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    • ANA Feedback

    ANA seeks feedback to achieve continuous improvement, assuring transparency and accountability. 

    This notice sets out how Applied Neuroscience Association (or ‘ANA’, ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’) deal with feedback and complaints from “Users” (“user” / “you” / “they” / “member”) as an individual or third party that accesses and uses the ANA Website and its Contents, Services and Systems (see ANA Terms of Use for Definitions and Interpretation). 

    ANA is proud of the services we provide. We are committed to providing a high level of service, listening to, learning from and responding to our Users. Driving continual service improvements in a transparent and open platform.

    If Users are dissatisfied with the service, we encourage feedback. This will help ANA to improve our standards. A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction with ANA Content, Services and Systems which calls for a response. 

    Users can expect to be treated with care at all times. We hope Users will also treat us in the same way. ANA cannot tolerate unacceptable behaviour, such as harassment, threats or abuse. 

    Our Feedback notice does not cover comments about our policies or policy decisions, matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure, or complaints made by ANA workers. 

    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.  

    Complaint about ANA Website procedure 

    If a User or Member has a complaint, they should contact info@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com in the first instance. We will use our best endeavours to resolve the complaint informally. If the User is not satisfied, their complaint would move to follow statutory procedures, and the process formalised accordingly.  

    How ANA responds to formal complaints 

    1. ANA will send an email acknowledging the complaint and ask the User to confirm or explain the details of their dissatisfaction if not already done so. We will also let the User know the name of the ANA contact who will be dealing with their complaint. The User can expect to receive the communication within 2-5 days of ANA receiving the complaint. 

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

    3. We will then start to investigate the complaint. This process will be transparent;

    4. Where required, ANA will invite the User to a meeting (online) to discuss and hopefully resolve the complaint. We will do this within 5 days of the end of our investigation. 

    5. Within 5 days of the online meeting, we will write to the User to confirm what took place and any solutions that were agreed to resolve. If the User does not want a meeting or it is not possible to attend, we will send the User a detailed reply about the complaint including any interactions. This will include suggestions for resolving the matter. We will do this within 5 days of completing our investigation. 

    6. In any event, we will comply with any statutory procedures that may relate to the User complaint, should the User wish to take the matter further. 

    How to report a content violation
    If you find a post or engage with an ANA member that violates the ANA Terms of Use and/or ANA CODE, please contact us at ethics@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com providing relevant detail.

    ANA always aims to be fair, but reserves the right upon investigation, to remove content and suspend memberships without notice, for any reason, particularly to protect the ANA Community, Users, or Services.

    We will notify the Member considering context and consequences, with no wish to exacerbate harm to anyone. If you wish to appeal any restriction or membership suspension, because you have relevant context that we have not considered, or believe its been in error, please contact us at ethics@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com. We will consider all efforts to appeal done in good faith.

    ANA will enforce these terms at our sole discretion. ANA will work to enforce legally-ordered content restrictions to jurisdictions where we can remedy. These terms do not create a contractual obligation or duty for ANA to act. We may change these terms at any time.

    Confidentiality 

    All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (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 

    When ANA has been found to need improvement, we will act transparently to: 

    • accept responsibility; 
    • understand what and why; 
    • if required, put things right as is appropriate and reasonable; and 
    • learn lessons and change policy and practice where proportionate and sensible to do so. 

    Repetitive and Unacceptable Complaints 

    Repetitive complaint behaviour may occur where difficulties in handling such complex and challenging situations can place undue stress and strain on ANA dealings with the complainant. Some of these complaints if repetitive can, for example, become costly to handle where responding to them may be a disproportionate use of time or turn vexatious.

    Unacceptable complaint behaviour may occur when the User may act out of character. We do not view behaviour as unacceptable because a User may be assertive. However, we acknowledge that situations between a User and ANA may escalate where the behaviour of the User turns to any form of harassment, or abuse including, aggression, threats, or intimidation. 

    ANA have the right to undertake their work free from repetitive and unacceptable complaint behaviour. ANA have the right to restrict or bring to an end communication with the User, and relinquish any membership registrations with ANA or subsidiaries. 

    Applied Neuroscience Association 
    Last updated: 01/03/2022