Data Protection Rights

As a data controller, SENSS is committed to complying with data protection law as part of its everyday working practices. This page explains what data SENSS collects from studentship and post-doctoral fellowship (PDF) applicants, what it does with this data, who can access this data, and how long it will be held for. This is done in order to: 1) run funding competitions and award studentships and PDFs; 2) report to the ESRC on these funding awards as these are paid for by public money; and 3) administer funding awards, once made.

1) LEGAL BASIS FOR COLLECTING, PROCESSING, AND HOLDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

There are three legal bases for processing your personal information:

Consent: When you provide your information either through a form or survey, SENSS set outs why it collects this information and how it will use it. By completing and submitting your information this way, you consent for your details to be used as set out. You are free to withdraw your consent for the use of your information at any time. However, a minimum of information is required in order for you to hold a SENSS funding award.

We also collect some personal information (like the address of your computer) through the use of website cookies. You can set your preferences for these cookies through our cookie consent banner or when viewing some content. You can change these preferences at any time.

Performance of contract: If you apply for a SENSS studentship or other SENSS awards, which are funded via the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), it is essential for SENSS to collect and process certain information about you in order to make a funding decision. If you are awarded funding, SENSS will enter into a contract with you which will necessitate processing of this information in order to draw up and perform this contract with you.

Legitimate interest: SENSS processes information about its students to facilitate its legitimate business. This includes reviewing your funding application, offering you funding etc.

If you are awarded funding, your name, the name of your home university, and your institutional contact email address will be published on the SENSS website. If you believe this may or will cause you harm, contravene conditions of any funding arrangement, please talk to the SENSS Manager (manager@senss-dtp.ac.uk) about this.

2) COLLECTING, PROCESSING, AND HOLDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR HOLDING FUNDING COMPETITIONS ‍ ‍

  • For you to be considered for a SENSS studentship, your personal data and application materials, which you provide via an online application form hosted by HEIApply, will be processed by members of staff at the eight institutions within the DTP who are involved in the DTP selection process (see process section of this document). This is done for the purpose of meeting our legitimate interests in providing studentships to eligible applicants.

  • 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 to use it for that new purpose.

  • We will only retain your data for as long as we need it to meet our purposes, including any relating to legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. On this basis, we will hold all unsuccessful applications for a period of two years after the end of the application process, after which these will be destroyed. However, should you wish your application to be destroyed before then, please contact SENSS directly (manager@senss-dtp.ac.uk) to discuss this, noting that the earliest this can be done is the October following the close of the relevant funding competition given our obligation to report anonymised applicant data to the ESRC.

Your data will be held on secure servers and/or on our premises within the UK.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) information, including special category data collected via HEIApply

The collection of EDI information is done to enable SENSS to do the following:

  • To comply with its contract with the ESRC for the DTP Grant;

  • To comply with its annual reporting requirements to the ESRC; and,

  • To implement its equality, diversity, and inclusivity strategy (the ESRC requires each DTP to have and develop an EDI strategy).

The following special category data is collected as part of the EDI monitoring process:

  • Racial and/or ethnic origin

  • Sexual orientation

  • Religious beliefs

  • Disability information

Other information collected includes Socio-economic information and whether applicants have caring responsibilities.

Access to EDI information is restricted to the SENSS core team. Individual EDI information is not accessible to anyone else, including SENSS partner universities or Thematic Panels. SENSS is required to share EDI information with the ESRC and some SENSS governance structures: where this is done, the data is anonymised first.

HEIApply users

The SENSS DTP core team has control over who can access HEIApply for the purposes of reviewing applications. The core team regularly reviews who is registered as an HEIApply user and deletes those no longer involved, ensuring that only those reviewers involved in the current competition are listed as users. Users can only see applications assigned to them by the core team.

