Guidance

Research and innovation (R&I) workforce survey: privacy notice

Updated 30 June 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-and-innovation-ri-workforce-survey-privacy-notice/research-innovation-ri-workforce-survey-privacy-notice

We are collecting evidence on the research and innovation (R&I) workforce to create a better evidence base for policy decision-making in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and other relevant government departments.

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Your data

The Research and Innovation (R&I) Workforce Survey will include optional questions about:

  • gender
  • ethnicity
  • nationality
  • health conditions
  • disability
  • age
  • first half of home postcode
  • first half of work postcode

Participants who agree to be recontacted (for an in-depth interview or for a future wave of the survey) will be asked to provide their name, job title, email address and phone number.

Participants who agree to have their data linked with other datasets will be asked to provide their date of birth.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and questions relating to personal data can be left unanswered.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DSIT) (data controller) commissioned Market & Opinion Research International Limited (data processor), a specialist research agency, commonly known as Ipsos, to collect and analyse data for this survey on DSIT’s behalf.

Purpose

Boosting innovation is one of the government’s priorities and forms one of the pillars for Build back better: plan for growth. Innovation is a key driver of economic growth and improvements to living standards, through the development of new ideas, products and processes and their adoption and diffusion across the economy. The UK government is increasing its investment in research and development (R&D) and will use it to boost R&D strengths across the UK as one of the key tools to increase innovation, backing the priorities set out in the UK government’s Research and Development Roadmap.

This project will be the first survey taking in all sectors of the wider R&I workforce run by the UK government. At present, decision makers are reliant on a patchwork of surveys and data sources for different R&I sectors. This survey hopes to fill crucial data gaps on the wider R&I workforce, including information on protected characteristics which is critical to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion in the R&I workforce.

Data linking

You will be asked if you agree to match your personal data to:

a) one or more existing government datasets: Higher Education Statistical Authority data, Longitudinal Educations Outcomes data, UK Innovation Survey or ONS R&D Expenditure data. This will give DSIT a better overall picture of the R&I workforce, their education and career paths

b) UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grants datasets. This will provide UKRI with evidence on how to better tailor the policy and grants support that they offer to the R&I workforce

All information collected as part of this project will be used for research purposes and forming an evidence base for better policy decision-making.

The legal basis for processing your personal data is:

  • public task: processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller, such as the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department; the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment; the exercise of a function of either House of Parliament; or the administration of justice

For the purposes of this project, the public task relates to collecting evidence on the R&I workforce to create a better evidence base for policy decision-making in DSIT and other relevant government departments that is covered by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (statutory and government purposes). All information would be used for research and statistical purposes only and all data analysis will be about groups of people rather than individuals.

The legal basis for processing Special Category Personal Data (also known as Sensitive Personal Data) is:

  • processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department; the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment; the exercise of a function of either House of Parliament; or the administration of justice; and an appropriate policy document is in place. For the purposes of this project, the public task relates to collecting evidence on the R&I workforce including its diversity to create a better evidence base for policy decision-making in DSIT and other relevant government departments that is covered by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (statutory and government purposes)

Note:

Special Category Personal Data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Consent: You consent to us doing so.

In accordance with article 6 paragraph 1(a), where consent has been requested and provided in the survey, the legal basis for processing such data is consent. This includes:

  • recontacting for future interviews
  • recontacting for future waves of the survey
  • sharing your responses with UKRI
  • linking your responses with other government datasets

The legal basis for processing Special Category Personal Data (also known as Sensitive Personal Data) for this purpose is:

The data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes, except where domestic law provides that the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1 may not be lifted by the data subject. This is outlined in article 9 paragraph 2(a) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting researchpeopleandculture@beis.gov.uk.

Recipients

Your personal data will be collected and shared with DSIT by Ipsos.

Within DSIT a small number of analysts with genuine reason to access your personal data (for example R&I Workforce specific analysis or quality assurance) will be allowed access.

Only if you agree for your personal data to be matched to other government datasets, we may share your personal data with other relevant government departments. If you agree for your personal data to be matched to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grants databases, we may share your personal data with UKRI analysts.

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

Retention

Your personal data will be kept by us for:

  • where the legal basis for processing is public task, it will be kept indefinitely for statistical purposes
  • where the legal basis for processing is consent:
    • interviews – personal data for the purpose of recontacting participants for interviews will be retained for a period of 12 months after they complete the survey
    • future waves – personal data for the purpose of recontacting participants for future waves of the survey will be retained for a period of 3 years after the survey is closed

Your rights

You have the right:

  • to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.
  • to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay
  • to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement
  • to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed
  • in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted
  • to object to the processing of your personal data where it is processed for direct marketing purposes
  • to object to the processing of your personal data at any time

Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an UK independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Email icocasework@ico.org.uk

Contact form https://ico.org.uk/glo...

Telephone 0303 123 1113

Textphone 01625 545 860

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.

Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). You can contact the DSIT Data Protection Officer at:

DSIT Data Protection Officer

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
22-26 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG

The data controller for your personal data when shared with UKRI (with your consent) is UKRI. You can contact UKRI at:

Email: dataprotection@ukri.org

Updates to this notice

If this privacy notice changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we will share it with other parties.

The ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page will also change and the revision to the Privacy Notice will be recorded alongside the date of change. If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Last updated: 19 June 2023

Included consent and explicit consent as additional legal bases for processing data where consent has been provided by respondents.

Amended conditions referred to within Public Task.

Included contact details for UKRI and information about withdrawing consent.

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