This website belongs to Nesta, and is being operated for the purpose of the Innovation in Water Challenge, the Water Breakthrough Challenge and the Water Discovery Challenge (the “Challenges”). The Challenges are run by the Challenge Works (formerly known as Nesta Challenges) team at Nesta on behalf of the Water Services Regulation Authority (”Ofwat”) as part of the Ofwat Innovation Fund. For more information about the Challenges please see https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/.
Nesta and Ofwat are working jointly to deliver the Challenges and have agreed that in certain circumstances we are both joint data controllers of personal information received in relation to applications to the Challenges and delivery of the Challenges. This means we are jointly responsible for determining the purposes and means for using such personal information and for complying with the applicable data protection laws and regulations when using this personal information.
Nesta’s privacy policy detailed below, together with the Ofwat Privacy Notice explains how Nesta and Ofwat use personal information we collect via this site and otherwise for the purposes of the Challenges. Nesta and Ofwat are committed to protecting your privacy and will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard personal information.
In some circumstances, Ofwat may process your personal information for other purposes connected to assessing and growing the water sector’s capacity to innovate to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment. When this happens, Ofwat is an independent controller of the personal information and is solely responsible for determining the purposes and means for using such personal information and for complying with the applicable data protection laws and regulations. Please see the Ofwat Privacy Notice for more information on how Ofwat uses personal information.
This website may include links to other websites and we encourage you to read the privacy statements on those other sites if you visit them.
Sign-up details
When you register or sign up for events, a challenge prize, updates, newsletters or publications, we will ask you for personal information such as your name, email address, organisation, location and other contact details such as a contact phone number.
Application details
If you enter the Challenges, or otherwise apply for funding or support from Nesta, or register to attend one of our events we may ask for more detailed information. We will use this to process your application and you will be asked to agree to specific terms and conditions at the time of making the application.
Other interactions related to the Challenges
Where we interact or communicate with you for other purposes connected to the Challenges, we may hold information such as your name, occupation, contact details and the organisation you work for.
Feedback and surveys
We may also ask you for feedback about Nesta, the Challenges or to complete surveys.
Research
If you agree to work with us in relation to any research we are conducting, we will ask you for your name, contact details and occupation. We may also ask for further information about you which is relevant to the particular research you are participating in.
Online activity
When you use our website, we obtain information about the device from which you accessed it, your visits and use of the website. This includes your IP address, location, browser type and version, search referrer and activity. We record your activity and preferences when visiting the sites through the use of cookies (see Cookies, below).
Your posts and communications
If you post content or communicate via the site, we may also ask for your name, occupation and the organisation you work for. We also store and monitor your content and communications.
Third party processors
As is indicated below, we may use third party platforms and processors to deliver newsletters, process applications, event registrations, process payments, process surveys, and process any request to update your data contact preferences. In using these third parties we are pursuing our legitimate interest to use third party technology to achieve greater efficiency within our organisation. To balance our interests against yours, we have taken steps to ensure these third parties maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep your personal information secure.
Sign-up details
If you sign-up for us to send you updates, newsletters, publications and other information about the Challenges, Nesta, our partners and activities (see Marketing below), we will use your personal information to send these to you. Our legal basis for doing this is your consent. However, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.
Events
If you register to attend one of our events (whether in person or online) we will use your personal information to process your application to attend the event, take payment, if any, for our administration and management of the event and to send you any updates or information regarding the event. Our legal basis for doing so is to fulfil the agreement with you for your attendance. We use Calendly, Splash and Eventbrite as registration facilitation and systems for many of our events and their servers are based in the United States (U.S.) and may store and process your information outside the UK. Each of Calendly, Splash and Eventbrite respectively comply with the relevant data privacy regimes covering their operations. See the Calendly privacy policy, the Splash privacy policy and the Eventbrite privacy policy for more information. We may also use Zoom Video Communications to host remote events (for example webinars about the Challenges). Zoom is based in the US and that may involve your information being stored and processed outside the UK. Zoom implements appropriate safeguards to protect your personal information, including transferring it in accordance with applicable transfer mechanism, including standard contractual clauses. Please see the Zoom Privacy Notice for more information.
