Guidance

Privacy notice: “Responsible Pioneers” Alumni Community

Published 13 November 2024

1. Data protection 

In the course of joining the UK Space Agency “Responsible Pioneers” Alumni Community, you have provided information about yourself (‘personal data’). We (the UK Space Agency) are the ‘data controller’ for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it. This notice sets out how we will process your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). 

2. The type of personal information we collect  

We will collect and process the following personal data: 

• name 
• contact details 
• employer and Job title 
• employment type 
• opinions 
• photographic images of those attending the UK Space Agency Alumni Community “in-person” events

We will process the following special category data: 

• accessibility requirements (which may indicate your health data) 
• dietary requirements (which may indicate your religious beliefs or health data) 

There will be no automated processing of personal data. 

3. How we will use your data 

We will use your data to:

• support the effective administration and management of the UK Space Agency Alumni Community
• informing, developing and shaping the UK Space Agency Alumni Community with participant surveys, questionnaires and feedback
• promoting the UK Space Agency Alumni Community via social media
• ensuring the health and safety of all persons attending UK Space Agency Alumni Community “in-person” events 

We will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another related reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent separately to use it for that new purpose. 

The lawful basis for processing your personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is: 

1(a)Consent: You consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes (see above). Should you change your mind, you can withdraw consent at any time by contacting alumni@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.

The legal basis for processing your special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR is: 

2(a) Because you have provided your explicit consent to the processing of your data for one or more specified purposes 

2 (b) It is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising our obligations or rights as the controller, or your obligations or rights as the data subject, under employment law, social security law or the law relating to social protection, including the Equality Act 2010 (to ensure the equality of opportunity or treatment of those participating in the Programme), and the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (to ensure the health, safety and welfare of those attending events).

4. Who has access to your data? 

Access to your data held by the UK Space Agency will be provided to staff within the agency who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above. 

We may share your data with a third party who will act as joint data controllers where we are running an event in conjunction with other organisations. These bodies are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your data in line with our policies and this privacy notice.  

We may share data with third parties who will act as data processors where they provide services on our behalf relating to the administration of the event, such as external venue providers. We only share data relevant to that activity, and these bodies are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your data in line with our policies and this privacy notice. We permit them to process your data only for the purposes specified in this notice and in accordance with our instructions.  

5. Retaining your data 

We will retain your personal data to the following schedule:  

1. personal data collected for the purpose of attending the “in-person” events will be retained for the duration of that event, and will be destroyed within one month of the event taking place
2. personal data gathered at the point of joining UK Space Agency “Responsible Pioneers” Alumni Community will be retained for up to two years, after which consent will be re-obtained, or the data destroyed. Should you opt out sooner, your data will be erased within one month of your request
3. anonymised personal information collected for statistical use will be retained for up to seven years. This will be aggregated to a point where individuals would be unable to be identified through any combination of the data given

6. Where we store and use your data 

Your personal data will be processed in the UK within secure UK government systems which use the Government Microsoft 365 environment and are hosted in UK-based data centres. As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will be shared with our data processors Microsoft and may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through an adequacy decision, the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or a UK International Data Transfer Agreement. We will not make additional copies of personal data to store outside of this environment. 

7. Your data protection rights 

You have the right to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data. 

You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay. 

You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement. 

You have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed. 

You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted. 

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where it is processed for direct marketing purposes. 

You have the right to withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. 

You have the right to request a copy of any personal data you have provided, and for this to be provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. 

To exercise your rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below. 

8. How to contact us 

If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information, you can contact us in the first instance at: 

UK Space Agency Data Protection Manager
Email: gdpr@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data, please write to the department’s Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the contact details below. 

DSIT Data Protection Officer
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
22-26 Whitehall
London, SW1A 2EG

Email: dataprotection@DSIT.gov.uk

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
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113   ICO website  

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

9. Updates to this notice 

If this privacy notice changes in any way, we will issue a revised notice via email. The version number and date of issue can be found in the header section of each page. Please avoid retaining local or offline copies of this notice in case changes are made. A version history will be maintained within the UK Space Agency Records Management system for audit and accountability. 

If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.