Privacy notice

What is a privacy notice?

The General Data Protection Regulation requires that data controllers provide information to people whose personal information they process. Processing information means how we use it, store it, and share it, as well as how long we keep it for and how we destroy it.

This Privacy Notice includes:

• Who we are
• What information we collect about you
• How we collect your information
• How we use your information and why we collect it
• Who we share your information with and why
• Our lawful basis for processing
• How long we keep your personal information for
• Your rights
• How to contact us
• How to make a complaint

Who we are

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) provides the UK government’s scholarship scheme led by international development objectives. It supports the co-creation of research, innovation, and solutions to enact sustainable development priorities across the Commonwealth and beyond.

The majority of Scholarships are funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). However, the data controller is the CSC, represented by its appointed administrator, The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Woburn House, 20-24 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HF, United Kingdom. You can contact us using our contact form.

What information we collect about you

We may collect personal information from you. This personal data is:

• Full name and title
• Date of birth, marriage and divorce
• Contact details such as addresses, telephone number and email addresses
• Next of kin and emergency contacts
• Gender
• Marital status and details of dependants
• Financial details such as bank account details, payroll records and tax status information
• Nationality and passport details and immigration status
• Education and qualification details
• Employment details
• Future educational and employment aspirations

In addition, we may also collect certain special category data about you that you provide to us such as the categories listed below. Further details of how we collect and store this type of data are given below.

• Information about race or ethnicity
• Religious beliefs
• Health information
• Genetic and biometric information

How we collect your information

We may collect this information from you in a number of ways which may include:

• Information you provide to us when you apply.
• Information you provide to us when you submit forms related to your scholarship.
• Information you provide to us when you answer our anonymous survey.

Information provided to us by your host institution in order to confirm your educational qualifications/progress.

How we collect special category information

Special category data is sensitive personal data, such as information about your health, race, or ethnic origin. The CSC collects this data in the following ways:

When you apply

The condition for processing the special category data you provide when applying for a Commonwealth Scholarship/Fellowship is for research and statistical purposes. The data will be anonymised when selections are complete.

The information you provide will not have any influence on the outcome of your application. You may choose not to provide this information – there will always be a ‘Prefer not to say’ option. No information that could identify you as an individual will be published.

When you submit a health and disability form

The processing the special category data you provide when submitting a medical form is for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine. The data will be held securely with restricted access.

The information you provide will not have any influence on your scholarship/fellowship. No information that could identify you as an individual will be published.

When you answer our anonymous survey

The condition for processing the special category data you provide when answering our anonymous survey is for research and statistical purposes. The data will be collected anonymously.

The information you provide will not have any influence on your scholarship/fellowship. You may choose not to provide this information – there will always be a ‘Prefer not to say’ option. No information that could identify you as an individual will be published.

How we use your information and why we collect it

Your data will be processed by the CSC, ACU, and other third parties. Your data will be protected in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation. Your personal data will not be sold to any third parties or used for commercial purposes. Third parties with which we share your personal data are required not to sell it.

The information you provide when applying for a Commonwealth Scholarship/Fellowship will be used in the following ways:

When you apply

• To verify that you are eligible for a scholarship/fellowship.
• To assess your application for a scholarship/fellowship.
• To contact you about the outcome of your application.
• To collate statistics and to conduct research (no information that could identify you as an individual will be published).

If you are not willing to provide the information requested, we will be unable to process your application.

If your application is unsuccessful

Your personal data will be retained for up to 24 months from the application closing date and then deleted, unless you are identified for and participate with active consent in a counterfactual study of unsuccessful applicants, in which case your data will be retained for the period of the study only. No information that could identify you as an individual will be published.

If your application for a UK government-funded scholarship/fellowship is successful

Your data will be transferred to the ACU for the purposes of administering your award.

The information you provide will be used:

1. To support and process the study/research/training period of your scholarship/fellowship, including but not exclusively:

• To place you at a UK university or other host institution.
• To retain necessary records and, where appropriate, to offer advice regarding your immigration to the UK.
• To support your academic studies/training programme, including to seek accounts and results of your award progress and completion.
• To provide you with welfare advice when it is needed.
• To provide you with means of financial support and to pay costs associated with your award to third parties, e.g. your host institution.
• To facilitate any necessary travel associated with your award.

2. To support the CSC Scholar and alumni engagement strategy, including but not exclusively:

• To send you email communications and briefings.
• To offer you in-country pre-departure briefings.
• To invite you to webinars, lectures, events, and conferences, in the UK and after your scholarship/fellowship as a member of the CSC alumni community.
• To feature you on the CSC website and social media channels.
• To feature you in print publications.

3. To support the CSC programme of evaluation and monitoring, through statistical analysis and research, including but not exclusively:

• To include you in longitudinal, counterfactual, and other evaluation studies.
• To explore your employment profile and achievements.
• To explore your research, teaching and other outputs.
• To interview you for more detailed case studies.

