Who we are
Our website address is: https://northernaccelerator.org. We are a partnership of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside Universities, with Durham being the lead partner and data controller.
Business Enquirer and Prospect Privacy Policy
A privacy notice that details how Northern Accelerator and the University of Durham collects and processes personal information relating to a business enquirer or prospect.
Data Controller
The University of Durham (“we”, “our”, “us”, “The University”) on behalf of Northern Accelerator processes personal data in accordance with our obligations under the General Data Protection Regulations (‘GDPR’) and is a registered Data Controller (Registration Number is Z5704339) with the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’), which is the supervisory authority responsible for the oversight and enforcement of Data Protection Legislation within the United Kingdom.
If you would like more information about how the University uses your personal data, please see the University’s Information Governance pages or contact email: info.access@durham.ac.uk
How is your personal data collected?
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
- Digital forms, and surveys for the purpose of providing information about the University service, your enquiry, or event that you have registered for.
- Correspondence with us by face to face, phone, email, live chat, social media or otherwise.
- As you interact with our websites, we may automatically collect data about your device, IP address, and browsing patterns we collect this by using opt-in cookies.
- The University’s CRM automation systems also use email tracking pixels.
What personal data is collected?
- Identification and contact details: Your name, title, company name, correspondence address, email address, and phone number.
- Where applicable contextual information, such as industry, sector, and profession.
Where do we get your personal data and for what purpose?
We will only collect and use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
- Where you consented to the processing.
- Where it necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.
| Purpose/activity | Type of Data | Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest |
| We would also like to use your details you have consented to provide us to contact you, to respond to your enquiry | Communications, contact | Legitimate interests |
| We process data for internal reporting, monitoring, and research as part of our public tasks. This may also include Public interest archiving, scientific and historical research or statistical analysis including equality and diversity monitoring | Identity | Public task |
| Anonymising and sharing with social media platforms to see if the adverts have been successful (you cannot be identified) and to serve you or similar audiences with more relevant messages. | Communications, profile | Legitimate interests |
| Enhancing our service; to meet our interests of understanding who our prospective contacts are and to enhance the journey towards making an application. | Profile | Legitimate interests |
| Providing statistics for management and business intelligence reports on the effectiveness of an event and or communications activity. | Profile | Legitimate interests |
| Photographs, video, and audio may be taken at events for use in marketing materials, including on our website and on social media. Where you are not the subject of the image, i.e. if it is a “group” or “crowd” photograph, we may use such images without requiring your consent, however, where you are the subject, you will be asked to provide explicit consent to use the image. | Profile | Legitimate interests |
| We track email open and click through rates, user’s browser and device, IP address and location to review communications for reporting purposes and to ensure the University does not spam disengaged contacts. | Profile | Legitimate interests |
| We process some data because there is a legal obligation to (e.g. UKVI) or because we are required to provide equality monitoring statistics. | Identity, profile | Legal obligation |
Sharing your personal data with third parties
Your personal information will only be disclosed to third parties where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so, which may include the following:
- Your enquiry data may be shared with Northern Accelerator colleagues at Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, the University of Sunderland and Teesside University in order to process your enquiry
- With third parties who securely process data on our behalf in order to facilitate our relationship with you, such as software service providers providing externally hosted software solutions.
- With Social Media Providers so that we can communicate with you, promote tailored advertising to you, to assess your social media interactions to promote our services to you and with others you interact with on social media to inform our advertising campaigns to create look-a-like audiences with the data you provide.
- With third parties who evaluate our services on behalf of ourselves or our funders
- With our funders for evidence of delivery of services to you
- With internet search engine providers such as Google to inform our advertising campaigns to create look-a-like audiences with the data you provide.
- IT Service providers (e.g. the provision of University email services; recruitment and customer relationship management services);
Any other disclosures that may be required, but not listed above will only ever be in accordance with your rights and the requirements of the GDPR.
When it is necessary to share your data with organisations outside of the EEA, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data.
How long do we hold personal data?
Personal data is retained for as long as it is required to fulfil the purpose for which is it held and then to fulfil any legal requirements.
Any information we use for marketing purposes will be kept by us until you notify us that you no longer wish to receive this information. To withdraw or amend your contact methods at any time either click the link at the bottom of an email from us or contact us on email; northern.accelerator@durham.ac.uk and we will endeavour to action this within two working days.
Data handling
Where we are processing data using common cloud-based services or platforms (examples might include: Google, Teams or Zoom) it is possible a transfer of data outside of the EEA or UK may take place. In such cases appropriate protections will be in place (such as contractual arrangements designed to protect data).
We will also anonymise data, where it does not interfere with the reason for us handling the data, as soon as possible. For example: research participant data in large scale surveys will usually be anonymised as soon as possible after collection.
Research participant data will normally be anonymised if published however there will be some exceptions. Exceptions will be explained to participants where they apply for a particular project.
Accessing your personal data
You have the right to be told whether we are processing your personal data and, if so, to be given a copy of it. This is known as the right of subject access.
You can find out more about this right on the University’s Subject Access Requests webpage. Right to rectification: If you believe that personal data we hold about you is inaccurate, please contact us and we will investigate. You can also request that we complete any incomplete data. Once we have determined what we are going to do, we will contact you to let you know.
Right to erasure
You can ask us to erase your personal data in any of the following circumstances:
- We no longer need the personal data for the purpose it was originally collected
- You withdraw your consent and there is no other legal basis for the processing
- You object to the processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing
- The personal data have been unlawfully processed
- The personal data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation
- The personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services (information society services are online services such as banking or social media sites). Once we have determined whether we will erase the personal data, we will contact you to let you know.
Right to restriction of processing
You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in the following circumstances:
- You believe that the data is inaccurate and you want us to restrict processing until we determine whether it is indeed inaccurate
- The processing is unlawful and you want us to restrict processing rather than erase it
- We no longer need the data for the purpose we originally collected it but you need it in order to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim and
- You have objected to the processing and you want us to restrict processing until we determine whether our legitimate interests in processing the data override your objection. Once we have determined how we propose to restrict processing of the data, we will contact you to discuss and, where possible, agree this with you.
Making a complaint
If you are unsatisfied with the way in which we process your personal data, we ask that you let us know so that we can try and put things right. If we are not able to resolve issues to your satisfaction, you can refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: +44 (0)303 123 1113
Website: Information Commissioner’s Office
(Updated January 2026)
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