Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice
At FICS, we recognise that, in the digital age, information is key to how society consolidates and redistributes power. We know that information technologies can be used to surveil and censor and are exploited by the powerful to silence and restrict the civic space of dissenting voices. Privacy and information management are core to defending and expanding civic space and we take your rights seriously.
The Funders Initiative of Civil Society (FICS) is a programme of Global Dialogue, a registered charity (1122052) and limited company (5775827) in England and Wales which promotes human rights and social change by enabling innovative and collaborative philanthropy. As both the Data Controller (the organisation that determines how your data is managed) and Data Processor (the organisation processing the data), Global Dialogue handles and processes the data you provide in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Who are we?
FICS uses analysis, convening, incubation, and experimentation to shift funder strategy and practice on the drivers of closing civic space. FICS strives to give funders the tools they need to expand civic space for those advancing democracy, human rights, social and economic justice, and environmental protection for the future. We want to galvanise and influence a broader cross-section of funders to direct resources to disrupt, reform, and transform civic space. FICS is a programme hosted by Global Dialogue.
How do we collect information from you?
As FICS we obtain information about you in the following ways:
- When you apply for a governance role
- When you become one of our consultants
- When you sign up for FICS’ newsletters
- When you sign up to participate in FICS activities
- When you participate in research interviews
- When you apply for funding from FICS
- When you apply for a job at FICS
- When we meet you at online or in-person meetings and events
- When you express interest in our programmes
- When you are referred to us by someone in our network for the purpose of making grants, conducting research and building community
What type of information is collected from you?
We are required by the GDPR to have a legitimate reason – a “lawful basis” – for any personal data that we collect or hold on you. The table below describes the types of data that we collect at FICS, how we may use it, and what we understand to be the lawful basis for our
processing it:
| Data type | Processing purpose | Lawful basis for processing |
| Contact details for contractors and staff | To facilitate signature of contracts, and to fulfil our duties as an employer/contractor | Contractual |
| Staff and consultant- payment details | To facilitate payments to our staff and consultants | Contractual |
| Contact details for applicants for our staff, consultancy, or governance roles | To facilitate prompt feedback on recruitment and the status of their applications | Legitimate interest |
| Contact details for subscribers to our mailing lists | To ensure delivery of regular newsletters | Consent |
| Contact details for online and in-person event attendees | To ensure accurate records of attendance and to ensure attendees retain their places | Legitimate interest |
| Grant recipient contact details | To consider grant applications and undertake appropriate due diligence | Legitimate interest |
| Grant recipient financial details | To facilitate payment where grants are awarded | Contractual |
| Contact details for people who have expressed interest in our programmes and the communities we facilitate | To facilitate relationship building between us and external colleagues. To facilitate connection and relationship building between people and organisations working towards the same aim. | Legitimate interest |
| Contact details for people and organisations referred to us by members of our network, for the purpose of making grants. | To identify prospective grant applicants and to invite grant applications. | Legitimate interest |
| Contact details for people and organisations referred to us by members of our network, for the purpose of conducting research. | To identify and invite research participants. To coordinate and conduct research activities. | Legitimate interest |
| Contact details for people and organisations referred to us by members of our network, for the purpose of building community. | To facilitate relationship building between us and external colleagues. To facilitate connection and relationship building between people and organisations working towards the same aim. | Legitimate interest |
You can find more information about data processing by our host Global Dialogue here.
How long do we keep your data?
Our host, Global Dialogue, keeps retention periods for personal information under review. We are legally required to hold some types 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, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract or agreement you hold with us. We routinely update our data to ensure those who are not engaged in our work are removed.
Who has access to your information?
We may share your data with certain third parties where appropriate, however any third party your data is transferred to is contractually obliged to follow GDPR regulations regardless of their location. We may disclose your personal data if required to do so by UK law and will endeavour to give you notice prior to doing so.
Transferring your data outside of Europe
When we use a third–party processor, for example Mailchimp or Survey Monkey, your personal data may be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA). It will only be transferred to countries that have been identified as providing adequate protection for EEA data (like New Zealand), or to a third party where we have approved transfer mechanisms in place to protect your personal data, for example by entering into the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. For further information please contact us.
Your choices
You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to access, rectify, and erase your personal data. The accuracy of your information is important to us and you have a choice whether or not you wish to receive information from us. Find out more about your rights here.
If you do not want to receive communications from us about our work, events, surveys, and other information which we think you might be interested in, you can unsubscribe on each of the communications themselves. Alternatively, please send an email to operations@global-dialogue.org.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights under data protection law, if you change email address or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at operations@global-dialogue.org or fics@global-dialogue.org.
If you’re concerned about the way we have collected and used your personal data, please contact us – we will do our best to help. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK.
Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information
When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it is treated securely. Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally 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. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Cookie Policy
Our Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third-parties we may partner with may use cookies on the Website, your choices regarding cookies and further information about cookies.
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of text sent by your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the Website or a third-party to recognise you and make your next visit easier and the Website more useful to you.
Cookies can be “persistent” or “session” cookies.
How we use cookies
When you use and access the Website, we may place a number of cookie files in your web browser. We use cookies for the following purposes: to enable the Website to function and to provide analytics.
We use both session and persistent cookies on the Website and we use different types of cookies to run the Website. Please find information below on the cookies that our Website stores on your computer.
Strictly Necessary Cookies:
WordPress (the software used to power this website) sets the following cookies in your browser, if you have logged into the website dashboard:
| Cookie Name | Description | Session |
|---|---|---|
| wordpress_ | WordPress cookie for a logged in user. | Session |
| wordpress_logged_in | WordPress cookie for a logged in user. | Session |
| wordpress_test_cookie | WordPress test cookie. | Session |
| wp-settings-time- | WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface and possibly also the main site interface. | 1 Year |
| wp-settings- | Wordpress also sets a few wp-settings-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface and possibly also the main site interface. | 1 Year |
| PHPSESSID | To identify your unique session on the website. | Session |
Third-party Cookies:
In addition to the essential cookies, we also use various third-party cookies to report usage statistics of the Website. This is done through the third-party Google Analytics (Google Inc.) which is a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”). These have been summarised below:
| Cookie Name | Description | Session |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Used to distinguish users. | 2 Years |
| _gid | Used to distinguish users. | 24 Hours |
| _gat | Used to throttle request rate. | 1 Minute |
Cookie Acceptance and Effect of Clicking Agree on our Cookie Banner
By using our Website you consent to our use of cookies and the cookies will be stored on your device unless this functionality is rejected or disabled by your browser.
The first time you visit our Website, our Cookie Banner will appear, notifying your of the fact that the Website uses cookie. If you click on the ‘ACCEPT’ button in this Cookie Banner, the Website will use a cookie to record this fact so that the Cookie Banner will not show up on your screen next time you vitir our Website from your device (using the same browser).
Turning Off Cookies and Ramifications Thereof
You can manage the cookies stored on your device as well as stop cookies from being installed on your browser. To find out more information about how to do this, please visit the help pages of your web browser. Further information can also be found on the following website:
Please note, however, that if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
Review of this Privacy Notice
We keep this Notice under regular review. This Notice was last updated in April 2024.