Only the following role holders are granted access to see applications on HEIApply:

  • The core team: only certain members of the core team can view your applications, including your EDI data;

  • Operational Leads: only the Operational Lead at your home university can view your application, and cannot see your EDI data;

  • Thematic Panel members: only the Thematic Panel members for the SENSS Theme that you have applied for are able to see your application, and cannot see your EDI data;

  • Academic Leads: Academic Leads are only granted permission to view your application if they sit on the review panel for either the collaborative studentship or SENSS-CAMDTP awards. As such, they can only see applications for those specific studentships, and cannot see your EDI data.

Supervisors for studentships and mentors, Heads of Department, and referees for PDFs are NOT granted access to any applications. Although applicants are required to name these (as appropriate) and provide their contact details via HEIApply, they cannot view an application data unless the applicant shares this with them.

Your rights as an applicant

You have the following rights in relation to the personal data that we hold about you:

  • The right to request access to your data (commonly known as a "subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of your data and to check that the DTP is lawfully processing it.

  • The right to request correction of your data. This enables you to ask the DTP to correct any incomplete or inaccurate information it holds about you.

  • The right to request erasure of your data. This enables you to ask SENSS to delete or remove your data in certain circumstances. For example, if you consider that there is no good reason for the DTP to continue to process it. You also have the right to ask the DTP to delete or remove your data where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).

  • The right to object to the processing of your data, where the DTP is processing it to meet its public tasks or legitimate interests (or the legitimate interests of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object if the DTP is processing your data for direct marketing purposes.

  • The right to request that the processing of your data is restricted. This enables you to ask the DTP to suspend the processing of your data, for example, if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

  • Request the transfer of your data to another party.

    However, as we destroy your application data two years after after the end of the application process, if you request access to your data or correction of it, this will not be possible.

3)    Reporting to the ESRC on your studentship or PDF award

Please note that sharing your anonymised EDI data with the ESRC and UKRI, as your funders, is a requirement of your application and studentship award. Other data shared with the ESRC may be used by UKRI or the ESRC on their websites and other publicly available databases, including Gateway to Research, and in ESRC and SENSS reports, documents and mailing lists.

The following data will be shared with the ESRC/UKRI by SENSS:

  • Your name;

  • The name of the university at which you are registered;

  • The name(s) of your project partner organisations (if any), and your supervisors;

  • Your project title, topic, abstract, and/or summary; and,

  • Your registration and expected submission dates.

Aggregated and anonymised data, based on the information you provide, may be also be shared with the ESRC, including:

  • the numbers of students in particular regions, universities or departments in relation to ESRC-funded DTPs;

  • demographics, such as student numbers, financial spend on studentships, qualifications, training compliance, etc.

3) COLLECTING, PROCESSING, AND HOLDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED SENSS FUNDING

If you are awarded a SENSS studentship, your studentship application will be downloaded from HEIApply and made available to you via the University of Essex’s Box platform to support you in managing your studentship. This excludes your EDI data. Data from your HEIApply application and a survey you will be asked to complete provides the information required by SENSS to report to the ESRC and administer your studentship.

This includes (but is not restricted to):

  • Communicating information to the SENSS Operational Lead at your home university so they are able to manage your SENSS studentship;

  • Creating your profile on the SENSS website and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE);

  • Managing your funding applications for: Research Training Support Grant funding (RTSG), Overseas Fieldwork (OFW), Overseas Institutional Visits (OIV), Difficult Language Training (DLT), and placements;

  • Managing any studentship extension applications (such as parental leave, or medical leave);

  • Maintaining your studentship record;

  • Organising SENSS training events, such as the Winter Induction and Summer Conference etc;

  • Communicating with you about matters to do with your studentship.

Please note that sharing the information requested with UKRI and/or the ESRC is a condition of your studentship.

Should you have any questions about the way your data is collected, used, or held by SENSS, please email the SENSS Administrator (admin@senss-dtp.ac.uk).

If you have a query regarding the way your data is collected, used or held by the university you are studying at, please email the SENSS Operational Lead at your home university. Your Operational Lead’s contact details are available here.