ANA Privacy Policy

The Applied Neuroscience Association (ANA) is committed to safeguarding your privacy and personal data. This is underlined by our values of social enterprise and social responsibility. Your privacy is very important to us, which is why we make sure you are always in control of what we do with your personal information. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (the “GDPR”).

Definitions and Interpretation 

Personal Data means that which relates to a living individual who can be identified from the data. Identification can be by the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession, or likely to come into such possession.

Any reference to ‘ANA’, ‘We’, ‘Our’ and ‘Us’ is to the Applied Neuroscience Association or any subsidiary.

Any reference to “You”, “Your” and “Users” is to you as an individual user of ANA Websites and any other ANA platforms and applications.

Online activity refers to any electronic communication or engagement (such as visiting any of ANA’s online forums, including our Website).

Offline activity refers to non-electronic communication or engagement (such as attending in person an ANA Event). 

Data Protection Notice

The Applied Neuroscience Association (ANA) is the data controller. This means that ANA is responsible for how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

What data does ANA collect and how? 

In order to provide you with access to services or information, we require certain personal details about you.

Online we may collect, store and process the following kinds of personal data: 

a) information about your visits to and use of this website including logging the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer to be able to send and receive information on the internet; 
b) information relating to any transactions carried out between you and us on or in relation to this website such as taking part in a survey questionnaire; 
c) information that you provide to us for the purpose of registering with us when joining as a member e.g., name, email address, telephone number, membership number, postal address
d) information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website, email notifications, ANA services, and/or science communication platforms; and 
e) any other information that you choose to send to us or personal data we collect using ‘‘legitimate interest’ such as for ANA Events. 

Offline we may collect, store and process the following kinds of data: 

a) information about your visit(s) to us at an event or meeting, etc.; 
b) information that you provide to event or meeting organisers, e.g., your email address and other information when you sign up and agree to share; and 
c) any other information you choose to give us or data we collect using ‘‘legitimate interest’. 

Legal Basis for Processing your Personal Data  

Under the GDPR, personal data can only be processed if there is an identified ‘lawful basis’ for doing so. There are a number of legal basis for ANA to process your data, depending on the activity in question.

Explicit Consent (Article 6(1)(a))

ANA may ask for marketing consent at the point of contact or rely on a contract to communicate with you. We will always ensure consent is freely given, specific, informed, in plain English, and agreed by affirmative action. This is so we can keep you informed about news, events, activities, opportunities, and services of ANA via email, post, telephone, social media or text, or inform you about news, events and activities, opportunities and services of other organisations we believe will be of interest to you. Your consent also enables us to process applications for applications. You can withdraw consent or unsubscribe at any time. 

Meeting Requirements of a Contract (Article 6 (1)(b))

This is relevant for volunteers or employees, volunteering or working for ANA, where the processing of personal data is necessary for carrying out obligations under volunteer, employment, social security, or social protection law. It also applies to customers and suppliers of ANA.

Legitimate Interest (Article 6(1)(f))

This means we can process your personal data if (i) we have a genuine and legitimate reason; and (ii) are not harming any of your rights and interests. We have completed Legitimate Interest Assessments for online and offline activity, balancing our right to process personal data against Users’ rights to privacy.

The General Data Protection Regulation 2016 states: 

“Processing will be lawful if it is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.” 

Our legitimate interests include processing for the purposes of:

Membership administration

Meeting our commitment to members to provide member benefits

Administering meetings and events

Fundraising and processing donations

Meeting Requirements of Joining a Council or Committee

Should you be elected or appointed to a position on the ANA Advisory Council, ANA Global Council, or an ANA Committee (including being an ANA Country Representative), your contact details and any other relevant details will be processed to meet the requirements of the Association and Companies House U.K.

How does ANA use your personal data?  

We collect certain personal information from you in order to provide you with membership and other services and benefits. Including answering inquiries, keeping you updated on our activities and those of other organisations which we believe will be of interest to you. Also to improve your experience of using ANA and any subsidiary website(s), including attending our meetings and interacting with ANA.

Personal data obtained online will be used for the purposes specified at the point of contact. We may use your personal data to: 

a) administer the membership records and for maintaining ANA accounts and records; 
b) improve your browsing experience by personalising the website; 
c) enable your use of the services available on the website informing of member benefits, carrying out administration required to facilitate your attendance at an event such as registration and payment; 
d) send you general (non-marketing) communications, e.g., dealing with inquiries or complaints; 
e) send you email notifications which you have specifically requested; and
f) send you marketing communications, e.g., messages relating to ANA, such as ANA Newsletter, invitations to join an ANA Event, informing you of news and activities run by ANA and other organisations we think will be of interest to you.

Personal data obtained offline will be used for the purposes specified at the point of contact. We may use your personal data to: 

a) continue conversations started offline; 
b) enable your use of our services; 
c) send you general (non-marketing) communications, e.g., dealing with inquiries or complaints; 
d) send you email notifications which you have specifically requested; and 
e) send you marketing communications, e.g., messages relating to ANA, such as invitations to join a free ANA Event 

If you wish to unsubscribe from our marketing communications, you can click a link provided at the bottom of each marketing email or send a request to info@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com. We will keep your data on our system to record that you have unsubscribed. If you want your personal data completely removed you will need to make a Right to Erasure request (see below). 

Whom do we share your data with?

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will be shared only as set out in this section.

Your personal data may be shared with members of ANA staff, Committee, and Council members in order to meet our commitments to you by way of membership services, answering your inquiries, or giving you access to opportunities at ANA.

