UKSPA

Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: June 2026

1. About this Policy

This policy explains when and why we collect personal information about our members and their experts, how we use it, how we keep it secure, and your rights in relation to it.

It also explains how we use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website, including Google Analytics.

We may collect, use and store your personal data as described in this Privacy & Cookie Policy and as described when we collect data from you.

We reserve the right to amend this policy from time to time without prior notice. You are advised to check this page periodically for any updates. Amendments will not be made retrospectively.

We will always comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 when dealing with your personal data. Further details can be found at the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk). For the purposes of UK GDPR, we are the “controller” of all personal data we hold about you.

2. Who Are We?

We are the United Kingdom Science Park Association (UKSPA).

You can contact us at:

Chesterford Research Park, Little Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1XL
Tel: +44 (0) 1799 532050
Email: info@ukspa.org.uk

3. Personal Data We Collect and Why

The table below sets out what personal data we collect, the purposes for which we collect it, and the legal basis on which we process it.

Type of Information	Purpose	Legal Basis for Processing
Member business name, address, email, telephone, website, social links	Membership management and profile.	Performing the Association’s contract with the member. Legitimate interests in running the Association.
Member business sector interests, turnover, size	Association management and membership profiling.	Ensuring the breakdown of members retains an appropriate ratio by type.
Member business descriptive profile	Membership profiling and Association directory.	Published on the website and in the annual printed directory. Editable by each member.
Member business invoicing and accounting contact name, address, email	Membership management.	Performing the Association’s contract with the member.
Member business images and videos	Website and printed publications, reports and documentation.	Consent. Sought on membership application and renewal forms. May be withdrawn at any time by email or letter.
Member business key contact details	Display as part of member profile on website and in publications.	Consent. Sought on membership application and renewal forms. May be withdrawn at any time by email, letter, or online login.
Member business expert/specialist names, contact details, biographies	Display as part of member business profile on website and in publications.	Consent. Sought on membership application and renewal forms. May be withdrawn at any time by email, letter, or online login.
Member business expert/specialist photos, videos, slideshares, reports, written opinions	Display as part of member profile on website and in publications at the member’s discretion.	Consent. Sought in writing at the time of publication, on membership application, or at renewal. May be withdrawn at any time.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

4.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help websites recognise your device, remember your preferences, and understand how you interact with the site.

4.2 What Cookies Do We Use?

We use the following categories of cookies on www.ukspa.org.uk:

Cookie Category	Purpose	Examples	Consent Required?
Strictly Necessary	Essential for the website to function. These cannot be disabled.	Session cookies, login authentication, security tokens.	No consent required — set automatically.
Analytics / Performance	Help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it.	Google Analytics (_ga, _gid, _ga_*) — track page views, session duration, traffic sources.	Consent required. Set only if you accept analytics cookies.
Functional	Remember your preferences to improve your experience.	Cookie consent preferences.	Consent required or set on your action.
Marketing / Targeting	We do not currently use marketing or advertising cookies.	N/A	N/A

4.3 Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics collects information such as:

Which pages you visit and for how long
How you arrived at our website (e.g. search engine, direct link, referral)
Your approximate geographic location (country/region level only)
Your device type, browser, and operating system

This data is aggregated and anonymised, we cannot identify you personally from Google Analytics reports. We have enabled IP anonymisation so that your full IP address is never stored by Google.

Google Analytics cookies are only placed on your device if you have consented to analytics cookies via our cookie consent banner.

For more information about how Google uses data collected through Analytics, please visit: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

4.4 Managing Your Cookie Preferences

When you first visit our website, you will be shown a cookie consent banner which allows you to:

Accept all cookies
Accept only strictly necessary cookies
Customise your cookie preferences by category

You can update your preferences at any time using the “Cookie Settings” link in our website footer.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Please be aware that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. Guidance on managing cookies in common browsers:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9564
Mozilla Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cookies-information-websites-store-on-your-computer
Safari: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac
Microsoft Edge: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/delete-cookies-in-microsoft-edge

To opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

5. How We Protect Your Personal Data

We will not transfer your personal data outside the UK without your consent.

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.

Please note that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet, this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

For any payments we take from you online, we will use a recognised, secure online payment system.

We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

6. Who Else Has Access to Your Information?

We will never sell your personal data. We will not share your personal data with any third parties without your prior consent (which you are free to withhold), except where we are required to do so by law or as set out in this policy.

We may pass your personal data to third-party service providers, agents, and subcontractors who assist us in delivering services. We do this on the basis of our legitimate interests in operating the Association and performing our contract with you. We disclose only the data necessary for the third party to deliver the service, and we ensure that appropriate data processing agreements are in place requiring them to keep your information secure.

Third parties we may share data with include:

Email marketing platforms (e.g. for member communications and newsletters)
Survey tools (e.g. for member consultation surveys)
Event and conference management platforms
Website analytics providers (Google Analytics — see Section 4)
Payment processors for membership fee collection
Print and mailing suppliers for physical publications and directories

Where third parties engage their own sub-processors, they are required to have appropriate contractual arrangements in place to protect your information.

7. How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

We will hold your personal data for as long as you are a member of the Association and for as long as it is in the Association’s legitimate interest to do so, or as long as is necessary to comply with our legal obligations.

We review personal data annually to establish whether we are still entitled to process it. If we determine that we are not, we will cease active processing but may retain data in archived form for compliance purposes, including tax obligations and the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

We securely destroy all financial information once it has been used and is no longer needed.

Cookie data collected via Google Analytics is retained for a maximum of 26 months, in line with Google Analytics data retention settings.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

The right to access your personal data
The right to be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
The right to have your personal data corrected if inaccurate
The right to have your personal data erased in certain circumstances (‘right to be forgotten’)
The right to object to, or restrict, how your personal data is processed
The right to data portability — to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
The right to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing

To exercise any of these rights, or if you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, please contact our Member Administrator at: info@ukspa.org.uk

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

UKSPA — Privacy & Cookie Policy — Last updated June 2026