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    • ANA Complaints Policy

    The Applied Neuroscience Association seeks feedback to achieve continuous improvement, assuring transparency and accountability. Where expectations of services, content, systems or ANA member ethical and professional conduct appear not to be met, we would like the opportunity to respond.

    This notice sets out how the Applied Neuroscience Association (‘ANA’, ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’) deals with complaints from a Complainant (“ANA registered member(s)” / “user(s) of ANA services” / “you” / “they”) explaining what we consider to be a complaint, how the process works if a complaint is made, and how to make a complaint.

    As an ethical professional organisation, we take any complaints seriously in relation to the ethical and professional conduct of our members and volunteers and/or regarding the use of ANA services (see ANA Terms of Use for Definitions and Interpretation). 

    We are committed to listening, learning, and responding to complainants, striving to uphold the ANA CODE and continual process and service improvements, and measuring ANA members and users of ANA services satisfaction through regular surveys. This will help ANA to improve our standards.

    Complainants can expect to be treated with care, and ANA expects to be treated in the same way. ANA cannot tolerate unacceptable behaviour, such as harassment or abuse through language, gestures, expressions, or actions (threats or demands) in a way that is hostile, intimidating, bullying or offensive. 

    For an investigation to be fair, sufficient time must be allowed to investigate the complaint and to consider all the facts. Complainants must provide all relevant material and be prepared to share the material with the individual(s); ANA will be unable to pursue a complaint otherwise.

    Complaint Procedure 

    What is a complaint?

    A complaint entails any expression of dissatisfaction with the standard of ANA services on the ANA Platform, and/or the ethical and/or professional conduct of ANA members or volunteers that calls for a response. 

    How to make a complaint?

    If you have a complaint, please contact ethics@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com in the first instance, using the SUBJECT: ‘Complaint’.

    ANA will apply best endeavours to resolve the complaint informally. If the complainant is not satisfied, their complaint will move to follow statutory procedures, and the process formalised as follows.  

    How ANA Responds to a Complaint

    Any action we take to put matters right in response to a complaint can include any combination of remedies. Any remedy applied needs to be proportionate and appropriate.  

    1. ANA will send an email acknowledging the complaint and ask the Complainant to confirm or explain the details of their dissatisfaction if not already done so. We will also let the Complainant know the name of the person who will be dealing with their complaint. The Complainant can expect to receive this email acknowledgement within 10-15 days of ANA receiving the initial complaint. 

    2. We will record the initial complaint in the ANA Feedback Register on the day of receipt. 

    3. We will then start the initial investigation by reviewing any evidence and getting an understanding of the circumstances that are the subject of the initial complaint. This process will be transparent and where matters can be dealt with properly under this procedure, we will try to resolve it informally.

    4. Where required, ANA will invite the Complainant within 10 days of the end of the initial investigation to a digital meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve the complaint; where the Complainant says they are happy with the investigation response and all correspondence ends. 

    5. If the Complainant does not want a meeting or it is not possible to attend, we will send the Complainant a reply regarding the initial complaint. This will include suggestions for resolving the matter. We will do this within 10 days of completing the initial investigation. 

    6. In any event, ANA will comply with any statutory procedures that may relate to the complaint should the Complainant wish to take the matter further by writing to ethics@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com within 10 days of the initial investigation result being received.

    7. For the secondary investigation, you should explain why you continue to be dissatisfied and how you would like to see the matter resolved. At this stage, we would need to begin a second investigation beginning from step 1.

    Confidentiality 

    All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Subject to the need to disclose information as required by statutory authorities, and/or as a result of legal obligations. 

    Complaint details, outcomes and any actions taken are recorded in the ANA Feedback Register and used for ANA service improvement in the future, including understanding better what types of problems are most prevalent, and how well we are doing to resolve them. 

    Remedies 

    Depending on the nature and seriousness of the complaint, ANA will act transparently to:

      • understand the full circumstances of the complaint; 

      • put things right as is appropriate and reasonable;

      • offer conciliation if we think it could help resolve the complaint;

      • learn lessons and change policy and practice where proportionate and sensible to do so. 

    Complaints where ANA is unable to investigate and respond:

    • Regarding ANA policy decisions outside of an Annual General Meeting;
    • Relating to criminal matters whereby your first point of contact should be the police (or other relevant authorities);
    • Regarding the scientific competence or practice of individual full members or academic/researcher members proven to be acting beyond the academic qualifications that ANA has recognised on registration; complainants must deal with the individual directly in the first instance;
    • Relating to ANA members and ANA volunteers operating outside of ANA and delivery of agreed ANA Services;
    • Relating to ANA registrants who have registered but not gone on to pay and be ‘approved’
    • Matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaint’s procedure and dealt with where no fresh allegations or evidence is provided;
    • Repetitive and unacceptable complaints as defined in this Policy;
    • Relating to individuals who have been suspended or removed from the ANA register due to repetitive and unacceptable complaints.

    Repetitive and Unacceptable Complaints 

    Repetitive and unacceptable behaviour is where complex and challenging situations can place undue stress and strain on the complainant and/or the complainant’s dealings with ANA. However, ANA has the right to undertake our work free from repetitive and unacceptable complainant behaviour. ANA also has the right to restrict or bring to an end communication with the Complainant and where applicable, to relinquish any accreditations and/or memberships, suspending or removing them from the ANA register.

    A repetitive and unacceptable request is defined as:

    • The complainant’s behaviour in their dealings with ANA includes any kind of harassment, abuse, and offensive and menacing behaviour.
    • The complainant in their dealings with ANA intimidates through coercion, threats and scare tactics, which may include endeavours to damage ANA’s reputation.
    • The complaint is substantially the same as a previous complaint and where no fresh allegations or evidence is provided.
    • The complainant is an individual who has been suspended or removed from the ANA register;
    • The complaint process proves to be a disproportionate use of time and cost or turns vexatious;
    • The complaint is vexatious, such as a returning individual who has been suspended or removed from the ANA register, due to repetitive and unacceptable complaints.

    Applied Neuroscience Association 

    Updated 15th October 2023