This Notice applies to the website at www.digital-science.com and related activities (“Digital Science”).

Digital Science is operated by Digital Science & Research Solutions Limited, with registered address at 4 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW, UK (“we” or “our”).  We respect your concerns about privacy and value our relationship with you. This Notice explains what personal data we collect, how we may use and manage it and the rights you may have in relation to such personal data. When we refer to “personal data” in this Notice, we mean information relating to an identified or identifiable individual that we collect and use in connection with Digital Science; not aggregate or other anonymised data.  

This Notice does not apply to the processing of personal data in connection with the products and solutions you may receive from us and/or our affiliates. Please refer to the “Digital Science products and solutions” section below for more information.

How do we collect and use personal data?

We collect personal data in the following ways:

• information you provide to us directly online. For example, when you register for a Digital Science event, ask to receive a report or get in touch by completing a form on our website, we collect the personal data you provide, like your name, email address and other basic contact details/professional information. We will use this information to fulfil the request you’ve made. More occasional examples could include where you respond to a survey or enter into a competition.
• information we collect from your use of our website. When you visit our website, we may collect information about that usage and other technical information, such as your IP address, browser type and any referring website addresses. We may combine this automatically collected log information with other information we collect about you and use it to keep a record of our interaction and to enable us to support, personalise and improve Digital Science. We may also collect this type of information using cookies and other similar technologies – please see our Cookie Settings for further details.  
• information you provide to us in person. For example, when you visit one of our exhibition booths or attend one of our events, you may provide us with your contact details. We will use this information to answer your enquiries or provide other information requested by you. Photographs and/or videos for promotional and related activities may also be taken at our events, details of which (including how not to be included and/or removed) will be provided as part of the event. 
• information we collect from our other interactions/business dealings. For example, if you attend a webinar, contact us via social media or otherwise interact with our business, including as a representative of a supplier or business partner or about a potential investment, we may track and make a record of those interactions, which may contain personal data. If you visit one of our offices, this may be captured on CCTV and used by us for security reasons.  
• information we collect from third parties or publicly available sources. If you are a member of the research community, we may collect publicly available information about you and the research you’ve been involved in and content you’ve authored. We may use this information to identify, and contact you about, your area of expertise and, for example, to invite you to write a blog, speak at an event or co-author a report.

In all the above cases, where we have a relationship with you, we may also use the personal data we collect to manage and keep a record of that relationship and other business administration purposes you’d reasonably expect and, subject always to your preferences, to provide information we think may be of interest to you.

In many of the above cases, we may also use the information collected to create aggregate or other non-personal data to enable us to benchmark and improve Digital Science and for other analytical / research purposes.  

Unless we specifically request it, please do not provide us with any sensitive personal information. If you provide personal data to us about someone else (such as one of your colleagues), please ensure that you have their permission to do so and that they’re aware of the contents of this Notice.

The legal basis for Digital Science’s use of your personal data

In order to comply with European data privacy laws, we are required to set out the legal bases for our use of your personal data, which are as follows:

• where you have given us your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time. For example, we rely on your consent to fulfil specific requests you’ve made, such as to receive our blog emails, or provide information you’ve opted-in to receive;
• where the processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you, or to enter into such a contract. For example, if you register to attend a Digital Science event, we will need to use your details to reserve you a place and make arrangements for your attendance;
• where the processing is necessary to comply with our legal obligations; or
• the processing is in our legitimate interests, provided these are not overridden by your individual rights. For example, we rely on our legitimate interests:
  • to collect personal data from research-related content, such as journal articles, blog posts and other scientific resources, and to include that information in the reports we write. 
  • to contact you when you’ve not previously given us your consent to do so, such as to tell you about things that we think might be of interest to you.
  • to create aggregated or other non-personal data from your personal data.
  • to use CCTV on our premises for security reasons.

Who we share your personal data with

We may share your personal data within the Digital Science group, including the portfolio businesses listed on our website, on a confidential basis for our internal administrative, billing and other business purposes, and to fulfil a request that you might have made. We do not generally disclose or share personal data with third parties, except where it’s necessary for legitimate business reasons, such as:

• to the agents, advisers and service providers that assist us in running / we use to administer our business;
• to the subcontractors and service providers* we use to provide and support Digital Science;
• if you express interest in an initiative we’re involved in, to other participants in such initiative;
• if required to enable the integration or use of third party resources accessed / used on Digital Science;
• if part of our business is sold to or integrated with another business, or if we invest in another business, to our advisers and any prospective purchasers / investees (and their advisers);
• in such circumstances for which you have given your consent;
• if necessary for the performance of the contract we have with you or in order to enforce any claims we are entitled to;
• if required by law or ordered by a court;
• if you register for a webinar or other event, to other attendees and co-organisers of that event.

