Who we are

Our website address is: https://www.benawell.com. We are an independent market and social research organisation. 

Privacy Policy in relation to our research activities

We are committed to protecting personal data and handling data responsibly.  This includes information that is provided by you whilst participating in research or when wanting to participate in research, and any data that we receive from third parties.

We are committed to adhering to and meeting the requirements of the following:

  • Data Protection Act 1998 and the new Data Protection Act which will enact GDPR requirements
  • UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
  • Market Research Society’s (MRS) Code of Conduct

This section of the privacy policy outlines the following:

  • The information we collect and access
  • How we use personal data
  • Personal data received from third parties
  • What we use your information for
  • Who we share your personal data with
  • How long we retain your data
  • Your rights
  • How to contact us and exercise your rights

 

Information we collect and access 

We may collect and process Personal Data about you in the following instances:

  • When you participate in research
  • When you express an interest in participating in research
  • When you complete a survey
  • When you attend public consultations
  • When you attend meetings
  • When you attend focus groups
  • During observations
  • During interviews
  • After you contacted us for further information
  • When we think you have an interest in receiving information about our services

 

The type of personal data and sensitive data we collect can differ in relation to the research project conducted. We may also collect business information, such as company name, department, job title, etc., dependent upon the research project.

Depending on the research activity or type of consultation, we may also use video and/or audio recording.  In most of these cases, consent will be obtained from you before these recordings are undertaken, or privacy notices will be displayed prominently where the observational research is being undertaken.

Completing online surveys may record your IP address, which type of browser you are using, your screen size, language settings, and other basic metrics.

We collect and access Personal Data about you when you contact us for further information, or when we feel that might have a Legitimate Interest in receiving information about our services.

 

How we use personal data 

We only collect the data that we need.  For instance, the data required to carry out and support research and evaluation projects that are we are commissioned to deliver, the data needed to provide services that people opt-in to receive, and the data needed in order to be able to inform people about Benawell services they may be interested in.

Carrying out research and evaluation can involve using Personal Data for analysis purposes, and this can include collecting your personal opinions, personal information such as name, address, postcode, gender, occupation, age, date of birth, email address, telephone number etc. We may also collect sensitive personal information such as information about health and health conditions occasionally. All of your responses to questions asked within interviews, surveys, and focus groups are confidential, and data collected is aggregated, and will be used for analysis and reporting purposes only.  

Your personal data will not be used to sell anything to you, and your data will not be sold to third parties.

 

Personal data received third parties

We may also receive personal data from third parties.  This can come to us via survey providers e.g. SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms, etc.

This can also come through to us from organisations to whom you have given your permission for them to be able to supply your details to a third party for research purposes.

 

What we use your information for 

Your contact information may be used to communicate with you regarding: 

  • To communicate and correspond with you after you have made contact with us
  • Participation in social and market research surveys, interviews, evaluation or consultation
  • To confirm and/or discuss details of the research you agreed to take part in
  • Follow-up correspondence, for example, to provide you with consultation/survey findings, if requested
  • To get in touch with regards to any incentives or thank-you payments that had been promised for taking in research
  • For any prize draw that is linked to a survey or consultation
  • With your prior permission only – to pass your contact details on to a client where you agree or request a client contacts you to resolve issues or answer comments and queries

We may use your Personal Data in order to supply you with services and information that you may have a legitimate interest in, for example, taking part in research, receiving newsletters, etc., and in these instances, your personal information will be used in the administration of such services.

We may use photographs, or other images, in order to compile case studies, blog articles or news reports, for our clients, and on our website.  Only images of a person aged 16 or over, where prior expressed consent has been gained will be used. Images of a person aged 16 or under will only ever be used where the prior expressed consent of a parent or guardian has been provided, and there will be no name assigned when an image of a person aged 16 or under is used.

Audio or video recording may be used during our research. Prior informed consent is typically gained where this is used. Comments will only be attributed to individuals in instances where prior expressed consent has been given. In the other cases, any quotes and comments used in case studies, articles, news reports, reports, and other materials, will be anonymised.

We may use Personal Data in order to analyse the information we collect.  This is so that that we can improve the services we offer, make predictions on what you might interest you, communicate with you regarding your opinions and views on our services, to administer and support the services we offer, and for any other purposes that align with the performance of our operations. You have the right to opt-out of these services at any time.

Your information will not be shared with any other organisation for any commercial purpose, unless you provide your prior explicit consent. 

We may send you direct emails, and communicate with your directly, if we have not been informed that you do not wish to receive further information from us.  If you do not wish to receive further emails or communication from us, please email info@benawell.com.

 

Who we share personal data with

Your personal information will not be sold to third parties.

If a client has provided us with your contact details in order for us to carry out research, a survey, evaluation or consultation on their behalf, we will typically act as a Data Processor. The client commissioning our services will remain as the Data Controller and they are obligated to the 2018 Data Protection Act, and UK GDPR regulations.

Personal identifiable data is never intentionally passed back to clients unless you expressly provide your prior permission to do so, there are safeguarding or safety concerns, and/or for the purpose of maintaining updated contact databases. 

We may disclose your information in instances where we have a legal duty to do so, where the information is subject to disclosure under legal or regulatory requirements. This may include disclosure to enforcement authorities, or to a third party in the context of legal proceedings.

 

How long we retain personal data

We will only keep your data for as long as it is required to be able to provide a service to you, for instance – providing newsletters, or to administer a client research project, where we only retain data up to 3 months from the end of the client project.  Data will be securely disposed of, deleted, or destroyed once it is no longer needed. 

We take technical and organisational measures to keep data secure, and protect data from unauthorised or unlawful processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage. 

 

Your Rights

Your participation and engagement in any survey, focus group, or interview is always voluntary.  You have a right to withdraw the consent you provided for participation in one of our surveys, interviews and focus groups, and to request that your data to be removed from our database at any time.  If you wish for your information to be removed from our database, please email us at info@benawell.com. 

We want to make sure that personal information which is in use for a project, or used on an ongoing basis, is kept accurate and up to date.  If you feel any of your information is out of date or not correct, please contact us at info@benawell.com.

You also have the following privacy rights:

 

  • The right to withdraw consent; 
  • The right to be informed; 
  • The right of access; 
  • The right to rectification; 
  • The right to erasure; 
  • The right to restrict processing; 
  • The right to data portability; 
  • The right to object; 
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling. 

 

How to contact us and exercise your rights
If you have any queries concerning this policy, our website or our research, please contact us.

We will do our best to assist with any queries you have about your personal data. You can contact us at info@benawell.com or complete the contact form on this website.  When doing so, please provide your full name, and your preferred contact information, along with a summary of your query.

Our policy may be periodically updated, and the latest version will always be available on this website.

 

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Privacy Policy in relation to our website

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share your data with

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment on this website, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where your data is sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.