Privacy Notice
How vHive handles your personal data
vHive is part of the University of Surrey. We are registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (our notification number is Z6346945) and we are committed to ensuring that the personal data we process is handled in accordance with data protection legislation. We have a named Data Protection Officer, James Newby, who can be contacted via: dataprotection@surrey.ac.uk
One of our responsibilities is to tell you about the different ways we collect and use your personal data. This statement provides details about these uses. In addition to this statement, you may be given further information about the uses of your personal data when you use certain services offered by the vHive / University of Surrey.
What information do we collect from you?
vHive holds and processes personal data about:
- Prospective incubator company members/employees
- Current incubator company members/employees
- Ex-incubator company members/employees
- Contractors
- Collaborators (for grant applications)
The personal data we hold about you depends on which category above you fall in to but could potentially consist of individual names, telephone contacts, email addresses, out of office contact details for key holders, description of business and financial/banking information. We only collect the data we need and keep that data up to date.
We receive this data from you when you supply us with this information either when you contact us using online or paper forms, by telephone or when completing paperwork to process contracts. We also receive data such as financial references from banks and building societies.
Why do we collect this information?
vHive collects only the data we need and we keep the data up to date and only for as long as it is needed. We collect your personal data:
- To contact prospective incubator companies and their employees following a request for information and to maintain contact following initial contact.
- To enable use to contact incubator companies, their employees, collaborators on specific projects, and contractors during normal office hours and in an emergency (key holders contact information).
- To compile statistics and information for our reporting processes.
- To keep our records up to date to ensure accuracy of information both for our own records and for publishing on our website.
- To manage any subscriptions to newsletters.
We take our obligations for data handling very seriously and it is therefore important for you to know the lawful basis for us processing your information.
- To perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
- Because you have given us consent to add your email address to our subscription mailing list for newsletters.
- Some of our routine data processing may take place because it is in our legitimate interests to undertake the processing. We will only undertake this processing if it does not infringe on the privacy and freedoms of data subjects.
What do we do with your information?
VHive processes personal data and special category data in accordance with data protection legislation and its own Data Protection Policy.
We use information about vHive to provide reports at a local and national level on the contribution we make to the local economy. Individuals and individual companies are not identified or affected in this reporting.
We use information from our systems to analyse the effectiveness of our service and for our own local reporting. Individuals and individual companies are not identified or affected in this reporting.
We track activity on our website using cookies – see our cookie policy here, https://www.surrey.ac.uk/cookies .We do not collect personal information via our website.
How long do we keep your information?
We keep your personal data in accordance with the University’s retention schedules. This means that your data is kept for the duration of your relationship with us (collaboration, incubation, contract work) and for the following seven years.
Who do we share your information with?
We will share your email address externally with our subscription management agency if you have subscribed to our newsletters. We will share your email address with funding bodies via grant applications or post-award processing and administration.
What rights do you have in relation to the way we process your data?
As an individual whose data we process (a data subject), you have certain rights in relation to the processing. You can find detailed information about your rights as a data subject on the University’s web page.
You have the right to:
- Withdraw your consent for us to process your personal data.
- Ask us to confirm that your personal data is being processed and to access (i.e have a copy) of that data as well as to be provided with supplemental information about the processing.
- Request that we rectify any inaccuracies where the data we hold on you is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Have your data erased by us, although in certain circumstances we may not be able to do this. The circumstances where this applies can be found in the data subject rights information on the University’s webpage.
- Restrict the processing of your personal data in certain ways to obtain your personal data for reuse.
- Object to certain processing of your personal data.
To exercise any of these rights please contact vhive@surrey.ac.uk or dataprotection@surrey.ac.uk
You also have the right to complain independently to the Information Commissioner’s Office about the way in which we process your personal data, if you are not satisfied with our response to your concerns.