Application details
We will use your personal information to process applications you make via the site, including any application to the Challenges. We undertake this processing because it is necessary to fully assess your application, and if successful, to take steps to enter into an agreement with you (this is our legal basis for the processing). If you enter the Challenges, we will also use your personal information for that purpose of administering the Challenges because this is necessary to facilitate your participation in the Challenges (this is our legal basis for the processing).
If you apply to the Challenges or for other funding or support, you may be directed to a third party platform to process these applications. We currently use Wazoku or Submittable (as applicable) for these applications. We remain the controller of your personal information in these circumstances. Wazoku and Submittable only process your personal information in line with our instructions. For more information about how Wazoku uses personal information, please see the Wazoku Privacy Notice. Submittable are based in the United States and that may involve your information being stored and processed outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Submittable comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and we remain the controller of your personal information in this arrangement. Please see the Submittable Privacy Policy for more information.
If you apply to the Challenges, we may also use your personal information to carry out appropriate due diligence checks against potential shortlisted Challenge entrants, finalists and winners.
Other interactions related to the Challenges
Where we interact or communicate with you for other purposes connected to the Challenges, we may keep a record of these interactions or communications (including for example on the Capsule CRM – see paragraph 5 below). Our lawful basis for doing this is our legitimate interest in ensuring effective management of contacts and development opportunities for the purposes of the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund.
Feedback and surveys
If you agree to give us feedback or complete a survey, we will use the information to improve our work and activities. We usually use Alchemer or Surveymonkey to process surveys, and they only process your information on our instructions. Alchemer and SurveyMonkey are based in the US and so this may involve a transfer of your data outside of the UK. Alchemer maintains accountability for your data in accordance with the onward transfer principles of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework. Please see the Alchemer privacy notice. SurveyMonkey complies with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework. Please see the SurveyMonkey privacy notice. If you agree to participate in any survey that will form part of any research project, we will tell you at the time you take part how your information will be used for the particular research project or programme, and how long it will be kept for.
Research
If you agree to take part in any research we will use your information for the purpose of that research project or programme. Full details of how your personal information will be used will be given to you at the time you agree to participate; this could include to inform the development of a new prize, project, programme or other initiative, being incorporated into reports or other research outcomes, and may include being publicly displayed on web pages relating to the particular research project or programme.
Online activity
The information that we obtain about your device helps us to monitor the website and keep it secure. The cookies we use tell us how you use the site and what pages you have visited. In pursuing these activities, we use our legitimate interest of improving the performance of the site, and to help us understand more about our customer’s interests and preferences, and to inform our marketing strategy. Some of these cookies are used for remarketing purposes and, if you agree, will be used to send you tailored advertisements. For more information, see “Cookies” below.
Posts and Communications
If you post any comments on the website, any personal information you agree to provide will be displayed publicly on the website along with your comments.
For all kinds of information collected
Please make sure that any personal details you provide are accurate and up to date, and let us know about any changes. Please get consent first before giving us anyone else’s information.
The nature of Nesta’s work means we often work in partnership with other organisations, however, we will not share your information with any other organisation unless we have your permission or there is another lawful basis for doing do, for example performance of a contract or legitimate interests.
We may also use your information to carry out analysis and research to improve our publications, events and activities, customise our website and its content to your particular preferences, notify you of any changes to our website or to our activities that may affect you, to prevent and detect fraud and abuse, and to protect other users.
However you choose to engage with or support Nesta Challenges, we may retain your information for our own legitimate business interests for statistical analysis purposes, in order to review, develop and improve our business activities in relation to the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund. In this situation, we will only keep any personal information if it is necessary to do so, and will always put in place appropriate safeguards, including where possible anonymising or minimising the data retained.
We use a third party to provide cloud based data security, storage and disaster recovery service to backup data that we hold, we currently use Barracuda Networks Incorporated. Barracuda are a company based in the US and stores your data outside the UK. Barracuda complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. For more information, see the Barracuda Privacy Policy.
