This privacy policy applies to the operations of the Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) websites, web pages and systems for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department of Health (DH) Policy Research Programme (PRP).

Your privacy is important to CCF. To better protect your privacy, the CCF provides this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

• The NIHR CCF websites are hosted by the National Institute for Health Research.
• The PRP CCF web pages are hosted on the Department of Health website.
• The CCF research management system is hosted by CC Technology.

The Data Controller for these websites and web pages is the CCF, which is based at LGC, on behalf of the NIHR and the PRP at the Department of Health. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected on visiting our websites and web pages, as part of the application/review/award process and at the point of registration for the research management system.

The purpose for which personal information is collected through these websites is to deliver the work of the CCF in relation to the operation of NIHR and DH research programmes, NIHR Faculty and NIHR infrastructure. Data will not be used for any other purpose without the consent of the supplier.

Use of CCF registration, review or application facilities is entirely voluntary and the personal information stored will be used solely by the CCF, its subcontractors and partners in order to respond to your enquiries. Registered users may also receive selected information via CCF cascaded by DH and the wider NIHR.

Registrants to the CCF extranet are required to submit the following personal information:

• Title, first and last name
• Appointment
• Email address
• Contact address
• Contact telephone number
• Contact fax number.

Registration is necessary for applicants, co-applicants, peer/lay reviewers and funding panel/committee members. It may also be necessary for Department of Health and other Programme officials and individuals associated with application and contract administration and/or research information.

It is possible that you have already submitted these details on an NIHR website. This is because data is held by different NIHR Coordinating Centres, depending on which Programme you are accessing.

Information collected is used by the CCF, its subcontractors and partner organisations:

• To administer the application and review process
• To identify peer reviewers for applications
• To notify users about funding opportunities by email
• To notify relevant users about application deadlines by email
• To notify users of any issues of service interruptions, holiday closures and other situations affecting the operation of the CCF extranet
• To notify users about selected news, events, other opportunities (e.g. funding, panel or committee membership) or information requests from NIHR or DH.

Use of the extranet is conditional on prior registration and granting of access rights by the CCF. Registration to use this extranet constitutes acceptance of this Statement. Users must notify the CCF of any change in their status which may affect their right to use the extranet. The granting of access rights to the extranet is by the provision of usernames and passwords giving access to the extranet. The provision of such usernames and passwords by the CCF will constitute authorisation for the use of the extranet only. Users must not use another user's name or password, nor allow any password issued to them to become known to any other person, nor, having logged in, leave the PC unattended and potentially usable by another person. Generally we do not request passwords from users nor will they be given out over the telephone.

To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, the CCF has put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information it collects online.

The information you provide will be held securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

• Your personal details will not be disclosed to third parties.
• Your personal details are available via the extranet to check the accuracy of the information held. Registered users of the extranet can update their profiles as recorded on the registration page, with the exception of the institution postcode (this is for operational reasons, as some funding is allocated on a regional basis). If you require the institution postcode to be edited, please email info@nihr-ccf.org.uk from the email account registered with the CCF website or by post to Central Commissioning Facility, Grange House, 15 Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NL.
• You will receive an annual email reminder to check your details are correct.
• You can request in writing, either from the email account registered on the website, or by post, that your name is removed from the system. However, if you are the lead applicant or co-applicant in an award, we cannot remove your name until the final report has been approved and final payment has been made for contractual reasons.

A cookie is a piece of data stored locally on your computer and contains information about your activities on the Internet. On our websites, we use cookies to track users' progress through our websites, allowing us to make improvements based on usage data. The information on a cookie is not linked to any personally identifiable information you submit to our site. Once you close your browser, our access to the cookie terminates. If you choose not to accept the cookie, this may affect your access to some of the facilities available on our websites.

When downloading or uploading documents on the extranet you will be using Secure Socket layers 2.0 with 128 bit encryption.

When you use the Internet, you are assigned a unique address, known as an IP address. We use IP addresses to analyse trends, to administer the site, track users' movements through the site, and gather statistical information. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Our websites contain links to other sites. The CCF is not responsible for the privacy practices within any of these sites. You should be aware of this when you leave our sites and we encourage you to read the privacy statements on other websites you visit which collect personally identifiable information.

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we never collect or maintain information on our websites from those we actually know are under 13, and no part of our websites are structured to attract anyone under 13.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post details of any changes on our websites. This will help ensure that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we share it with other parties.

We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair and rapid resolution of any complaints or disputes relating to privacy matters. Please send any questions and comments regarding our privacy practices by:

• Email: info@nihr-ccf.org.uk
• Post: Central Commissioning Facility, Grange House, 15 Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NL
• Phone: 020 8843 8000

In the unlikely event that you do not receive a response to your inquiry, or if you feel that your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, please contact:

The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, ICO helpline: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745. Website:http://www.ico.gov.uk Email:notification@ico.gsi.gov.uk