1. Information about us and this policy

1.1 UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a wholly owned research centre of the Natural Environment Research Council (we) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

1.2 This policy (together with our terms of use and any other documents referred to in this policy) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

1.3 Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By visiting www.ceh.ac.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

1.4 For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998, the data controller is UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology of Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh, Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB. 

2. Information we may collect from you

We may collect and process the following data about you:

2.1 Information you give us. You may give us information about you by filling in forms on our site or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise.

2.1.1 This includes information you provide when you
2.1.1.1 search for a product or service,
2.1.1.2 subscribe to our newsletter;
2.1.1.3 contact us through our site;
2.1.1.4 download software
2.1.1.5 when you report a problem with our site.

2.1.2 The information you give us may include your:

2.1.2.1 name;
2.1.2.2 address;
2.1.2.3 e-mail address;
2.1.2.4 phone number; and
2.1.2.5 financial and credit card information:

2.2 Information we collect about you. With regard to each of your visits to our site we may automatically collect the following information:

2.2.1 technical information, including:

2.2.1.1 the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet;
2.2.1.2 your login information;
2.2.1.3 browser type and version;
2.2.1.4 time zone setting;
2.2.1.5 browser plug-in types and versions;
2.2.1.6 operating system; and
2.2.1.7 Platform.

2.2.2 Information about your visit, including:

2.2.2.1 the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time);
2.2.2.2 products you viewed or searched for;
2.2.2.3 page response times,
2.2.2.4 download errors,
2.2.2.5 length of visits to certain pages,
2.2.2.6 page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page; and
2.2.2.7 any phone number used to call our customer service number.

2.3 Information we receive from other sources. We may receive information about you:

2.3.1 if you use any of the other websites we operate or the other services we provide. In this case we will have informed you when we collected that data that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on this site.
2.3.2 we are also working closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, analytics providers, search information providers) and may receive information about you from them.

3. Uses made of the information

We use information held about you in the following ways:

3.1 Information you give to us. We will use this information:

3.1.1 to send you our newsletters, where you have subscribed;
3.1.2 to respond to any enquiry you make;
3.1.3 to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us;
3.1.4 to provide you with information about other goods and services we or our appointed agents or distributors offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about;
3.1.5 to provide you with information about goods or services we or our appointed agents or distributors feel may interest you;   
3.1.6 to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;

If you do not want us to use your data in this way, please contact us.

3.2 Information we collect about you. We will use this information:

3.2.1 to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
3.2.2 to improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
3.2.3 as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure;
3.2.4 to measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you;
3.2.5 to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our site about goods or services that may interest you or them.
3.2.6 to identify and analyse usage trends, including for the purpose of research, audits, reporting, and paying royalties and licence fees to third party organisations.

3.3 Information we receive from other sources. We may combine this information with information you give to us and information we collect about you. We may us this information and the combined information for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information we receive).

4. Disclosure of your information

4.1 We may share your personal information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006.

4.2 We may share your information with selected third parties including:

4.2.1 The Natural Environment Research Council.
4.2.2 Our business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you.
4.2.3 Our payment and credit card processors where relevant, so that we can process your payment.
4.2.4 Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site.

4.3 We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

4.3.1 In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
4.3.2 If we or substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about our customers and users will be one of the transferred assets.
4.3.3 If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation;

4.3.4 In order to:

4.3.4.1 enforce any documents referred to in this policy, other agreements or to investigate potential breaches; or
4.3.4.2 protect our rights, property, or safety , or those of our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.; or
4.3.4.3 detect, investigate and help prevent security threats, fraud or other malicious activity.

5. Where we store your personal data

5.1 All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers or those of other members of the Natural Environment Research Council. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

5.2 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 site; 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.

6. 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 UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology at MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh, Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB or enquiries@ceh.ac.uk

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our cookie policy.

8. Links

Our site 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 and any services that may be accessible through them have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies or for any personal data that may be collected through these websites or services.  Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites or use these services.

9. Access to information

The Data Protection Act 1998 Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with that Act.

10. Changes to this policy

Any changes we may make to this policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

11. Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this policy are welcomed and should be addressed to UK Centre of Ecology & Hydrology at Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh, Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB or enquiries@ceh.ac.uk