Privacy notices and consent

If you are collecting personal data about individuals for any purpose you must issue a privacy notice to obtain explicit consent  and to ensure that they are fully informed about why you are collecting their data, how you will be using it, and whether or not it will be shared with any external parties and why.

You may be asking someone to fill in a questionnaire for a research study or asking for their contact details to organise a conference, or to issue newsletters. Or perhaps you are requesting that a form is filled in to process an enquiry or an application for membership e.g. for the University Library or University of Glasgow Sport. In all cases you must let the individual know from the outset what their information will be used for, so that they can make an informed decision about whether to enter into a relationship, or to use a particular service. Consent should be explicit and freely given, and the individual should be given the option to opt out at any point.

Privacy notices should be transparent and flexible to ensure that they fully capture all intended uses of the personal data collected. Furthermore, it is recommended that they are communicated via a number of mediums to ensure that the message is accessible to all e.g. verbally (if appropriate) and as a statement included in application forms, questionnaires, and webpages.

Please refer to our guidance on Privacy Notices & Templates for further information.  Further guidance can also can be found on the ICO website including the Guide to Data Protection, and the Privacy Notices Transparency and Control Code of Practice.

For further guidance, please contact the Data Protection Office at dp@gla.ac.uk or call ext. 3111.