Privacy Policy
The Market Research Society respects the privacy of its members and users of its websites. This privacy statement explains the data processing practices of the MRS.
Introduction and General Terms
In this policy “We”, “Us” and “Our” means The Market Research Society incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 00518685 and whose registered office is at 15 Northburgh Street, London, EC1V 0JR.
We operate a number of websites and are active on social media platforms, including mrs.org.uk. See below for a full list.
This policy applies to our use of any personal information we collect from you via any of our online services.
It also relates to Our use of any personal information which We obtain from you by phone, email, in letters and other correspondence or in person.
Our commitment to your privacy
MRS takes your privacy very seriously and We are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy and Cookies Policy explains how We collect and use the information you give us. Please read this policy carefully. If you have any questions please contact info@mrs.org.uk
As the founder of the Fair Data accreditation, you can trust that We will manage and treat your personal data with respect. We will collect, store and manage it in an unbiased and secure way. We will only use your data for purposes that We have informed you about. We will always be transparent about the personal data We collect and how We use it.
We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely and in accordance with all applicable Data Protection legislation.
Who are we?
MRS is the world's leading research association. We are for everyone with professional equity in market, social and opinion research and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy. MRS represents both large businesses and SMEs and we have a range of research suppliers included in our membership. We support best practice in the research industry by setting and enforcing industry standards.
What information will we collect from you, how, and why is it collected?
The personal information that We collect from you will vary depending on the context of your interactions with us and the service and/or product that we are providing to you
Type: Name
How collected: Provided by data subject
Why collected: To personalise any communications
Type: Email address
How collected: Provided by data subject
Why collected: For communication and for use as a unique identifier for user identification
Type: Passwords
How collected: Provided by data subjects
Why collected: For user authentication
Type: Profile information
How collected: Provided by data subject
Why collected: For candidate search, candidate view by recruiters & CMS target filtering
Type: CV/ Resume
How collected: Provided by Data Subject
Why collected: For Candidate Search, View and Download by Recruiters For Job Applications
Type: Usage data e.g. jobs applied for, courses booked or enquired about, jobs posted, searches undertaken via Platform Site
How collected: We collect in providing the service
Why collected: For site statistics used for service improvements
Type: Evidence of opt-ins/contact permissions and other privacy consents/unsubscribe requests
How collected: We collect in providing the service
Why collected: Data Subject opt-in permissions which may be used filtering purposes and identification for marketing purposes. Auditing for evidence provision in the event of an incident investigation.
Type: IP Address
How collected: We collect in providing the service
Why collected: For security reasons and analytical research purposes
Type: Standard details of end user's browser and operating system
How collected: We collect in providing the service
Why collected: For analytical research for service improvements
Type: Date & Session of visit to the website
How collected: We collect in providing the service
Why collected: For session activity related to usage data described above
How do we use your information?
We use your personal information:
- to enable Us to supply you with the goods and services and information which you have requested;
- to analyse the information We collect so that We can administer, support and improve and develop Our business and services We offer;
- to predict what you might be interested in;
- to provide you with access to certain parts of Our website;
- for all other purposes consistent with the proper performance of Our operations and business; and
- to contact you for your views on Our products and services.
We may also email you about information or activities that We think you might be interested in. If you do not want us to send you updates like this, please contact us at Market Research Society, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR or by email at info@mrs.org.uk.
What are the legal bases we use for processing your information?
The GDPR requires Us to rely on one or more lawful bases to use your personal information. We consider the bases listed below to be relevant:
- Where you have provided your consent for us to use your personal information in a certain way (for example, we will ask for your consent to send you marketing material by email, and we may ask for your explicit consent to collect special categories of your personal information).
- Where necessary so that we can comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (for example, where we are obliged to share your personal information with regulatory bodies which govern our work and services).
- Where necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract (for example, to administer your membership or allow you to participate in an event for which you have registered).