General principle
We will only keep any personal information that you provide to us for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which you gave us the information and we will securely delete information when it is no longer needed for that purpose, as explained in more detail below.
Events
If you attend one of our events (whether in person or online), we will use your information for the purpose of the event, and will only contact you for any other purpose if you have said we can. We will retain your personal information collected for the purpose of the event for up to 3 years for evaluation and business development purposes related to the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund to help us understand our audience and reach, and to improve future events.
Consent
We keep records of consent, and any withdrawal of consent, on our files for as long as your personal information is being used in-line with that consent and for a period of 6 years after the consent is withdrawn (unless otherwise requested by you).
Application details
If you enter the Challenges or apply for other funding or support, and you are successful, then we will keep your information for 6 years after the associated agreement has come to an end, or if the agreement was executed as a deed for 12 years. If the project or initiative has any external funding or support, we may need to retain your information for a longer period to fulfil our obligations under those agreements, in which case we will tell you that at the time of application.
However, if you are unsuccessful in your application, once the process has ended we will retain your information for up to 3 years for evaluation and business development purposes related to the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund, and to provide you with future opportunities to apply for similar Ofwat Innovation Fund opportunities, funding and support in the future. If you do not wish us to contact you about future opportunities, please let us know by writing to use or emailing us at the at the contact details below.
Other interactions related to the Challenges
Where we interact or communicate with you for other purposes connected to the Challenges, we will only hold your information and any records of our interactions or communications with you for the duration of the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund.
Research
If you agree to take part in any research in connection with your application to or participation in the Challenges or the Ofwat Innovation Fund your personal information will be kept for as long as it is of value to Nesta, Ofwat and the wider research community, and for as long as may be specified by any external research funder, patent law, legislative and other regulatory requirements. Research data shall be reviewed at least every 5 years to consider its continued value, and personal data anonymised or pseudonymised where possible, unless to do so would affect the integrity of the research data and/or its outcomes, or its future value.
To the extent that personal data arising from any research is embodied within a research report or other research outcome, it will be retained in perpetuity as part of the published materials.
Research that supports the development of a prize, project, programme, publication or other research outcome, shall be kept for at least 5 years beyond publication or any other research outcome has been completed. If the research is funded or the subject of any other contract, your personal data may be kept for 6 years after the end of the contract or longer if the contract or funding agreement specifies, which could be up to 12 years after the contract ends.
Posts and communications
Any information that you post on the website shall only be kept and displayed for such time as the subject matter to which is relates is publicly displayed.
Processing for statistical analysis purposes
This type of processing will only be undertaken whilst we retain your personal information in line with the principles explained above.
If you sign up to our mailing list Nesta and Ofwat will use your details to keep you informed about latest news, blogs, programme updates, research, publications, event details, and funding opportunities, and may request feedback, including our annual audience survey. Our lawful basis for doing this is your consent (which you can withdraw at any time by contacting us using the details set out below).
In order to deliver our updates, newsletters and publications Nesta uses third party providers. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our updates, newsletters and publications. We currently use Mailchimp and Salesforce whose servers are hosted in the USA, but do comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. If you want to know more about how your information will be stored and processed, read the Salesforce Privacy Policy, as well as the Mailchimp Privacy Policy. For the purposes of marketing related to the Challenges, we also use Capsule (Zestia Limited) and they only use your information on our instructions. Capsule’s service is global and your information may therefore be transferred outside of the European Economic Area or the UK. Capsule will only be transfer your information to a country that provides an adequate level of protection (for example, because the European Commission or the UK has determined that a country provides an adequate level of protection) or if the recipient is bound by standard contractual clause according to conditions provided by the European Commission or applicable laws in the UK. Capsule may use your information for their own purposes but only in a fully anonymised format which means you cannot be identified. For more information please see the Capsule Privacy Notice.
If we use any other providers we will let you know when you subscribe.
Our lawful basis for using your information in this way is your consent. If you no longer want to receive marketing communications from us, you can revoke your consent and unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by please clicking the unsubscribe link, at the bottom of our emails or by emailing [email protected] detailing your name and email address. If you are given the opportunity to update your contact preferences in any email from us, this will link to a form hosted by Alchemer or SurveyMonkey. If this function is not made available, please email us at the above address with your preference updates.
