DATA PROTECTION PRIVACY
This is the privacy notice of the Afro-Caribbean Commercial Science Network, also known as “we” and “ACCSN”. It pertains to individuals who sign up for our membership or use our mentorship services, referred to as “you”. Our goal at ACCSN is to respect your privacy and abide by relevant data protection laws, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This notice describes the personal information we will gather about you, how we will obtain it, and how we will use and potentially share it during the membership registration process.
It is important that you read this notice thoroughly when you start utilising our services.
Definitions
In this notice, the following terms have the following meanings:
“Personal information” (sometimes referred to as personal data) means information about a person who can be identified (directly or indirectly) from that information;
“Processing” refers to the act of collecting, recording, organising, storing, modifying, retrieving, disclosing, and/or deleting information, as well as any other action or use related to it.
“Sensitive personal information” (sometimes called “special categories of personal data” or “sensitive personal data”) refers to personal information about an individual’s race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership (or lack thereof), genetics information, biometric information (when used to identify an individual), and information about an individual’s health, sex life, or sexual orientation.
Who collects the information?
The data controller is Afro-Caribbean Commercial Science Network, Incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 14611323 and its registered office on the 3rd Floor, 120 Baker Street, London, England, W1U 6TU, which gathers and uses certain information about you.
Data protection principles
We will adhere to the following data protection principles when processing personal information:
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- We will process personal information in a transparent, fair, and lawful manner.
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- We will only collect personal information for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes, and we will only process it in a way that is compatible with those purposes.
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- We will only process personal information that is relevant, adequate, and necessary for the stated purposes.
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- We will take appropriate steps to correct or delete inaccurate data, and ensure that personal information is accurate and up-to-date.
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- We will keep personal information in a form that allows the identification of individuals for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which the information was collected.
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- We will implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information against accidental loss, destruction, or damage, as well as unauthorised or unlawful processing.
About the information, we collect and hold
We will obtain personal information from you when you sign up for our membership club through our online sign-up form. The table in Schedule Part I provides a summary of the information we collect and store, how and why we do so, how we use it, and with whom it may be shared.
We always strive to make sure that personal information is collected and processed appropriately. We will inform you of any changes to the information we collect, or the reasons for which we collect and process it.
Further details regarding the processing of sensitive data
We want to be transparent about our collection and processing of your sensitive personal information and have provided specific details below.
Your ethnic origin is the only sensitive personal information that we collect and process. The sole purpose of this is to boost ethnic diversity and produce relevant statistics. We only use your ethnic origin for the stated purpose and do not share it with anyone outside our organisation, including our clients.
We use the data we hold about ethnic origin anonymised only for research, analysis, and producing reports about ethnic diversity. In addition to our legitimate interest, we also rely on your explicit consent to process your sensitive personal information. You can give your consent by checking a separate tick box when filling out and sending the application form.
Where we store information
We will store your personal information on our database and other information systems, which may be managed by third-party service providers.
How long do we retain your information?
We will keep the personal information that we collect from you when you sign up for our membership club for only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. If you decide to terminate your membership, we will permanently delete your personal information from our databases.
Your right to object to our processing of your information
You have the right to object to the processing of your information if it is based solely on our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), provided you have specific reasons based on your situation. If you object, we will stop processing your information unless we can demonstrate legitimate reasons for the processing that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims. Kindly get in touch with us if you intend to express your objection in such a manner.
Your rights to access, correct, and erase your information
If you want to access, correct, or request information that we hold about you, or if you have any questions about this notice, please contact us. In certain circumstances, you also have the right to request the erasure of some, but not all, of the information we hold and process (the right to be forgotten), by applicable law.
Safeguarding your personal information
we have implemented appropriate security measures that prevent unauthorised access, accidental loss, or damage. We restrict access to your personal information to those who have a legitimate business reason to access it. Those who handle your information must adhere to confidentiality agreements and process the data lawfully. Additionally, we take steps to pseudonymize or encrypt personal information where possible and maintain the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resilience of our processing systems and services.
If we use external organisations to process personal information on our behalf, we will include additional security arrangements in contracts with those organisations to ensure the security of personal information. These contracts must specify that:
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- The organisation can only act according to our written instructions.
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- Those who process the data must maintain confidentiality.
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- Appropriate measures are taken to ensure the security of processing.
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- Sub-contractors can only be engaged with our prior consent and under a written contract.
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- The organisation will help us provide access to personal information, and allow individuals to exercise their rights in relation to data protection.
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- The organization will assist us in meeting our obligations regarding the security of processing, data breach notification, and data protection impact assessments.
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- The organization will delete or return all personal information to us upon request at the end of the contract.
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- The organization will submit to audits and inspections, provide us with any necessary information to ensure compliance with data protection obligations, and notify us immediately if it is asked to do something that infringes data protection law.
We also have procedures in place to handle suspected data security breaches. If legally required, we will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach.
We do not transfer your personal information outside the EEA
We ensure that your personal information remains within the European Economic Area (EEA), consisting of countries in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. This means we do not transfer your data outside of these territories.
If you have any concerns
We aim to address any concerns or inquiries you have regarding our handling of your personal information satisfactorily. If we fail to do so, you may wish to seek further guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office by visiting https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or calling 0303 123 1113. They can advise you on how to lodge a formal complaint and provide guidance on your rights.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of your personal information or this notice, please contact us via email at info@theaccsn.com
PART I: MEMBERSHIP CLUB
Information collected:
We collect your name, employer, job title, educational background, date of birth, and contact details such as your email address.
Method of collection:
We obtain this information from you when you complete the sign-up form.
Purpose of collection:
We collect this information to set up your membership and keep you informed about events and other relevant information that may interest you, as it is in our legitimate interest to do so.
Use and sharing of information: We use your email address to contact you and may share your information with third-party service providers, such as marketing services, to send you promotional materials.