We share your data with third parties for the following reasons:

EventBrite and Airtable, so we can manage and administer your attendance at ANA Events;

For meetings or hosting platforms where ANA appoints a third party to administer, your details will be shared;

WordPress, so we can manage and administer your membership;

A postal distributor used by ANA;

Google Forms and SurveyMonkey, in order to carry out surveys and questionnaires

Should you be appointed to join ANA as an eligible director, we will share your details with Companies House the U.K.;

Should you opt in to an ANA Special Interest Group or Regional Group on joining ANA, your details will be shared with the relevant ANA representatives and the third party host;

If you serve on any ANA Council or ANA Committee or take on any duty, or role within ANA, your personal data may be shared with other members of ANA. You will be informed if your personal data is shared more widely;

We may also share your information or disclose it to third parties where required to comply with any court order or other legal obligation or when data is requested by government or law enforcement authorities to enforce any agreements or to protect the rights, property, or safety of us, members of ANA or others; and

In the event that ANA is wound down or integrated with another business, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective contacts related to the transaction.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep data in accordance with our data retention policy. This sets out the period of time we keep your data, which depends on the specific purpose it is being kept for. In summary:

Membership management: seven years following cessation of membership;

Delegate management events: three years after the event has taken place;

Committee member data; names of committee members are recorded permanently. Other personal information is kept for seven years after the individual has left their post;

Applicants: for opportunities such as prizes or placements personal data of candidates is kept for seven years after the selection has taken place;

Mailing list management: you can choose to opt-out of ANA mailing lists at any time, at which point your data will be deleted;

Event list management: you can choose to withdraw consent at any time without detriment at which point your data will be deleted;

Staff or volunteer management: different categories of data are held for different times in line with ANA staff policy;

Customer and supplier data: if you are a customer (e.g. you advertise on any ANA platforms or forums), or supplier of ANA, details will be kept in your accounts for seven years.

What are your legal rights?

ANA can share information and news with you in various ways including email, post, phone, or social media, but only if you would like us to. Your privacy is very important to us, which is why we make sure you are always in control of what we do with your personal information. ANA does not routinely undertake automated decision-making, including profiling.

ANA complies with the obligations under GDPR by:

Keeping your personal data up to date;

Storing, processing, and destroying it securely;

Not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data;

Protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, and disclosure;

Ensuring that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to protect personal data.

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

The right to request a copy of your personal data which we hold about you (‘subject access request’)

The ability to change any details we hold about you if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date (‘the right to rectification). You will be able to do this yourself by logging in and editing your membership information or by contacting ANA: info@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com

The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for ANA to retain such data (‘the right to be forgotten’);

If the processing in question is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time without detriment;

The right to request that ANA provides you with your personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller (‘the right to data portability’);

The right where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy of your personal data to request that a restriction is placed on further processing;

Where data processing is based on legitimate interest, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data;

If you think there is a problem with the way we are handling your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with ANA data controller.

Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose not covered by ANA Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

How does ANA use cookies?  

ANA website uses ‘cookies’ to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to personalise your online experience and use of our website while helping us to improve it. By continuing to use the site you are agreeing to the use of cookies.

A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. 

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the ANA or other related websites you visit. 

Strictly necessary cookies: These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website as a member or make use of e-billing services.

Analytical/performance cookies: We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of this website. Google will store this information. Google’s privacy policy is available at: www.google.com/privacypolicy.html.

Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies. The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of the website, so we can count the number of visitors and see how visitors move around the website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.  

Functionality cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name, and remember your preferences.

Targeting cookies: These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

For further information, see our: Cookies Notice  

Links to other websites  

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide while visiting such sites, and such sites are not governed by this Privacy Notice. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy notice applicable on the website in question. 

Social Media  

Your activity on social media platforms is governed by the terms & conditions and privacy policies of each social media platform, and such sites are not governed by this Privacy Notice. Any communications or engagement with social media platforms would follow your usual due care and caution regarding your own privacy and personal details. 

Email Marketing 

ANA marketing emails may contain tracking facilities within the email. Users’ activity is tracked and stored for future analysis and evaluation. This activity may include; when the marketing email was opened, forwarded, the clicking of links within the email.

This information is used to refine future email marketing so we can provide Users with more relevant content based on their activity. Users can unsubscribe at any time by clicking a link at the bottom of each marketing email, or following the instructions to unsubscribe if no link is present. 

Security of your personal data  

We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse, or alteration of your personal data. You are responsible for keeping your user details confidential. 

We will not sell or rent your personal data with third-party organisations unless required to do so by law. In the future, we may wind down or merge or partner, or affiliate with a subsidiary or other organisations. In such transactions, or in the event of bankruptcy, we may include your data among the transferred assets. 

Privacy impact assessments  

The introduction of new technology or changes to the fields/structure of the personal data we hold may be necessary to ensure our systems are secure, to improve our service to Users, and to give ANA a competitive advantage. Before making any changes, we will complete a Privacy Impact Assessment to ensure we meet Users’ expectations of privacy. 

Right to Access and Right to Erasure 

You may request details of personal data which we hold about you under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016. On receipt of proof of identity, you may have a copy of any personal data we hold about you (Right to Access), and it will be provided within one month of a verified written request. You can also ask to have your personal data deleted from our database (Right to Erasure) after submitting proof of identity and an authenticated written request. 

If you want to exercise your Right to Access and Right to Erasure, please email our Data Controller at info@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com 

Notice amendments  

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time by posting a new version on our website. You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes. We may also notify you of changes to our Privacy Notice by email. If you believe that any information, we are holding about you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us as soon as possible. We will amend any information found to be incorrect. 

Contact details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints please email ANA our Data Controller at info@appliedneuroscienceassociation.com 

Applied Neuroscience Association (ANA) 
Last updated: 01/03/22