Database and Archive Confidentiality Policy

Material held by Inform is classified into three levels of confidentiality:

1. Strictly Confidential

These data should not be available to anyone except contracted staff and members of the Management Committee:

• Enquiries; the identity of enquirers (including organisations); and the content of communications with them.

• Personal details that are not already in the public domain, unless Inform has the expressly stated permission of the person(s) concerned.

• Personal materials, such as letters, diaries, autobiographical stories and the content of interviews/conversations, unless these are already publicly available or the individuals identifiable in the material have expressly stated the material may be made available either to anyone or to a restricted category of persons.

• A full list of the groups and any mailing lists that Inform holds on file.

2. Restricted Access

These data may be made available in some circumstances but only after completion of an application form, and with the Director’s or Senior Research Officer’s written permission.

• Information revealed and materials donated by enquirers or informants, including a group’s internal publications, when the donor has agreed they should be made available only to certain categories of persons (such as scholarly researchers).

• Limited sections of electronic files.

• Reports prepared by Inform in response to particular enquiries — but only with the enquirer’s express agreement.

3. Open Access

All other materials can be made available to enquirers on completion of an application form and subject to the agreement of the Director or Senior Research Officer.