This privacy policy sets out how the Institute of Economic Affairs uses and protects any information that you give us, or that we collect when you use our website.
The IEA is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This privacy notice will inform you of: how the IEA collects and processes your personal data, how we look after your personal data, your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.
This privacy policy will be updated from time to time, this version was last updated on 26/01/2024, historic versions can be obtained by contacting us.
This privacy policy covers:
1. Who we are
2. The data we collect about you
3. How is your personal data collected
4. How we use your personal data
5. Disclosure of your personal data
6. Data security
7. Data retention
8. Your legal rights
1. Who we are
The Institute of Economic Affairs is the UK’s original free-market think-tank, founded in 1955. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
We run a number of programmes, such as public events and internship opportunities, and provide a number of services, such as our weekly newsletter, the require us to collect personal data. Further, we rely entirely on donations from individuals, corporations and charitable foundations. If you make a donation, either through our website or by contacting us directly, we will collect your personal data for the purposes of processing that donation.
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
1.1 Our full details are:
The Institute of Economic Affairs
2 Lord North Street
London
SW1P 3LB
0207 799 8900
1.2 Third Party Links
This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy statements of every website you visit.
2. The data we collect about you
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:
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- Identity Data includes [first name, last name, title, date of birth].
- Contact Data includes [billing address, mailing address, email address and telephone numbers].
- Financial Data includes [bank account and payment card details].
- Transaction Data includes [details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us].
- Technical Data includes [internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website].
- Usage Data includes [information about how you use our website, products and services].
- Marketing and Communications Data includes [your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences].
We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.
We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, private political opinions, trade union membership and information about your health).
2.1 Keeping your data up to date
We do our best to keep your data accurate and up to date. If your data changes please contact us so we can make the appropriate changes. If you would like to see what information we hold please get in touch at any time.
We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil our legal obligations or for the purposes we collected it for. If you would like more information about our retention schedules please see section 7 of this policy statement.
2.2 If you fail to provide personal data
Where we need to collect personal data by law or to provide you with a service you’ve requested and you fail to provide that data, we may not be able to provide you with that service. In this case, we may have to cancel the service but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.
3. How is your personal data collected?
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
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- Direct interactions. You may give us your [Identity, Contact and Financial Data] by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you: register for an event, make a donation, apply for a job or internship position, subscribe to our newsletters, enter a competition, comment on one of our posts, give us some feedback.
- Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, [server logs] and other similar technologies.
- Publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from and public sources
4. How we use your personal data
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
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- Where you have asked us to provide you with a service, asked us to include you in one of our programmes or registered for an event
- Where you have made a donation
- Where it is necessary for either yours or our legitimate interests, (our interests will never override your interests or fundamental rights).
- Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
Click here to find out more about the types of lawful basis that we will rely on to process your personal data.
Generally we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation to sending direct marketing communications to you via email. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by clicking the Unsubscribe button in marketing emails or by contacting us.
4.1 Purposes for which we use your personal data
We have set out below a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.
| Purpose/Activity | Type of data | Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest |
|---|---|---|
| To send you marketing material via email | (a) Identity (b) Contact | (a) Consent- We never knowingly send our marketing material to individuals who have not personally signed up to receive them. If you do receive marketing emails from us without having signed up, please contact us. |
| To add you to an event guest list | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Financial (where applicable) (d) Transaction (where applicable) (e) Marketing and Communications | (a) Contract- When registering for an event, you enter into a contract with us and we will process your data for the purpose of event administration |
| To manage our relationship with you which will include: (a) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy (b) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Marketing and Communications | (a) Contract- Whenever we hold your personal data, we will keep you up to date with how we use it and how we keep it safe. (b) Legal Obligation- for more information please contact us (c) Legitimate Interests- to keep our records updated and to assess how our products and services are used. |
| To process your application for one of our programmes, such as internships | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile | (a) Contract- In applying for one of our internships you enter into a contract with us are we will process your data for the purpose of candidate selection |
| To include you in one of our programmes, such as internships and teacher training days | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Usage | (a) Contract- In partaking in one of our internships you enter into a contract with us are we will process your data for the purpose of running the programme. (b) Legitimate interests- We will use your data to assess the quality and impact of our programmes. |
| To enable you to partake in a competition | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Usage | (a) Contract- In partaking in one of our competitions you enter into a contract with us are we will process your data for the purpose of running the competition. (b) Legitimate interests- We will use your data to assess the quality and impact of our programmes. |
| To send you press releases, publications and updates that we believe will be of value to you | (a) Identity (b) Contact | (a) Legitimate interests- We will only ever send you communications that we believe will be of real value to you. If you no longer wish to receive these from us you can contact us at any time |
| To process a donation you make | (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Financial (d) Transaction | (a) Contract- When you make a donation you enter into a contract with us and we will use your personal data for the purposes of process your donation (b) Legal Obligation- for more information please contact us (c) Legitimate Interests- After you make a donation we will keep you up to date with the IEA’s activities |
4.2 Opting Out
You can opt out of receiving marketing emails at any time by clicking the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email or by contacting us. We never knowingly send our marketing material to individuals who have not personally signed up to receive them. If you do receive marketing emails from us without having signed up, please contact our Data Controller at datacontroller@iea.org.uk.
