opinions of others who participated in the same research / consultation and reported back anonymously to the client that commissioned the study.

• Used on an aggregated basis to determine which groups of people think certain things more than others.

• All of your responses to questions posed within surveys or interviews are confidential. We will never intentionally disclose your personal information or individual survey responses to the client that commissioned the study or any third parties unless: (i) you request or consent to share your identifying information and individual responses; or (ii) in the rare but possible circumstance that the information is subject to disclosure pursuant to judicial or other government subpoenas, warrants, orders or for similar legal or regulatory requirements.

We also collect your personal information for one of the following purposes:

• to correspond with you after you have contacted us;

• to invite you to participate in research;

• to confirm the details of the research you have agreed to take part in;

• to conduct research with you;

• To validate answers / views you gave in a recent research we conducted (if you have consented to us doing so);

• To update and to ensure that our records of your personal information are correct (applicable to those consenting to be part of an ongoing community or panel); and

• We will not mislead you about the nature of the research or how the data will be used. The information on about the nature of the research and how the data will be used is normally placed on the invitation or the consent form (or informed as sent form).

• We will not sell your personal information to third parties. From time to time we may employ other individuals to perform functions on our behalf. They will have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions, but will not use it for other purposes. They must also process the personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy and as permitted by the UK’s Data Protection laws (as set out above).

4. How long WIASN retains personal data

WIASN makes reasonable efforts to keep personal information in its possession or control, which is used on an ongoing basis, accurate, complete, current and relevant, based on the most recent information available to us. We rely on you to help us keep your personal information accurate, complete and current by answering our questions honestly. Personally identifiable information collected will be kept for no longer than 5 years from project completion, however, for many projects that data will be deleted in a much shorter timeframe (as per the consent form).

5. Your Rights

Your engagement in any WIASN survey or interview is voluntary at all times, and we are always thankful for your help. You also have the right to withdraw consent you gave for participation in one of our surveys or interviews at any time. In addition to your rights to withdraw your consent, you have the right to ask us:

• for access to information about your personal data or for a copy of your personal data

• to correct or delete your personal data

• to restrict (i.e. stop any active) processing of your personal data

• to provide you with certain personal data in a structured, machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another organisation

You also have the right to withdraw consent you gave for participation in one of our surveys or interviews at any time.

To do this, please submit your request in writing in email to kelly@wiasn.com

Please note where by your personal data has been collected via a third party we will reasonably assist you in using your rights with these third parties. We aim to deal with any data requests within 7 working days of receiving the request.

6. How to contact us and exercise your rights

If you have any queries concerning this policy, our website or our research, or would like to make a subject access request, please contact us.

We will do our best to assist with any queries you have about your personal data. When you do so, please provide your full name, your preferred contact information, and a summary of your query.
Women in Academia Support Network
International House
12 Constance Street
LONDON
E16 2DQ
kelly@wiasn.com

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If you have concerns regarding how your personal information has been processed by WIASN you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via the following options:

Website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns Telephone helpline: 0303 123 1113

Our policy may be updated periodically and the latest version will always be available here on the WIASN website.

WIASN Privacy Policy last updated 14/04/23