*We include appropriate confidentiality and security obligations in our contracts with our service providers and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions (not for their own purposes).  Such service providers include Salesforce.com, LLC for customer relationship management (USA) and Google LLC for business operations (USA).

Security and storage

We take appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect personal data from accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss and unauthorised access, destruction, misuse, modification or disclosure.

We only keep your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, after which it will be destroyed, erased or anonymised.

International transfers

Parts of our operations, and much of the infrastructure we use to run our business, are based in the United States (“USA”).  This means that in order to run our business and provide Digital Science, personal data may be transferred to the USA, as well as to other locations where our affiliates and service providers are based. Whenever we make such transfers, we will ensure an appropriate level of protection is afforded to your personal data, which in the case of personal data originating from the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA) shall involve implementing at least one of the following safeguards:

• making sure the destination country has been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data;
• by using model form contracts that have been officially declared to afford your personal data an appropriate protection; 
• relying on an alternative recognised compliance standard for the lawful transfer of personal data.

Please email us at info@digital-science.com if you would like more information about these safeguards.

Marketing and emails

Depending on your preferences, we may contact you about things we think might be of interest to you. Some of these messages may be tailored to you, based on your interests (e.g. previous browsing activity), public research history and other information we may hold. We may also offer the ability, via Digital Science, to opt into marketing communications, and set your marketing preferences, that are specific to the products and solutions we and our affiliates provide, as explained in the “Digital Science products and solutions” section below.  

If you no longer wish to receive particular communications, you can click the unsubscribe button that will be included in our emails.

Cookies

Please see our Cookie Settings for information on how we collect personal data using cookies and similar technologies.

Your rights

Various data privacy laws give rights to individuals in respect of personal data that organisations hold about them.   For example, under European data privacy laws, you may be entitled:

• to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about them;
• to object to the processing of their personal data; or
• to request that their personal data is rectified or deleted, or its processing limited.

To make any requests regarding your personal data, please email us at info@digital-science.com. We will comply with any such requests as required in accordance with applicable law. Please be aware, however, that there are typically a number of limitations to these rights, and there may be circumstances where we’re not able to comply with your request.

Additional information for certain jurisdictions

For additional information relevant to certain jurisdictions about the personal data we collect, how we may use and manage it and the rights you may have in relation to such personal data, please visit this page.

Third party sites

If any part of Digital Science is made available on or through third party websites or other resources, includes links to such resources, or other resources contain links to any part of Digital Science, this is done for convenience only. We recommend that you check the privacy and security policies of such resources as they are not subject to this Notice.

Digital Science products and solutions

As noted above, this Notice does not apply to the processing of personal data in connection with the products and solutions you may receive from us and/or its affiliates. Please refer to the individual privacy notices that are specific to those products and solutions, and displayed on the corresponding websites. These websites are directly accessible from www.digital-science.com/products/. 

If this Notice is referred to in connection with one or more of those products or solutions, this is done for convenience only, and you should refer to the relevant individual privacy notice(s) for information about the personal data that is collected, how it may be used and managed, and the rights you may have in relation thereto, in the context of that product or solution. For example, if you sign-up via Digital Science to receive emails about Altmetric – which you may do via the website at www.digital-science.com – your personal data will be used for that purpose in accordance with the privacy notice at www.altmetric.com/privacy-policy/. 

Contact details

If you would like any further information, or have any questions or concerns, regarding your personal data, as a first step, please email us at info@digital-science.com or write to us at:

• If you’re based in Europe: 6 Briset St, London, EC1M 5NR, UK
• If you’re based outside of Europe: 625 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to your local supervisory authority for data protection issues. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns in the first instance.

Changes to this Notice

We reserve the right to modify or replace this Notice at any time by posting the revised Notice on our website. You are responsible for reviewing any such change each time you access any part of Digital Science.

Last Updated: 3rd March 2023