- Where there is a legitimate interest in us doing so if it is reasonably necessary to achieve our or others’ legitimate interests (as long as that processing is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact your rights).
“Legitimate Interests” means Our interests in conducting and managing our business as the professional body for research, insight and analytics and as the regulator promoting high professional standards throughout the sector. For example, we have an interest in making sure our marketing is relevant for you, so we may process your information to send you marketing that is tailored to your interests. We also have an interest in processing your information, to undertake research for MRS or on behalf of third parties, in order to inform our knowledge base and assist our representation of the sector. Our interests also allow us to communicate with you to ensure that you can participate in the governance of the society we will process your information to send you communications about the Annual General Meeting and election notices and to co-operate on charitable activities for the sector through the Market Research Benevolent Association (MRBA) and the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR).
It can also apply to processing that is in your interests as well. For example, we may process your information to protect you against fraud when transacting on our website, and to ensure our websites and systems are secure or
When we process your personal information for Our legitimate interests, we make sure to consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and your rights under data protection legislation. Our legitimate interests do not automatically override your interests - we will not use your personal information for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law).
If you have any concerns about Our processing, you have the right to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests. For more information on your rights, please see Section 12 on “Your Rights” below.
Will we ever share your information?
We may use selected agents to process your information on Our behalf, such as software providers to host Our website. Such third parties will be authorised to see and use your information but only to fulfil their contractual obligations to Us and will not be permitted to use it for any other purpose. We retain full responsibility for how your personal information may be used by such agents.
In exceptional circumstances We may share your information when We are legally required to do so.
When requested by you, We may pass on your personal information to third parties who may send you details of goods and services that may be of interest to you. For example, if you attend an event, your details may be shared with the speakers, trainers and/or sponsors at the event. If this is of interest to you, please tick the box on the relevant registration form, opting in for such contact. If at any time you would prefer not to receive this information, please contact Us at Market Research Society, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR or by email at info@mrs.org.uk.
How do we protect your personal information?
We place great importance on the security of your personal information and We always try to take appropriate precautions to protect it. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help Us protect your personal data from unauthorised access, use or disclosure. For example when we transmit highly confidential data (such as a credit card number or password) over the Internet, we protect it through the use of encryption.
Despite all of Our precautions however, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. So, whilst We strive to protect your personal information, We cannot guarantee the security of any information which you send to Us and you must understand that you do so at your own risk.
How long do we keep your information for?
The length of time We hold your personal information varies depending upon the type of information and its use. We will hold your personal information on Our systems only for as long as necessary to provide the services and/or products that you have requested, or for such other essential purposes such as investigating disciplinary matters, complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements.
Application data on this website is deleted after 180 days.
If you have any questions about Our data retention policy, please email: info@mrs.org.uk
Where do we store and process your information?
We generally store and process your information within the European Economic Area (EEA).
Where we need to transfer your information outside of the European Economic Area we only do so to countries which have been determined by the European Commission to have an adequate level of data protection//or where We transfer personal information to countries that have not been determined to have an adequate level of protection we do so using a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to help ensure your rights and protections.
What are your rights?
You have specific rights connected to provision of your personal information to Us. These include your rights to request that We:
- confirm to you what personal information we may hold about you, if any, and for what purposes
- change the consent which you have provided to us in relation to your personal information
- correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information which we may hold about you
- provide you with a complete copy of your personal data for you to move elsewhere
- provide you with a complete copy of your personal information for you to move elsewhere where you have provided this information by consent or by a contract with Us
- stop the processing of your personal information, whilst an objection from you is being resolved
- permanently erase all your personal information promptly, and confirm to you that this has been done(there may be reasons why we may be unable to do this)
- stop the processing of your personal information for the purpose of direct marketing
You also have the right to
- withdraw consent that you have provided to us to process your personal information, at any time
- object to profiling or to any decisions being taken by Us by automated means
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, if We do not address your request, or fail to provide you with a valid reason why we have been unable to do so, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office to make a complaint. They can be contacted via their websitehttps://ico.org.uk/concerns/or by telephone 0303 123 1113.
