Evaluation of Communities for Work and Communities for Work Plus (CfW & CfW+)

Final Evaluation: Focus Groups with Participants

The Welsh Government has commissioned OB3 Research, in collaboration with People and Work, IFF Research, Cardiff University and Dateb (OB3 Research and partners), to undertake an evaluation of Communities for Work (CfW) and Communities for Work Plus (CfW+). The aim of the evaluation is to assess the impact of both programmes and the outcomes achieved for participants.

As part of this evaluation OB3 Research and its partners will be gathering information through focus groups with individuals who are participating in the CFW and CFW+ programme.

The Welsh Government is the data controller for the research. The Welsh Government will receive a copy of the data collected by OB3 and its partners. However, OB3 Research and partners will delete any personal data provided through focus groups and will anonymise the raw data before it is shared with the Welsh Government.

The information collected over the course of the evaluation will be included in reports published on the Welsh Government website and possibly in other publications by OB3 Research and partners, and Welsh Government.

Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. However, your views and experiences are important to help inform Welsh Government policies.

The contact for this research at OB3 Research is Nia Bryer:

E-mail address: nia@ob3research.co.uk.

Telephone number: 07792 609821 

PRIVACY NOTICE

What personal data do we hold and where do we get this information?

Personal data is defined under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’.

OB3 Research in collaboration with People and Work, IFF Research, Cardiff University and Dateb (OB3 Research and partners) are arranging focus groups via CfW/ CfW+ delivery staff as part of existing events. OB3 and partners will have received contact details (in the form of name, email addresses and telephone numbers) for CfW/CfW+ delivery staff from the Welsh Government. These contact data are held due to ongoing contact between the Welsh Government and the organisations delivering the programmes.

For CfW/ CfW+ participants, CfW/ CfW+ programme/delivery staff will select participants for focus groups and, where possible, focus groups will be arranged to coincide with CFW/CFW+ group events or training sessions or if not at some other existing event. CfW/CfW+ programme/delivery staff will be encouraged to notify attendees in advance of the focus groups of OB3 and partners intention to observe and gather feedback, however, some participants may not receive prior notice and will be notified on the day of participation. As a CfW/ CfW+ participants your participant in a focus group in voluntary and you can attend the relevant event and not take part in a focus group.

OB3 Research and partners already hold the information below on participants from the Welsh Government. This is used for other parts of the evaluation including statistical analysis and other fieldwork which you may or may not be selected for (you will receive a separate privacy notice if you are / have been selected for other elements of the evaluation).

  • name

  • email addresses

  • telephone number

  • Participant identifier number

  • Unique learner number

  • Gender

  • Ethnicity

  • Date of birth

  • Work limiting health conditions

  • Disability status

The data has been received from:

  • For CfW participants, from the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO). All ESF funded operations are required to provide WEFO with the details of their participants.

  • For CFW+ participants, from Welsh Local Authorities who hold your information as a participant of the scheme and are required to provide the Welsh Government with details of participants of the scheme.

This research does not require the collection of additional personal data from you with the exception of your image if you agree to the focus group being video recorded. We may need to record focus groups for operational reasons. If this is the case, we will make this clear to you before the focus group begins, and you will have the opportunity to tell us if you are not happy for it to be recorded. If focus groups are undertaken in person a Dictaphone will be used for recording. If they are undertaken virtually, Microsoft Teams will be used, and focus groups will be video recorded through this platform. If focus groups are recorded, personal data will be removed during the process of transcribing focus groups. Recordings will be deleted as soon as this process is completed. If focus groups are not recorded, personal data will not be included in written notes prepared during or following interviews.

If you raise a query or complaint and provide personal data requesting a response, the researcher will forward the request only to the relevant official and subsequently delete it from the research data.

What is the lawful basis for using your data?

The lawful basis for processing information in this data collection exercise is our public task; that is, exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government. Some of the data we are collecting are called ‘special category data’ (in this case ethnicity and disability/ health data) and the lawful basis for processing this information is that it is for statistical or research purposes.

Participation is completely voluntary. Research studies such as this are important for the Welsh Government to collect information and actionable evidence about its ability to deliver government priorities. The information collected in this research, for example, will be used:

  • to refine scheme implementation on an on-going basis

  • to inform future practice.

How secure is your personal data?

Personal information provided to OB3 Research and partners is always stored on secure servers. All recorded interviews made on Dictaphones are stored at all times in OB3 or partners offices within secure, locked cabinets. The data can only be accessed by a limited number of researchers working on this project. OB3 Research and partners will only use this data for research purposes. OB3 Research and all partners have Cyber Essentials certification.

OB3 Research and partners have procedures to deal with any suspected data security breaches. If a suspected breach occurs, OB3 Research will report this to the Welsh Government who will notify you and any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so.

OB3 Research will use the information gathered to produce a report that will be published on the Welsh Government website. This report will not include any information that could be used to identify individual participants.

How long do we keep your personal data?

OB3 Research and partners will hold personal data during the contract period, and any personal data not already removed during transcription will be deleted by OB3 Research and partners three months after the end of the contract. This includes your contact details.

OB3 Research will provide Welsh Government with an anonymised version of the data which will not include information that could identify you.

Individual rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to the personal information you provide as part of this research, you have the right:

  • To access a copy of your own data

  • For us to rectify inaccuracies in that data

  • To object to or restrict processing (in certain circumstances)

  • For your data to be ‘erased’ (in certain circumstances); and

  • To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.

The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 01625 545 745 or 0303 123 1113. Website: www.ico.org.uk

Further Information

If you have any further questions about how the data provided as part of this study will be used by the Welsh Government or wish to exercise your rights using the UK General Data Protection Regulation, please contact:

Name: Joshua Parry

E-mail address: Joshua.Parry001@gov.wales

Telephone number: 03000252574

The Welsh Government’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.wales.