Growing Kent & Medway Privacy Notice
Growing Kent & Medway (GKM) is a consortium of four core partners: National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB, the ‘Lead Partner’); University of Kent (UoK); University of Greenwich (UoG) and Locate in Kent (LiK).
Each of the four core partners is a Data Controller for information provided to Growing Kent & Medway.
If you contact an organisation directly, or follow a link to a partner or third party website, that organisation is the data controller responsible for processing any data you share with them. They will publish and manage their own privacy notice with details of how to contact them.
Growing Kent & Medway contact details
Email: [email protected]
Weblink: https://www.growingkentandmedway.com/
Queries about data protection in respect of Growing Kent and Medway should in the first instance, be directed to [email protected] A response will then be coordinated by a GKM representative from the GKM consortium partners.
What type of information we have
Personal Information is any information that can be used to identify a living person. Growing Kent & Medway collect and process the following information, including:
- Name and contact information (including Location data e.g. postal address)
- Assigning of an identifying number
- Telephone Numbers
- E-mail addresses
- Date of birth (we need this to identify our ‘target groups’)
- Gender (we need this to identify our ‘target groups’)
- Information that is automatically collected (e.g. google analytics when you visit our website)
- Information about your contact with us e.g. meetings, phone calls, emails/letters.
- Information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website services, email notifications and/or newsletters including name and email address.
- Any other information that you choose to send to us.
The Personal Data concerns representatives of companies and businesses, or individuals that engage with Growing Kent & Medway either as beneficiaries or volunteers. This includes:
- Growing Kent & Medway members and non-members
- Users of the Growing Kent & Medway Mentoring Programme, Accelerator Programme, Innovation Growth Managers, R&D facilities
- Attendees at Growing Kent & Medway events
- Applicants into Growing Kent & Medway grant funding programmes
- Beneficiaries of Growing Kent & Medway grant funding
We are not collecting Special Category Data as defined by the ICO (pertaining to race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data (where used for identification purposes); health, sexual orientation or sexual activity).
How we get the information and why do we have it
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:
- You have subscribed to GKM services or created a Membership Profile via our website
- You have registered or applied for one of our GKM services, programmes or events
- You have engaged with one of our GKM Innovation Growth Managers/Mentoring Manager/Accelerator Manager/other GKM representative
We also receive personal information from the following sources in the following scenarios:
- If you are a registered business, we may access data from Companies House to assess your eligibility for some of our services, and to obtain information to help us monitor the outcomes and impact of our services to you, against our project targets and objectives
Growing Kent & Medway collects information from our website and service users, predominantly through the creation of Membership profiles. Non-member data is also collected when these users access the GKM website and GKM services. GKM services include networking opportunities, events registration, industry news and information, small and large grants, training and mentoring, business accelerator, business directory, mentor directory and other services.
Clear privacy information is available via the GKM website, with valid contact information, alongside the Privacy Notice which is updated regularly. Members may manage their preferences at any time. Members and Non-Members may contact GKM at any time to request that information held about them is deleted.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information in relation to GKM is our legitimate interests, and the legitimate interests of our users, in ensuring the delivery and monitoring of GKM consortium services, which are delivered by the four core partner organisations.
When we process Personal Data for certain applications (e.g. for GKM grants programmes and training programmes), we will normally do this in order to agree or deliver a Contract - our lawful basis under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
What we do with the information we have
We use the information that you have given us in order to assess your eligibility for services that we provide, and to provide these services to you.
We also use your information to monitor outcomes of our engagement and evaluate our impact.
In order to do this your data may be shared between the four core GKM partner organisations and with externally appointed auditors.
Web analytics data is used to monitor and improve our products and services.
Once Members have provided their information, it is used wherever possible to pre-populate their further applications/registrations for GKM services, to provide individualised services and avoid users repetitively providing the same information multiple times. User/Member data may be supplemented with additional information obtained from Companies House and from other user engagement with consortium partner organisations/GKM representatives.
Collected information is necessary to provide GKM services to the user and enable GKM to monitor and evaluate its targets. Data may be shared between the four core GKM partner organisations in order to provide GKM services (delivered by the core partners), and with externally appointed auditors. Data will be collected, shared and stored securely in accordance with the GKM consortium data sharing agreement.
We will contact you before any independent evaluation takes place to explain that we will be sharing your contact details with our independent evaluation partner and to provide you with the details of our independent evaluation partner. We will also explain how the information will be gathered. Any information you provide for these purposes will be treated in the strictest confidence and held securely, and answers that you give will not be attributed to you or your organisation.
How we store your information
Personal Data will be retained for the duration of the UKRI funded GKM project (1 October 2020 – 30 September 2025) and the post-Strength In Places Fund phase of a further three consecutive years (1 October 2025 – 30 September 2028).
Any data that is supplied will be treated with care, and held and disposed of securely.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information, and information about how your personal data is processed.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances, for example if there is no longer a justification for it.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
Please contact us at [email protected] if you wish to make a request or if you:
- have a question about anything in this privacy notice
- think that your personal data has been misused or mishandled’
How to complain
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113