This Privacy Notice and Cookie Statement sets out how the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (NIAC) uses and protects the information we collect from you, or that you provide to the Research and Information Service (RaISe) in relation to academic engagement, i.e. information in relation to the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series and the Assembly Register of Experts Database.
Please read this Notice to understand our policies, practices and procedures regarding personal data and how we will treat it.
For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998:
Data Controller Name: Northern Ireland Assembly Commission
Address: Parliament Buildings,
Ballymiscaw,
Stormont Estate,
Belfast, BT4 3XX
Telephone: (028) 90521137
Email: raise@niassembly.gov.uk
Information Standards Officer: Martina Dalton
Email: dpo@niassembly.gov.uk
Telephone: (028) 90521147
Why are you processing my personal information?
We collect, hold and use your information to manage and administer:
- the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS)
- the Assembly Register of Experts Database (Experts Register Database)
As a registered KESS attendee, a KESS subscriber, a KESS Panel university partner member, a KESS academic presenter or a database registered Research Expert, your information may include and may be used as follows:
- Your title, name and company/organisation – This may be used for:
- registration lists produced by RaISe for packs and security access;
- future emails sent by RaISe to you (as explained under ‘Your email address(es)); or,
- future briefings/lists produced by RaISe for Assembly committees’ consideration when securing external research expertise.
- Your email address(es) – This may be used for future emails sent by RaISe to you:
- to advise/update you on an event you have registered for or are presenting at;
- to inform about a future event if you have subscribed to the KESS mailing list;
- to correspond about KESS Panel matters; or,
- to produce briefings/lists for Assembly committees’ consideration when securing external research expertise.
- Your telephone/mobile number(s) – This may be used by RaISe:
- to advise/update you on an event you have registered for or are presenting at;
- to inform about a future event if you have subscribed to the KESS mailing list;
- to correspond about KESS Panel matters; or,
- to produce briefings/lists for Assembly committees’ consideration when securing external research expertise.
- Your policy/skills/posts relevant to expertise – This may be used by RaISe to produce briefings/lists for Assembly committees’ consideration when securing external research expertise.
- Your special requirements – This is to enable us to make reasonable adjustments to the event following your request.
- Your car registration – This is to enable us to secure your access to the upper carpark by working with colleagues in Assembly Security and Ushering.
- Your image as an academic presenter – This may be used for the production and on-line publication of KESS video clips. These clips seek to enable the work of the Assembly, including both promoting evidence-informed policy and law-making in Northern Ireland and encouraging Assembly engagement with academia, the public and private sectors, and the general public.
All others please note that when you enter Parliament Buildings, please be aware that it is a public building. On occasions there may be photography, filming or recording in the Great Hall or in other public spaces, such as outside the building. Clearly visible signage at the entrances to Parliament Buildings notify you of this.
- Your cookies and IP address – Further information about what cookies are, how we use them and how you can manage cookies on your computer is available in the Cookie Statement below.
What is the lawful basis for processing my personal information?
‘Consent’ is the lawful basis for us to process your personal information – see Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations.
We obtain your consent to collect, hold and use your information as follows:
- KESS attendees – When you register for a seminar using Eventbrite, you agree to us collecting, holding and using your details for administrative, management and security purposes. Eventbrite’s Privacy Notice can be accessed using this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/privacypolicy/
- KESS subscriptions – When you subscribe to receive future KESS event information using Mailchimp, you agree to us collecting, holding and using your details for administrative and management purposes. Mailchimp’s Privacy Notice can be accessed using this link: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/
- KESS academics presenters – When you agree by email to present at KESS, you agree to us collecting, holding and using your details for administrative and management (including filming and online publication), as well as security purposes.
- KESS Panel university partner members – When you agree to sit on the KESS Panel and jointly deliver KESS on an annual basis in terms of its administration and management, you agree to us collecting, holding and using your details for administrative, management and security purposes.