4.3 Cookies
The IEA website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the ones that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. You have the option to opt-out at any time, except those under ‘Necessary’, by selecting ‘Privacy & Cookies Policy’ then ‘Cookie Settings’ at the bottom of the web page – but please be aware that disabling some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Types/categories:
- Necessary: Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
- Advertisement: Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
- Performance: Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
- Analytics: Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
- Functional: Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
- Uncategorised: Uncategorised, or unclassified, relate to whether the user has previously visited the site or not – in turn, providing a better user experience.
4.4 Change of Purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
5. Disclosers of your personal data
Some of the functionality on our website and operations involves us cooperating with, and sharing your Personal Information with, third parties. We have carefully selected these third parties and taken steps to ensure that when we share your Personal Information with them, it is adequately protected. Details about how we process Personal Information in conjunction with third parties is set out below:
- Mailchimp – We use Mailchimp to run and operate, but not limited to, our Newsletter. When visitors to our website sign up by adding their contact details they are then stored and used for marketing, promoting and furthering IEA reach via the Newsletter.
For more information on how Mailchimp processes Personal Information, please view the Mailchimp Privacy Policy.
- Salesforce – We use the Salesforce platform to store private, or public, information from all stakeholders of the IEA. This data may be used for marketing, outreach, promotion or educational purposes to pursue our charitable objectives. This platform allows us to allocate details from our stakeholders into relevant reports, concluding in them receiving IEA material that most benefits their individual interests, such as topics on monetary policy, labour laws etc.
For more information on how Salesforce processes Personal Information, please view Salesforce’s Privacy Information.
- Eventbrite – Used to invite, manage, and verify guests for a range of our events. It allows staff to easily access who have signed up to an event, and then sign them in on the day; giving greater administrative and secure powers than manually creating lists. This information may be saved and stored via Office 365 or Salesforce in order to track and verify who have previously attended our events.
For more information on how Eventbrite processes Personal Information, please view Eventbrite’s Privacy Policy.
- Substack – Used as a replacement for Mailchimp to bring IEA’s newsletters, Bookclub, and other outreach to those interested in IEA’s output. For more information, please see Substack’s privacy policies.
- Google Analytics – Used strictly for our website to manage basic data on usage, page views, downloads and understand what pages gather more popularity than others. This gives our media team effective oversight on what are our most effective modes of education and give valuable information that influences how we shape and deliver our future content.
For more information on how Google Analytics processes Personal Information, please view Google Analytics Terms of Service.
- Zoom – We often use the Zoom platform for public and private events. If you register for any IEA event on this platform, personal information you provide may be stored in either Zoom, or the host’s, cloud services. Zoom cloud has ‘robust and validated access controls’ to protect user and guest data.
For more information on how Zoom processes your personal data, please view their Privacy Policy.
For more information on ‘host’s cloud storage’, please read below in the ‘Office 365’ section of this policy.
- Office 365 – Your information may be used by staff on Office 365 strictly for the platforms they provide. This will primarily include Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, SharePoint, Teams, and all other platforms Office 365 Business Premium has to offer. This data is then protected by Microsoft, with extensive security measures in place – by both the consumer and supplier.
For more information on how Office 365 processes Personal Information, please view Microsoft’s Privacy Statement.
- IEA Forum – Your details may be shared with IEA Forum Limited – a separate not-for-profit entity that supports the IEA’s mission to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. IEA Forum supports and participates in activities that are either clearly non-charitable, or significantly at risk of being considered as such given the changing climate for the regulation of think tanks. Your data may be used to support fundraising, project work, research work, communications, educational programmes and personal interests that you have expressed relating to topics we cover at the IEA. We guarantee your details will not be used for any other operations or purposes that are not outlined in the details of this policy, as outlined in section 4.1 (above)
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
6. Data Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees and third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
7. Data Retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil our legal obligations or for the purposes we collected it for.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy which you can request by contacting us at datacontroller@iea.org.uk.
In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see Request Erasure below for further information.
In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
8. Your legal rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. Please click on the links below to find out more about these rights:
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at datacontroller@iea.org.uk.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.