At Agora Think Tank we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people, how we use the data, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others, and how we keep it secure.
Our privacy policy is implemented through three main practices: learning, engaging, and informing. We aim to obtain the highest standards when it comes to the protection of personal data. Therefore, we are continuously reviewing our rules and procedures. We also like to engage with our participants and members, and welcome any feedback. We maintain a data inventory whereby we only include a data type if it passes our proportionality test. We will inform you and our members periodically about any developments.
We may change this policy from time to time, so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you are happy with any changes. By using our website, you agree to the terms of this policy.
Any questions regarding this policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to [email protected].
Who are we?
We are Agora Think Tank, the UK’s open forum for foreign policy. Agora Think Tank is a registered charity (no. 1176974). The registered address is Daniel Fitter 234 Anerley Road, London, SE20 8TJ.
How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you when you use our website, get in touch with us through our online contact form, make a donation, contribute to one of our research groups, or if you register with us during one of our events.
What type of information is collected from you?
The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, IP address, information regarding what web pages you access and when accessed, telephone number, and biographical data limited to interests, skills, and degrees that are used in the context of our educational programme.
If you make a donation online, your card information is not held by us, it is collected by our third-party payment processors, who specialise in the secure online capture and processing of an card transactions, as explained below .
Additionally, we might receive information about you from a third-party event co-organiser or project funders. This can include information such as your name, postal address, email address, and telephone number.
Information that we obtain from you when you apply for a role at Agora Think Tank or have taken up employment with us may include – subject to your prior written consent – sensitive information such as racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, physical and mental health details, sexual orientation, criminal offences and/or involvement in criminal proceedings.
How is your information used?
We may use your information to process a donation that you have made, process a grant or job application, seek your views or comments on the services we provide, notify you of changes to our services, or to send you communications which you have requested or related communications that may be of interest to you. These may include information about events, new publications, and fundraising activities.
We review our retention periods for personal information on an ongoing basis. We are legally required to hold some forms of information to fulfil our statutory obligations. We will hold your
personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity.
Who has access to your information?
Please be assured that we will not release or transfer your personal data to third parties for marketing or other commercial purposes other than own activities. We only do so in two cases: a) if we are required to do so by law, for example by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime; OR b) if you have requested us to transfer your own personal data to third parties in a written and verifiable notice.
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties.
When you are using our secure online donation pages, information may be accessed and retained by a third-party payment processor who specialises in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions. If you have any questions regarding secure transactions please contact us.
We may transfer your personal information to a third party if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply
our terms of use or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our supporters and members. However, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your privacy rights continue to be
protected.
Your choices
You have the right to choose whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive any more information, please contact us by email: [email protected].
How you can access and update your information
The accuracy of your information is important to us. We are working on ways to make it easier for you to review and correct the information that we hold about you. You have the right to ask for an electronic or hard copy of the information Agora Think Tank holds about you. You have the right as well to have your data with Agora Think Tank deleted.
Please email us at [email protected] to request a copy of the information we hold about you, when you would like us to correct any information we hold about you, or when you want to have your data with Agora Think Tank deleted. Your requests will be passed through our Executive Committee. Some requests cannot be granted for legal reasons.
Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information
When you give us personal information, we take reasonable steps to ensure that it is treated securely. Any sensitive information (such as credit or debit card details) is encrypted and protected using SSL certification, or an equivalent technology. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear in web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Non-sensitive details (such as your email address) are transmitted over the internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems and third-party providers such as email or event management services.
Agora Think Tank shall put in place effective processes to help avoid data breaches. Any data breach or loss of data shall be reported within 72 hours of the initial breach to the Charity Commission under the Commission’s Serious Incident reporting guidance. You will be contacted as soon as possible if your data is compromised.
Use of ‘cookies’
Like many other websites, the Agora Think Tank website uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns, but do not identify you as an individual. This helps us to improve our website and deliver a better, more personalised service.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you linked to our website from a third party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.
16 or Under
If you are aged 16 or under‚ we need your parent/guardian’s written permission before you provide us with any personal information.
Transferring your information outside of Europe
As part of the services offered to you through this website, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (EU). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this policy.
If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.
Review of this Policy
We keep this policy under regular review. This policy was last updated in May 2022.