If you are nominated for a scholarship/fellowship tenable in another Commonwealth country

The information you provide will be used:

• To seek accounts and results of your award progress and completion.
• For items 2 and 3 above.

The CSC will maintain appropriate records for all the above activities, which may include:

• Your bank details if we make payments to you
• Dietary, accessibility, and mobility information
• Photographs and video of you if you attend our events
• Information gathered through publicly available channels

In addition, your information may be used:

• To seek your opinions or advice on areas that we consider to be of mutual interest.
• To provide you with information that we consider may interest you (including about carefully selected third party events).
• To provide you with services you have requested from us.

Who we share your information with and why

Your data may be shared with the CSC Secretariat (The Association of Commonwealth Universities); British Council; individuals involved in assessing your application; your host institution, e.g. university; the body that nominated you for a scholarship/fellowship; suppliers appointed by the CSC, such as travel agents and printers; and partners appointed by CSC, such as providers of online application, email marketing, and project management systems and where necessary their internet providers. This data is shared on the basis of the public task of delivering the scholarship scheme (see following section).

Data such as your name, country, year of award, subject/theme of study, host institution and alumni details (including contact details and employment details) will be shared with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other departments of the UK government; the British High Commission or other UK government representative office in your home country/country of residence; your home country’s high commission in the UK as well as the body that nominated you for a scholarship/fellowship This data is shared on the basis of legitimate interest (see following section). You have the right to object to and opt out of this processing by contacting CSC. You can contact us using our contact form.

Your data will be shared to enable your scholarship to take place, to allow you to continue your alumni membership and to facilitate your participation in alumni activities.

If you hold a UK-government funded scholarship/fellowship, your data may be shared internationally through secure means only with the British Council, which offers adequate safeguards. If you are nominated for a scholarship/fellowship tenable in New Zealand, your data may be shared through secure means only with Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara, which also offers adequate safeguards.

There may be other circumstances in which we may lawfully share your data with third parties where, for example, we are required to do so by law, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crimes. Where we share data, however, we shall do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Our lawful basis for processing

We process this data on the following lawful basis:

• Public task – where we are carrying out a specific task in the public interest or exercising official authority. In this case the delivery of the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme.
• Legitimate interests – where we use your data in a way that you would reasonably expect for our own interests, or those of a third party. This should have minimal privacy impact.

Where we are processing special category data (other than in the anonymised form referred to previously), we may do so under the following lawful basis:

• Consent – you have given us explicit consent to process your personal information for a specific purpose.
• Where it is needed to assess your working capacity on health grounds, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards.

In any case where your personal data is processed on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw consent to the use of your personal data at any time.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated or new purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

How long we keep your personal information for

If your application for a UK government-funded scholarship/fellowship is successful, your data will be transferred to the ACU for the purposes of administering your award. All data will be kept for 2 years after your scholarship/fellowship has completed.  After that, core information only will then be held by the CSC indefinitely.  Your name, country, year of award, level and subject/theme of study, and host institution will be published in an online register.

Records held about you for immigration purposes will be held for a period of six years only before they are deleted/destroyed.

If your application is unsuccessful, your personal data will be retained for up to 24 months from the application closing date and then deleted, unless you are identified for and participate with active consent in a counterfactual study of unsuccessful applicants, in which case your data will be retained for the period of the study only. No information that could identify you as an individual will be published.

Your rights

There are eight rights that you have when the CSC is using your personal information. If you have any questions about these rights, you can contact the Data Protection Officer at the FCDO for more information.

• Right to be informed – you have the right to be informed about what we do with your personal data, which is the purpose of this Privacy Notice.
• Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of your personal data held by the CSC. There is no fee for this unless you make repeated requests for the same data. We will provide your data as soon as possible – at most within one month.
• Right to rectification – you have the right to have your personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete – at most within one month.
• Right to erasure – you have the right to request that your personal data is erased. This only applies in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing – you have the right to have processing of your data restricted or stopped if you contest its accuracy or object to its processing. In such cases processing will be restricted until the matter is resolved. We will inform you of that resolution.
• Right to data portability – you have the right to move, copy, or transfer personal information from one IT system to another in a safe and secure way. This right only applies to certain information in certain circumstances.
• Right to object – you have the right to object to the use of your information, if you consider you have grounds relating to your particular circumstances.
• Rights related to automated decision making including profiling – if a decision is being made without human involvement in the decision making, you have the right to challenge and request a review of any decisions made.

If your personal data is processed on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw consent to the use of your personal data at any time

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this notice, consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, or would like to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us using our contact form.

You can also contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who has been appointed to act as the DPO for CSC:

Data Protection Officer
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

Email: Data.Protection@fcdo.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7008 5000

How to make a complaint

You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Tel: 0303 123 1113

Changes to this notice

We encourage you to revisit this Privacy Notice occasionally as we aim to update it regularly, in order to keep you fully informed about how we use your personal information.

This Privacy Notice was last updated on 5 September 2023.