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Our Privacy Policy

Lee Groves Consulting Privacy Policy

Effective Date September 1, 2022

Lee Groves Consulting, Inc. (“LGC”) is market research and program evaluation consultancy.  We conduct studies using methodologies such as focus groups, interviews, ethnographies, surveys, and data mining.  We recruit participants for these studies from client lists, social media, and the general community.  Participating in our studies is voluntary.  Overall our goal is to use research insights to help our non-profit and social enterprise clients reach their missions and increase their impact.

It is in the best interest of LGC, our clients, and you, the participant, for us to maintain the strictest controls on the privacy and confidentiality of all data that we collect. All LGC employees, full-time and contract, sign a confidentiality agreement and undergo information security and data protection training. Access to our database of information is secured and granted only to LGC employees. Each client is informed our privacy policy and standards of confidentiality.

This privacy policy describes our policies and procedures on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information collected during the course of our research studies.  Personal information or personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.  By participating in a research study conducted by LGC, you agree to the collection and use of personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.

 

What Information is Collected

During our research, we may collect or analyze Personally Identifiable Information (information that can be used to identify or contact you, also called PII) and Non-Personally Identifiable Information (information that is sensitive but cannot be used to identify or contact you, also called Non-PII).

We may collect or analyze the following Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in order to contact you or verify your identity:

    • First name and last name
    • Email address
    • Telephone number
    • Address
    • Date of birth

We may collect or analyze the following Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non-PII) in order to build a profile of client audiences/constituents:

    • Transaction history/affiliation with client
    • Gender
    • Ethnicity
    • Sexual orientation
    • Marital status
    • Education level
    • Household income
    • Occupation and employment information
    • Political affiliation
    • Members of household (name, date of birth, gender)
    • Disability, access, special requirements details

Information we do NOT collect or store in our database:

    • Citizenship, social security, insurance or financial information
    • Biometric data
    • Website data, such as location, cookie data, and RFID tags
    • Religious beliefs
    • Actual or alleged criminal activity
    • Trade union membership

We obtain personal information listed above from the following sources:

    • Directly from you: Through opt-in surveys, focus groups, interviews, etc.
    • Indirectly from you: On-site observations of visitors, data provided by clients, etc.
    • Automatically from you: Through cookies on our website, IP address when completing an online survey, etc.
    • From service providers: Through third-party vendors such as recruiters or survey platforms.

Personal information does not include:

    • Publicly available information from government records
    • Deidentified or aggregated consumer information

 

How We Use and Share Your Information

The personal information we collect is used in data analysis to explore satisfaction, perceptions, and interest in client offerings.  When we report data back to clients, we present aggregate summaries or anonymized data without PII attached.  We do not disclose personal data to anyone outside of Lee Groves Consulting without your consent and only as necessary related to the study.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

In general, we use the PII you provide to communicate with you.  For example, we may use PII to contact potential participants, schedule interviews, or send incentives/honorariums.  We may also use PII to manage and track your requests to us, such as preferences for participation in research for specific clients or topics, special accommodations, etc.

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share for marketing purposes your PII with third parties or service providers without your consent.  We do share PII with vendors who are performing services for LGC related to studies you participate in (see additional information under Sharing Data with Third Parties and Service Providers). Those vendors use your PII only at our direction and in accordance with our privacy policy.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non-PII)

This privacy policy does not limit in any way our use or disclosure of Non-PII, and we reserve the right to use and disclose such Non-PII to our clients and other third parties at our discretion.

Sharing Data with Third Parties and Service Providers

We share your information with third parties and service providers necessary to carry out our research studies, such as providing access to online platforms or in-person facilities.  This could include providing names and contact information to a focus group facility for participant screening or uploading a list of names and emails onto a survey platform for an email campaign.  With some service providers, we do not share your personal data but use the vendor to record, process, and store video/audio from research sessions.

All third parties and service providers are prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than the research project for which you were contracted.

 

How We Store and Transfer Information

We implement security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. In addition to physical security measures and information security training with our employees, we also protect your information from potential security breaches by implementing technological security measures, including encryption, firewalls, and SSL technology.  However, no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While LGC strives to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

LGC will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your personal data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

Your information, including personal data, is processed LGC’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.  You acknowledge and consent that such transfer is permitted by this privacy policy.

LGC will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your personal data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

LGC may be required to disclose your data in the following circumstances:

Business transactions

If LGC is involved in a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your personal data may be transferred.  You acknowledge and consent that such transfers may occur and are permitted by this privacy policy, and that any acquirer of our assets may continue to process your personal data as set forth in this privacy policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, LGC may be required to disclose your personal data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

LGC may disclose your personal data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

    • Comply with a legal obligation
    • Protect and defend the rights or property of LGC
    • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with LGC’s services
    • Protect the personal safety of research participants, clients, or the public
    • Protect against legal liability

 

Our Policy Regarding Children’s Information

LGC follows our standard Privacy Policy for the disclosure of personal information collected from and about children under the age of 18.

For children under the age of 18, parents or guardians will be provided advance notice or asked to provide consent prior to the minor participating in the research study.  We use reasonable efforts to ensure that before we collect any personal information from a child, the child’s parent or guardian receives notice of and consents to our personal information practices.  For focus groups or interviews, parents or guardians must provide verbal consent prior to any phone screening and written consent prior to participation in the actual research session.

A parent or guardian who has already given LGC permission to collect and use child’s personal information can, at any time:

    • Review, correct or delete the child’s personal information
    • Discontinue further collection or use of the child’s personal information

To make such a request, please use the contact information provided in this privacy policy.

 

Your Rights and Expectations

Under this privacy policy you may exercise the following rights:

    • Right of access: “What do you know about me?”
    • Right to erasure/right to be forgotten: “Remove me from your database.”
    • Right to rectification: “Amend/correct my details.”
    • Right to restrict data processing: e.g., “Stop filming me.”
    • Right to withdrawal of consent: “I don’t want to complete this study.”
    • Right of transfer: “Move my personal data.”
    • Right to non-discrimination: You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these consumer rights regarding management of your personal information.

 

Making a Request About Your Personal Data

You may make requests about your personal data by sending an email to info@leegrovesconsulting.com.  Your request must provide sufficient information to verify your identity or verify you have authority to make such a request and describe your request.  We cannot respond to your request if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm that the personal information relates to you.

Regarding Requests That We “Do Not Sell” Your Information

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share for marketing purposes your PII with third parties or service providers without your consent.  The only circumstance that your personal information may be sold is if LGC is involved in a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition or asset sale.  You have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information and can send a request to info@leegrovesconsulting.com.

 

Cookies

Cookies are small files that are placed on your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of your browsing history on that website among its many uses.  When visiting our website, your activity and certain information may be stored.

You can obtain additional information about cookies from the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov.

 

Enforcement

We use a self-assessment approach to assure compliance with this privacy policy. At least annually, we verify that this policy is accurate, comprehensive for the information intended to be covered, prominently displayed, completely implemented and accessible, and in conformity with the goals and principles of data protection.

 

Financial Compensation

We may provide financial compensation or honorariums to participants in our research studies.  These are predetermined incentives for those who qualify and fully participate in the research study. This incentive is provided by our clients to study participants as compensation for sharing their opinions and experiences.

 

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this policy and our terms of service at any time. If we make significant changes to this policy, we will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on website, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this privacy policy.

You are advised to review this privacy policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this privacy policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at info@leegrovesconsulting.com.