We use third party remarketing services to tailor advertising to you based upon your browsing history on this website, for more information see section 6, Cookies, below.
Please see the Ofwat Privacy Notice for more information about how Ofwat uses your personal information for marketing purposes.
Ofwat
We may share your personal information with Ofwat who we are working with to deliver the Challenges. We do this because it is necessary to process your application to the Challenges and to enable the delivery of the Challenges and your participation in it (this is our legal basis for such processing). As explained above, in certain circumstances Nesta and Ofwat are both joint data controllers of any personal information received in relation to applications to the Challenges and delivery of the Challenges. This means we are jointly responsible for determining the purposes and means for using such personal information and for complying with the applicable data protection laws and regulations when using the personal information.
Where you have signed up to our mailing list, we will share your personal information with Ofwat so they can use your details to keep you informed about latest news, blogs, programme updates, research, publications, event details, jobs and funding opportunities. Our legal basis for doing this is your consent. Please see section 4 (Marketing) above for more information.
In some circumstances, Ofwat may process your personal information for other purposes connected to assessing and growing the water sector’s capacity to innovate to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment. When this happens, Ofwat is an independent controller of the personal information and is solely responsible for determining the purposes and means for using such personal information and for complying with the applicable data protection laws and regulations. Please see the Ofwat Privacy Notice for more information on how Ofwat uses personal information. When sharing your personal information with Ofwat for this purpose, we are pursuing Nesta and Ofwat’s legitimate interest in ensuring that the aims and objectives of the Challenges can continue to be advanced by Ofwat beyond the end of the Challenges.
Challenge partners
We may share your personal information with our Challenge partners Ove Arup & Partners Limited and Isle Utilities Limited who are helping us to deliver the Challenges. We remain the controller of your personal information in these circumstances and they will only process your personal information in line with our instructions.
We may also share the personal information with the Challenges judges who help us administer the Challenges, as well as other Challenges partners who help us to run the Challenges for example by assisting with expert analysis, due diligence checks or providing non-financial support. Details of Innovation in Water Challenge judges and Innovation in Water Challenge partners are available on the Challenges website. Details of the Water Breakthrough Challenge judges and Water Breakthrough Challenge partners are also available on the Challenges website. The partners and judges of the Challenges only process your personal information in line with our instructions. We may share your information with other organisations that help us to deliver the Challenges, but we will let you know more about this (including the identity of those organisations) before we do so.
Our legal basis for sharing your information with our partners, judges and others who help us run the Challenges is to pursue our legitimate interest of being able to work collaboratively with other organisations and individuals to operate and administer the Challenges and any associated events or activities.
Capsule CRM
We use Capsule (Zestia Limited) for marketing purposes (see paragraph 4 above) and to help us manage our contacts and development opportunities related to the Challenges and the Ofwat Innovation Fund. Capsule only use your information on our instructions. Capsule’s service is global and your information may therefore be transferred outside of the European Economic Area or the UK. Capsule will only be transfer your information to a country that provides an adequate level of protection (for example, because the European Commission or the UK has determined that a country provides an adequate level of protection) or if the recipient is bound by standard contractual clause according to conditions provided by the European Commission or applicable laws in the UK. Capsule may use your information for their own purposes but only in a fully anonymised format which means you cannot be identified. For more information please see the Capsule Privacy Notice.
Other sharing
We Are Telescopic, the developer of this website, may have access to information about your online activity (see “Online Activity” above and “Cookies” below) solely for the purpose of the administration and maintenance of the website. Nesta has an appropriate agreement in place with We Are Telescopic to ensure the security of this information. We may share your information with other partners and companies who help us to operate this site where we consider this is reasonably required to ensure the proper, effective and desirable operation of the site.
If you register to attend an event (whether in person or online) we may share your details with the companies/organisations and individuals who help us to organise and operate the event.