- Assembly Register of Research Experts – When you complete and submit an online form on the Assembly website, you agree to us collecting, holding and using your details when identifying potential research experts for Assembly purposes.
- Users of KESS webpage or Assembly Register webpage – Further information about what cookies are, how we use them and how you can manage cookies on your computer is available in the Cookie Statement below.
At any moment in time, you have the right to opt out of the above agreement. You can do this by simply emailing us at: raise@niassembly.gov.uk , and your details will be deleted. This may impact of the feasibility of services we can provide you.
If you would like to clarify any of the above, or if your details change or are inaccurate or incomplete, feel free to notify us by emailing: raise@niassembly.gov.uk .
Please note that if you are a third party providing KESS attendee/subscriber details, you must make those individuals aware of this Northern Ireland Assembly Commission – Academic Engagement Privacy Notice.
Where do you get my personal information from?
We obtain your information as follows:
- KESS attendees – From your registration via Eventbrite – refer to its Privacy Notice link stated earlier.
- KESS subscriptions – From your subscription via Mailchimp – refer to its Privacy Notice link stated earlier.
- KESS academic presenters – From email correspondence between RaISe and you, when you agree to present at KESS.
- KESS Panel university partner members – From in-person/email correspondence between RaISe and you, when you agree to sit on the KESS Panel.
- Assembly Register of Research Experts – From your submitted form via the Assembly website.
- Users of KESS webpage or Assembly Register webpage – Further information about what cookies are, how we use them and how you can manage cookies on your computer is available in the Cookie Statement below.
Do you share my personal data with anyone else?
Your personal data is shared internally only for administrative, management and security purposes, with the exception of KESS academic presenter video clips. Adhering to secure protocols, those clips are filmed and produced by a third party provider and made available to RaISe, which then posts the clips on the Assembly website.
The third party’s Privacy Notice can be made available for information if requested.
How long do you retain and dispose of my data?
With the exception of KESS academic presenter video clips, we securely retain and dispose of your information in line with our Retention and Disposal Schedule
KESS academic presenter video clips are published on the Assembly website, into the public domain, and remain there.
What rights do I have?
You have the right to:
- obtain confirmation that your personal data is being processed, and access to your personal data;
- have your personal data corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
- have your personal data erased and the processing of it prevented in specific circumstances;
- ‘block’ or supress the processing of your personal data in specific circumstances;
- data portability in specific circumstances; and,
- object to the processing of your personal data in specific circumstances.
You also have rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.
Cookie Statement
Users of kess.org.uk are asked via an automated message if they consent to cookies being collected. We collect information via cookies so that we can find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. We collect this information in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting any part of kess.org.uk. We will not associate any data gathered from this site with any personally identifying information from any source. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and we will explain what we intend to do with it.
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission is committed to safeguarding your personal information. Whenever you provide such information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with all laws concerning the protection of personal information, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
The information below explains the cookies we use and why.
Essential Cookies
| Cookie Name | Description | Duration for which the cookie is retained |
| CookieControl | This cookie is used to remember your choice about cookies on kess.org.uk. | 90 days |
Analytics Cookies
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google. Google Analytics sets cookies on the KESS website on its behalf in order to compile reports for us on user activity. These cookies enable Google to determine whether you are a returning visitor to the site, and to track the pages that you visit during your session. They are set only after you have given us consent to use analytical cookies.
Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. By using the KESS website and consenting to the collection of cookie data (by toggling Analytical Cookies ‘on’ in the cookie banner), you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. If you would like more information about the cookies used by Google Analytics, as well as information on how to opt-out, please see the Google privacy policy.
| Cookie Name | Description | Duration for which the cookie is retained |
| PHPSESSID | To identify the unique session of each user on our website | session |
| SESS | To ensure that a user is recognised when they move from page to page within the site and that any information they have entered is remembered. | session |
| _utma | ID used to identify users and sessions | 2 years |
| _ga | ID used to identify users | 1 year |
| _ga_* | Used to identify and track an individual user session. | 2 years |
| _gat | Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager | 58 seconds |
| _gat_* | Used to set and get tracking data | 1 hour |
| _gid | ID used to identify users for 24 hours | 24 hours |
| _utmb | Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server. | session |
| _utmc | Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session. | session |
| _utmz | This keeps track of where the visitor came from, what search engine was used, what link was clicked on, what keyword was used, and where the user was in the world when they accessed a website. This cookie is how Google Analytics knows to whom and to what source / medium / keyword to assign the credit for a Goal Conversion or an Ecommerce Transaction. | 6 months |
Video cookies
YouTube embedded player
We embed videos on kess.org.uk from our official YouTube channel. We have recently starting using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. You can read about YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode on YouTube’s embedding videos information page.
Videos embedded before 2024 have not been embedded with the privacy-enhanced mode. If you visit a page containing a YouTube video and are logged in to a YouTube or Google account, Google may use cookies for security purposes, remember your preferences, and receive information about the videos you watch for analytics and advertising purposes cookies and collect data linked to your Google account. For more information, see the Google Privacy Policy.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Expires |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Tries to estimate the users’ bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube videos. Also used for marketing | 6 months |
| VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | Youtube visitor privacy metadata cookie | 6 months |
| YSC | Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen. | Session |
Other cookies that may be set by Youtube (for between 180 and 400 days) include: AEC, APISID, HSID, NID, SAPISID, SID*, SSID, SOCS _Secure*, PREF, VSC
Vimeo embedded player
| Example cookies | Purpose | Expires |
| _cf*, _ga*, _gid, _uet*, _builderSessionid, language, Optanon*, sd_client_id, vimeo*, vuid | We embed videos from our official Vimeo channel. We have recently started embedding these videos using Vimeo’s Do Not Track setting. You can read about this on Vimeo’s embedding videos page. Vimeo may use cookies to enable the video to play, remember your preferences and maintain the security of its service. If you visit a page containing a Vimeo video and you are logged in to your Vimeo account or if you’ve visited the Vimeo website before the KESS website, Vimeo may use cookies eg to keep you logged in, for analytics and advertising purposes, and collect data linked to your Vimeo account. For more information, see the Vimeo cookies policy. Please note that videos embedded before 2024 have not been embedded using Vimeo’s Do Not Track setting. | Between 0 and 400 days |
* indicates various cookies that contain additional letters, numbers or characters in their name.
Soundcloud cookies
Audio recordings of KESS proceedings are embedded on the website using the Soundcloud service. Soundcloud uses cookies to enhance the user experience and gather analytical information. For more information on Soundcloud cookies please read Soundcloud’s cookie policy.
Use of cookies and how to control and delete cookies
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission will not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you.
None of the cookies collected by KESS are used as ‘targeting cookies’, that is, cookies designed to collect information about your browsing habits in order to make advertising relevant to you and your interests.
While locational information derived from your IP address is collected, it is not possible for the administrators of KESS to identify your precise IP address. We would not be able to discover your exact location and would not seek to do so.
However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by the KESS website, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The Help function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your computer as well as more general information about cookies. For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to refer to your handset manual. Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of the website.
Cookies set by third party sites
When you visit a page with content embedded from or that links to, for example, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube or Twitter, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission does not control the dissemination of these cookies. You should check the relevant third party website for more information about these. We would urge you to review these as they will govern the use of information you submit or which is collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites.
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites download the Google Analytics opt-out tool.
How do I complain if I am not happy?
If you are unhappy with how any aspect of this Privacy Notice, or how your personal information is being processed, please contact the Northern Ireland Assembly Information Standards Officer at:
Email: dpo@niassembly.gov.uk
Telephone: (028) 90521147
If you still are not happy, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Address:
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: (0303) 1231113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
Changes to this Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice will be reviewed and updated regularly. It was last updated on 21 October 2024.