The information outlined in this document applies to people who join RNID’s Research Panel and those people taking part in our social research.
At RNID, we value your privacy and are committed to protecting any personal information you share with us. We rely on your consent to process your data. If we make any changes to the way we use your personal information, we will inform you and check you are still happy for us to continue processing your information in a different way.
Information for people joining the Research Panel
The data we collect
When you join the Research Panel and complete your profile, you will be asked to provide us with personal data such as your name and contact information, as well as special category data such as your ethnicity and relevant health information including your level of hearing loss. We ask you for this information so that we can send you relevant research opportunities. However, you do not have to provide this information if you would prefer not to.
Once you are part of the Research Panel, any surveys you decide to take part in will be anonymous. This means that your survey data will not be connected to your Research Panel profile. For this reason, we may ask you to provide information such as your age, gender, location and ethnicity, as well as health data such as your level of hearing loss when you are filling out subsequent surveys for analysis purposes.
RNID will send emails to panel members using a third-party email provider. We have contracts in place to ensure your information is protected and only used for the purpose that you have provided it for. Further information is available in RNID’s privacy policy.
We will hold your personal data while you wish to remain on the Research Panel. You have the right to withdraw your consent for us to hold and use your information for the purposes of the Research Panel at any time.
What to do if you want to leave the Research Panel
If you no longer wish to be a member of our Research Panel, please contact us at [email protected] or call RNID’s Contact Centre on 0808 808 0123. We will remove your details from our panel database within 7 working days.
Information for everyone taking part in our social research
How your data will be collected and used
We use a survey platform called Forsta to ask the survey questions, collect and analyse your responses.
Any data collected through Forsta will not be transferred outside of the UK. It will be kept securely and will only be used for the purposes outlined at the point of data collection. Further information can be found in Forsta’s Privacy Notice.
How your data will be stored
We retain survey data on Forsta for as long as necessary to achieve the intended purpose. Once the purpose is fulfilled, the data will be anonymised, downloaded and deleted from Forsta.
Anonymised survey data will be stored securely within our SharePoint environment. We adhere to industry best practices to safeguard any data shared. Access to survey data is restricted to authorised personnel. We retain survey data on SharePoint for 10 years, after which point it will be deleted.
Your survey responses will remain anonymous, and you will not be identified in any reporting or publication of results. Anonymised quotes from your responses may be used in reports, but they will be chosen to ensure that the respondent’s identity cannot be inferred. Explicit permission will be sought if we would like to use your story for a case study.
Recordings
If you take part in online interviews or focus groups with RNID, these will be recorded to support with notetaking and analysis. Access to the recording will be limited to members of the project team at RNID and will be stored securely on our encrypted SharePoint environment. Recordings will be deleted after the project has been completed. Anonymised transcripts of the recording will then be stored securely on our encrypted SharePoint environment for 10 years.
Who to contact if you have any questions
For further information about how we will protect your personal information and your rights, please read RNID’s Privacy Policy (particularly sections 7, 8 and 9).
If you have any questions or concerns about the handling of your personal information, please contact the Research Panel Team by email on [email protected] or contact our Data Protection Officer via [email protected].