In each case, our legal basis for doing this is to pursue our legitimate interest of being able to work collaboratively with other organisations to operate and administer this website and/or the event. Some of these organisations may process your information in countries outside the UK, such as the United States, where data protection laws are not the same as in the UK. You can rest assured that we will always ensure any transfer is subject to appropriate security measures to safeguard your personal data. Where transfers are necessary to countries where data protection has not yet been declared to be adequate, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are put in place and (where applicable) we may rely on UK GDPR Article 49(1)(c) for these transfers. Full details of these organisations, confirmation of where they would process your personal information, and details of the steps we have taken to safeguard your personal data will be provided as part of the online data collection process.
We may share your information within the Nesta group of companies, for the purposes of managing the Challenges, event, grant or activity. Nesta currently provides all support and services for its subsidiary companies, therefore, our legal basis for sharing your information is to pursue the legitimate interests of shared resources and management reporting between the companies within the group. Our group companies will not process your data outside the UK unless we notify you otherwise. Details of our Nesta group companies can be found on our website.
Comments, blogs and other information which you post on the site are displayed publicly and can be viewed by other users. Please be careful when disclosing personal information which may identify you or anyone else. We are not responsible for the protection or security of information which you post in public areas.
We may disclose your personal information to law enforcement agencies if required by law (in which case our legal basis for doing this is for compliance with a legal obligation), or to protect or defend ourselves or others against illegal or harmful activities (in which case, our legal basis for doing this is the pursuit of these legitimate interests).
This site contains cookies. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to site owners. Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through browser settings.
In addition, this site uses cookies that are strictly necessary to enable you to move around the site or to provide certain basic features, such as logging into secure areas.
The site also uses performance cookies which collect information about how you use the site, such as how you are referred to it and how long you stay on certain pages. This information is aggregated and therefore anonymous and is used to improve the performance of the site. If you want, you can block cookies by changing the settings on your browser. Please note that some of the features of the site may not work if you choose to block cookies. To find out more about cookies, see our Cookie Policy.
We also use third party tracking cookies for remarketing, including Google Adwords These third parties help us to send you tailored advertisements about Nesta Challenges, that we think may be of interest to you, based on what parts of Nesta Challenges’ websites you have viewed. The advertisements will be shown to you on other search results pages, or on sites within Google’s or any other third-party display network. We do not collect any identifiable information through the use these third-party remarketing services. If you do not wish to receive such advertisements, then you must deactivate the Google Adwords cookie from your account. For more information on how Google uses advertising cookies, to manage your settings and opt-out of these features please see the Google support website.
We take steps to protect your personal information and follow procedures designed to minimise unauthorised access or disclosure of your information. If you have a password for an account on this site, please keep this safe and do not share it with anyone else. You are responsible for all activity on your account and must contact us immediately if you are aware of any unauthorised use of your password or other security breach.
You are legally entitled to know what personal information we hold about you and how that information is processed, which includes the right to:
If you wish to know what information Nesta holds about you, or wish to exercise any of your other rights as detailed above, or have any complaint about how we are using your personal information, then please email us using [email protected] or write to us at 58 Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0DS UK and provide enough information to identify yourself (e.g. name and address or any registration details).
If our information is incorrect or out of date, please provide us with the information to update it. Similarly, if you want us to delete, restrict or stop using any information we hold about you, please explain the reasons why you are asking this. If you are unhappy with how we are using your information, again please explain to us the reasons and we will investigate the matter.
You can also write to the same address if you have a complaint about this policy.
If you are unhappy with how any data rights request or complaint has dealt with you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner at Wycliff House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, by visiting the ICO website, or by calling the helpline on 0303 123 1113.
Where Nesta and Ofwat are acting as joint controllers of your personal information, we have agreed that Ofwat will be responsible for responding to any requests you may submit in relation to the exercise of your legal rights. Therefore if your request is submitted to Nesta we will share it with Ofwat for this purpose. Alternatively, you can contact Ofwat directly using the details set out in the Ofwat Privacy Notice.
We may change this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes that relate to information we already hold about you, where practicable. You should check this policy occasionally to ensure you are aware of the most recent version that will apply each time you access this website.
Nesta, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091.
Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833. Registered office: 58 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DS
Email: [email protected]
