Institute for Social Marketing and Health Newsletter

A data protection law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2018. This law says “we” (the Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling) need to provide “you” (a subscriber to our e-mail newsletter) with details on how your data will be handled, stored, and used.

Why do we need your information?

This privacy notice relates to the personal information collected for the purposes of sending out an e-mail newsletter that you have opted to receive.

Dissemination, knowledge sharing, and impact are a core part of our role as an academic research unit. As part of this, we produce an e-mail newsletter aimed at those interested in our research and activities. The audience for this includes, but is not limited to, academic researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and those working for non-governmental organisations. The newsletter is distributed via e-mail across the year, typically on a quarterly basis.

Who will be in charge of any Personal Data about me?

Staff who volunteer for the ISMH communications subgroup are the ‘controllers’ of all personal information you provide when registering to receive the e-mail newsletter.

We manage the sign up and distribution of the newsletter through a third-party provider, MailChimp (https://mailchi.mp). MailChimp therefore also act as a ‘processor’ of your information. All data stored and processed through MailChimp is in accordance with their privacy policy and terms of use, which you can read on their website.

What information will you collect?

We are only collecting the information required to send you the e-mail newsletter. This includes your first and last name, e-mail address, and (where applicable) what organisation you work with or for (e.g., your employer). This is considered ‘personal information’. We will ask you which areas of our research you are most interested in. This is not considered ‘personal information’.

What is the legal basis for processing my personal information?

Under the GDPR, we require a legal basis to process your personal information. All people who receive the e-mail newsletter ‘directly’ from us will have completed an online registration form which asks for permission for use their personal information for this purpose. The legal basis for processing your personal information is therefore ‘consent’.

By ‘directly’ we mean when the e-mail newsletter is sent by us (via MailChimp) to the those who have registered to receive it. We are unable to control if recipients of the newsletter choses to forward it to other persons who have not previously provided consent to receive it.

Transfer of your information overseas.

All information held by ISMH will be stored in the United Kingdom. MailChimp servers are in the United States. This means the data they process will be transferred to, stored, or processed outside of the UK and European Economic Area (EAA). While the data protection, privacy, and other laws of companies operating outside of the UK and EEA may not be as comprehensive as the UK/EEA, MailChimp has robust and appropriate measures to protect your privacy. You can read more about MailChimp and European Data Transfers on their website.

How will my information be stored?

MailChimp also have robust processes to protect the security and integrity of your information, which you can read about on their website. The University of Stirling may at its discretion download the contact information from Mailchimp for the purposes of reviewing and improving the content and targeting of the newsletter. The University of Stirling has robust processes and systems in place to maximise information security and will we take all reasonable steps to ensure the security and integrity of your information, such as storing information on secure password protected IT networks and in places only accessible to members of the ISMH communications subgroup.

How long will you hold onto my information?

We will keep your information for as long as ISMH continues to operate the e-mail newsletter. If you decide to unsubscribe from the newsletter then your personal information will be securely deleted. There is a link to unsubscribe in every e-mail you receive. 

Your rights

Receiving our e-mail newsletter is entirely voluntary. You can choose to stop receiving it at any time without giving a reason and without any penalty by using the unsubscribe link included in every e-mail you receive.

You also have the right to contact any organisation who holds personal data on them to check whether their personal data are correct, and you can ask to see it and have it restricted, corrected, or deleted. If you want to contact us about your information, please contact: ismh@stir.ac.uk.

If you wish to speak to an independent person about the newsletter or wish to raise a complaint without revealing your identity, you can do so by contacting:

Joanna Morrow, Data Protection Officer and Deputy Secretary of University of Stirling (data.protection@stir.ac.uk)

If you are not happy the response from the University of Stirling, or believe these parties are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/ or 0303 123 1113.