Privacy Notice: Valleys Regional Park Evaluation
OB3 Research, in collaboration with BRO Partnership, has been commissioned by Bridgend County Borough Council, as host authority for the Valleys Regional Park project, to undertake an evaluation of the ESF funded project being delivered between 2021 and 2023.
The aim of the evaluation is to assess the contribution made by the VRP to facilitate and enable greater strategic cooperation across the Valleys, establish the Valleys Regional Park in the long-term, and initiate and pilot innovative activities that demonstrate collaborative cross-sector, cross boundary approaches, working sustainably with the region’s natural and cultural assets, deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits.
The evaluation is being undertaken between August 2021 and July 2023. This final stage is being undertaken between April and July 2023.
As part of this evaluation, OB3 Research will be gathering information through semi-structured interviews with staff, programme board members and wider stakeholders who have been involved with the VRP.
Bridgend County Borough Council is the data controller for the research. Bridgend County Borough Council will receive a copy of the data collected by OB3. However, OB3 Research will delete any personal data provided through interviews and anonymise the raw data before it is shared with Bridgend County Borough Council.
The information collected over the course of the study will be included in a report shared with Bridgend County Borough Council and could be published on Bridgend County Borough Council’s website, Valleys Regional Park website and in other publications by OB3 Research.
Your participation in this evaluation is completely voluntary. However, your views and experiences are important to help inform future 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 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’.
OB3 will have received your contact details from Bridgend County Borough Council in the form of email addresses and telephone numbers as you have been identified as a key stakeholder who has been engaged with or has an interest in the work of the VRP. These contact data have been held due to ongoing contact between the programme and organisations.
This research does not require the collection of additional personal data from you but where online interviews take place these might be recorded which would involve capturing your image. If we need to record an interview for operational reasons we will make this clear to you before the interview begins, and you will have the opportunity to tell us if you are not happy for it to be recorded. If interviews are undertaken in person a Dictaphone will be used for recording. If they are undertaken virtually, Microsoft Teams will be used, and interviews will be recorded through this platform. If interviews are recorded, personal data will be removed during the process of transcribing interviews. Recordings will be deleted as soon as this process is completed. If interviews are not recorded, personal data will not be included in written notes prepared following interviews.
OB3 Research will only use email address and telephone number for the purposes of this evaluation. Your participation is voluntary and if you do not wish to take part or be sent reminders then please reply to the invitation email and your details will be removed.
If you choose to provide additional personal data as part of the research, we will try not to identify you from, or link your identity to, the responses you provide. 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 Bridgend Council.
Participation is completely voluntary. Research studies such as this are important for the VRP and its partners to collect information and actionable evidence about its ability to deliver government priorities. The information collected in this research, for example, might be used to inform future practice
How secure is your personal data?
Personal information provided to OB3 Research is always stored on a secure server. All recorded interviews made on Dictaphones are stored at all times in OB3 offices within secure, locked cabinets. Only members of the research team have access to recordings undertaken via Teams, and access to this data is subject to the same security practices as all other data held by OB3 Research. The data can only be accessed by a limited number of researchers working on this project. OB3 Research will only use this data for research purposes. OB3 Research has Cyber Essentials certification.
OB3 Research has procedures to deal with any suspected data security breaches. If a suspected breach occurs, OB3 Research will report this to the VRP team who will notify you and any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so.
All data gathered through this research will be reported in an anonymised format. It will not contain your contact details and any identifiable information in open-ended answers will be removed. OB3 Research will use the information gathered to produce a report that may be published by Bridgend County Borough Council. 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 will hold personal data during the contract period, and any personal data not already removed during transcription will be deleted by OB3 Research three months after the end of the contract. This includes your contact details.
OB3 Research will provide Bridgend County Borough Council with an anonymised version of the data which will not include information that could identify you.
Individual rights
Under 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 Bridgend County Borough Council or wish to exercise your rights using the General Data Protection Regulation, please contact:
Name: Julie Davies
E-mail address: julie.davies4@bridgend.gov.uk
Telephone number: 01656 851098
Bridgend Council’s Data Protection Officer, Charlotte Branford can be contacted at: Charlotte.Branford@bridgend.gov.uk