How can you access information and contact us?
You have the right to access any personal information that you have submitted to Us. We give you the following options for requesting this information from Our database:
Send Us an email: info@mrs.org.uk. Be sure to include your name and clear instructions on what you would like Us to do.
Write to Us at: 15 Northburgh Street, London, EC1V 0JR. Be sure to include your name and clear instructions on what you require.
If you require Us to supply you with details of the personal information that We hold about you, then we will provide this information free of charge and we will provide this information to you within 30 days of your request unless the request is complex or is numerous requests. If this is the case we will inform you within 30 days of your request about the reason for the extension of time. If your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive we will either charge a reasonable fee or provide an explanation for our refusal to respond.
Changes to your details or this policy
If your personal details change, please help Us to keep your information up to date by notifying Us at the email address at the beginning of this policy.
We may revise or update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in Our activities or for other purposes. If We do so, We will post notice of the change on Our website. Please revisit this policy each time you consider giving personal information.
This privacy policy was last updated 16 May 2018.
About cookies and similar technologies
A “cookie” is a small, often encrypted text file, located in your web browser directory. The text in a cookie often consists of a string of numbers and letters that uniquely identifies your computer, but it can contain other information as well. Cookies are often used by web pages to help users navigate their websites efficiently and perform certain functions within the page or login.
Similar technologies such as pixel tags (also known as beacons and clear GIFs) are also used to measure the success of email communications.
Each website can send its own cookie to your web browser if your browser preferences allow it. Similar technologies are also often used within emails to understand whether the email had been read and if any links have been clicked.
We use this information to track your movements through Our website, to find out how it is being used and to assess its usefulness. Personal information about you is not collected during the tracking process.
Internet browsers normally accept cookies by default. However, it is possible to set an internet browser to reject cookies. By using Our website you are consenting to Our use of cookies unless you set your internet browser to reject cookies.
You can disable the cookies that We attach if your browser supports this. For further information on how to do this, please refer to www.allaboutcookies.org. However, you should bear in mind that if you exercise this option, you may be unable to use some of Our on-line services.
The cookies we use
Below We have described the main cookies and similar technologies We use and what We use them for:
Operationally Necessary. We use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that are necessary to the operation of our sites, services, applications, and tools. This includes technologies that allow you access to our sites, services, applications, and tools; that are required to identify irregular site behaviour, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security; or that allow you to make use of our functions such as shopping-carts, saved search, or similar functions.
Performance. We use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies to assess the performance of our websites, applications, services, and tools, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how our visitors use our websites, determine if you have interacted with our messaging, determine whether you have viewed an item or link, or to improve our website content, applications, services, or tools; For example we use a tracking mechanism so we can monitor and improve the marketing emails we send you. This involves attaching a piece of code to each marketing email which is sent by MRS.
We also use Google Analytics which are used widely by websites to collect information about how website visitors use a site. We use Google Analytics cookies to collect information about how users use Our website and to improve Our website. Google Analytics collect information in an anonymous form and will not allow Us to identify you or collect any personal information about you. Google Analytics do not track your internet activity after leaving Our website.
Functionality. We use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our sites, services, applications, or tools. This may include identifying you when you sign into our sites or keeping track of your specified preferences, interests, or past items viewed so that we may enhance the presentation of content on our sites;
Advertising or Targeting. We use first-party or third-party cookies and web beacons to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests, on our sites or on third party sites. This includes using technologies to understand the usefulness to you of the advertisements and content that have been delivered to you, such as whether you have clicked on an advertisement.
Hyperlinks and third party cookies
MRS websites may contain hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties and buttons and content from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Social media cookies enable you to share content from Our website with your social media networks
These third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) have their own privacy policies, and may also use cookies,. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookie. Their policies will govern the use of personal information you submit when visiting these websites, which may also be collected by cookies. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.