User research for service design

In order to serve you effectively and create services that are designed around customers we are using a service design model that includes user research and we need to collect and hold some of your personal data.

Personal data will be handled in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation / Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant legislation and we will not disclose your data to any other third party, unless allowed or required to do so by legislation.

What personal data do we process?

Our service design user researchers collect contact details such as name, address, phone number and email.

Personal data such as ethnicity, disability and gender will only be requested to make sure we are gathering our research from a broad range of individuals. Personal data will be anonymised which means that you cannot be identified from the information that you share with us.

What do we do with this personal data?

We are processing your data for the purpose of discussing with you, your experiences, views, and journey using council services and processes and using that information and feedback to improve services. This is the only thing we will do with the data collected from User Research.

The information you provide in response to our research will not be linked to your personal information, accounts or other services within the council in any way and will be anonymised unless we have a legal duty which prevents us from doing this, or you give us permission to share.

How do we collect your data?

We collect personal data when carrying out research to improve council services. User research is typically carried out using telephone or video calls, face to face interviews or by using surveys.

How do we share personal data?

We may share the results of our research with teams within the Council and with organisations who are working with us to carry out research. Where we share your information with a third-party, data will be anonymised unless we have a legal duty which prevents us from doing this. None of the data we share will link back to you.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We only keep personal data for as long as we need it for the purposes for which it was processed, which will be no longer than two years.  If the research is required to be held after two years, data will be fully anonymised. Your information will be kept in accordance with our retention policy.

Your rights

You have the right to access your personal data and to complain if you think your data is being used incorrectly. You may also have other rights, such as to have your data corrected or erased. For full details on your personal data rights, Data Controller and Data Protection Officer’s contact details and further information, please see the main Privacy Notice.