Entrepreneurs Forum

Last updated: 6-Apr-09
The Entrepreneurs' Forum Limited ("We") are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, via our sites at www.entrepreneursforum.net, www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk and www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com (together "our sites"), will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding personal data and how we will treat them.

Any personal data you provide when using the site at www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com will be processed by the site provider (Ning, Inc.) in accordance with its own privacy policy which is published on that site. In addition to reading this privacy policy, you should therefore also read Ning's privacy policy carefully before using that site.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the Entrepreneurs' Forum Limited of Suite 21, John Buddle Walk Village, Buddle Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 8AW is the data controller of any personal data (as defined in the Act) which we collect or which you submit to us via the sites. We are entered in the Information Commissioner's register of data controllers under entry number Z1600263.

INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT FROM YOU

We may collect and process the following data about you via our sites:

• Information that you provide by filling in forms on our sites. This includes (but is not limited to) information provided at the time of registering to use our sites, applying for Entrepreneurs' Forum membership online, subscribing to our services, or requesting further services.
• We may also ask you for information when you enter a competition or promotion operated or sponsored by us.
• Information you submit or contribute using any of the interactive services available on our sites from time to time such as chat rooms, bulletin boards and forums.
• If you contact us (for example to report a problem with our site) we may keep a record of that correspondence.
• We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them.
• Details of your visits to our sites including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, and the resources that you access.

IP ADDRESSES AND COOKIES

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our partner and funders. This is statistical data about our users' browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual.

We may also obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive. They help us to improve our sites and to deliver a better and more personalised service. In general terms they enable us:

• To estimate our audience size and usage pattern.
• To store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our sites according to your individual interests.
• To recognise you when you return to our sites.

On the site at www.entrepreneursforum.net we currently store 5 cookies for each visitor to the site. These hold the following settings: (i) the text size for the site content; (ii) the text for the router contact; (iii) whether or not flash is to be displayed; (iv) whether or not the site is in text-only mode; and (v) whether or not the text-only mode displays in high contrast mode. In addition, when a member logs in, his or her user id is stored in a cookie for the duration of the session.

The www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk website currently uses two cookies, one for logged in users and one for anonymous users. These are used to identify users so that we know what messages they have been previously fed and to determine whether they are logged in or not.

For information about how Ning, Inc. use cookies on the site at www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com please refer to the Ning privacy policy published on that site.

Our sites also use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the sites. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the sites (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the sites, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also 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 our sites, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site.

WHERE WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

All information you provide to us is stored on either our own secure servers or the secure servers of our site providers and data processors. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our sites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our sites; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Please note that if you use the site at www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com any data you submit via that site will be transferred outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). The data will be stored on the site provider's (Ning, Inc.) servers in the US and processed by Ning, Inc. in accordance with the Ning privacy policy published on the site. By submitting your personal data via this site you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. For more information about how Ning, Inc. will process your personal data please read the Ning privacy policy published at www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com.

USES MADE OF THE INFORMATION

We use information held about you in the following ways:

• To provide you with access to our sites and to allow you to make use of any interactive services available on our site, when you choose to do so.
• To provide you with any information, products or services that you request from us.
• To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including, where applicable, the administration of your membership with the Entrepreneurs' Forum Limited.
• To provide you with information about products, services and events which we feel may interest you and which you have agreed to receive .
• To notify you about changes to our sites and services.
• To contact you with surveys and for feedback regarding your use of our sites and services.
• To administer and improve our sites and services.

Please note that if you are a member of the Entrepreneurs' Forum we may place basic details of your business on our site at www.entrepreneursforum.net which may be viewed by other members. However (except as set out in this policy) we agree not to forward, submit or publicise any other details, or any information we receive from you, to other members or to third parties without your consent.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may disclose your personal information to third parties as follows:

• We may disclose your personal information to any member of our group from time to time, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 736 of the UK Companies Act 1985.
• In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets. Similarly if the Entrepreneurs' Forum Limited or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party personal data held by us about our members and site users will be one of the transferred assets.
• We may disclose your personal data to our auditors and funders (including One NorthEast) for audit and reporting purposes.
• We may disclose your personal information to third parties who provide services to us (for example our website hosts) but we will ensure that they only use that information as outlined in this policy and that they keep it secure.
• If you use the site at www.ifwecanyoucantalk.ning.com, your information we be transferred to and processed by the site provider Ning, Inc. in accordance with its privacy policy which is published on that site.
• We may disclose your personal information to appropriate third parties, if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements with you, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Entrepreneurs' Forum Limited, our members, or other users.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at

The Act also gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a statutory fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail.

THIRD PARTY SITES

Our sites may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

CONTACT

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to