SORT Privacy Notice

1. Who we are

Data Controller: The University of Sheffield

Address: Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom

Data Protection Officer: dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk

The University of Sheffield is the data controller for the information we process when you complete a SORT survey.

2. What information we collect

When you complete a SORT survey, we collect:

Survey Responses

Assessment scores you provide
Any free-text comments or feedback you submit
Date and time of survey completion

Demographic Information

Professional role
Qualification level
Ethnic origin
Gender
Age

Important: We do not collect your name, email address, or other directly identifying personal information when you complete a survey. Your responses are anonymous unless you choose to provide identifying information in free-text fields.

3. How we collect your information

We collect information in the following ways:

Directly from you when you complete and submit the survey
Automatically through server logs when you access the survey

4. Why we process your information (purposes and legal basis)

Purpose	Legal Basis
To collect and analyse survey responses to assess organisational research readiness.	Consent / Public task
To collect and analyse survey responses for research purposes.	Consent / Public task
To improve research capacity and capability in nursing, midwifery, and allied health professions, in support of the implementation of the Chief Nursing Officer for England's strategy for research.	Public task / Legitimate interests
To provide aggregated statistics, reports, and improvement planning tools to enable NHS organisations to optimise research readiness.	Public task / Legitimate interests
To advance understanding of research capacity development across health and care organisations.	Public task / Legitimate interests

By completing and submitting the survey, you are providing your consent for us to use your responses for the purposes described above.

Our legitimate interests include:

Improving NHS research practice: Enhancing the capacity of health and care organisations to engage in and support nursing, midwifery, and allied health professional research, leading to improved patient care and healthcare outcomes
Supporting professional development: Enabling healthcare professionals to build research skills and integrate evidence-based practice into clinical settings
Advancing research capacity development: Understanding organisational research readiness across the NHS and health and care system to identify best practices and areas for improvement
Facilitating evidence-based policy: Providing data to inform strategic planning and resource allocation for research capacity building in line with national healthcare priorities
Promoting health equity: Supporting research activities that ensure equitable access to research opportunities for all healthcare professionals and the communities they serve
Academic research: Contributing to the scientific understanding of organisational factors that support research capability in healthcare settings
System integrity: Maintaining the security, reliability, and effectiveness of the SORT assessment tool

These legitimate interests align with the University of Sheffield's public mission and NHS England's strategic objectives to foster a research-centric healthcare environment that benefits patients, professionals, and the wider health system.

5. Who we share your information with

Your survey responses may be shared with:

The Survey Organiser

The organisation that sent you the survey link will have access to all responses
Your responses will be viewed in aggregate with other respondents' answers
Individual responses are anonymous unless you provided identifying information in free-text fields

Research Purposes

Anonymised and aggregated survey data may be used for academic research
Statistical summaries may be published in research papers or reports
Individual responses will not be identifiable in any publications

Service Providers

IT hosting and infrastructure providers who support the SORT platform
These providers process data only according to our instructions and have appropriate security measures in place

Legal Requirements

Law enforcement or regulatory bodies if required by law

We will never sell your survey responses to third parties.

6. How long we keep your information

We retain your survey responses for:

Survey responses: Up to 10 years to support long-term research and comparison over time
Technical logs: Typically 12 months
Anonymised data: May be retained indefinitely for research purposes

After these periods, we will securely delete or further anonymise your information.

7. International data transfers

Your survey responses are primarily stored and processed within the United Kingdom. If we transfer data outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

Standard contractual clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office
Adequacy decisions recognising equivalent data protection standards

8. Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), you have the following rights:

Right of Access

You can request information about the data we hold. However, as responses are anonymous, we may not be able to identify your specific submission.

Right to Rectification

You can ask us to correct inaccurate data. However, once submitted, anonymous survey responses cannot usually be located and corrected.

Right to Erasure ('Right to be Forgotten')

You can request deletion of your data. However, as responses are anonymous, we may not be able to identify and delete your specific submission.

Right to Withdraw Consent

You can withdraw your consent before submitting the survey by simply closing your browser. Once submitted, we may not be able to identify and remove your response due to its anonymous nature.

Right to Object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk. Please note that due to the anonymous nature of the survey, we may not be able to identify your specific response.

9. Cookies and tracking technologies

When you complete a SORT survey, we do not use cookies.

We do not use:

Marketing or advertising cookies
Social media cookies
Analytics cookies that track your individual behavior

10. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your survey responses, including:

Encryption of data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
Secure data storage with access controls
Regular security assessments
Staff training on data protection
Incident response procedures

While we take security seriously, no system is completely secure. If you suspect any security breach, please contact us immediately at dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk.

11. Children's privacy

SORT surveys are not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you are under 16, please do not complete the survey.

12. Voluntary participation

Participation in SORT surveys is entirely voluntary. You may:

Choose not to participate without any consequences
Skip any optional questions that you prefer not to answer
Close your browser at any time before submitting (your responses will not be saved)

Once you submit the survey, we cannot retrieve your specific responses as they are stored anonymously.

13. Changes to this privacy notice

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this notice.

We encourage you to review this notice before completing a survey.

14. How to contact us

If you have questions about this privacy notice or how we handle survey responses, please contact:

Data Protection Officer

University of Sheffield

Western Bank

Sheffield, S10 2TN

United Kingdom

Email: dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk

15. How to complain

You have the right to lodge a complaint about how we process survey responses with the supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire, SK9 5AF