Privacy Policy

RUSI respects your privacy and is committed to lawfully processing and protecting your personal data. Through this privacy policy we will inform you about how we protect the personal data of those who visit our website (regardless of where they are visiting it from). We will also tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

We have provided a glossary at the end of this policy to help in the understanding of the terms referenced herein.

About us and purpose of this privacy policy

This privacy policy aims to give you important information on how RUSI collects and processes your personal data when you use this website. This includes any data you may provide when you:

• become a RUSI Member;
• attend a RUSI event;
• create an account on our website;
• subscribe to our newsletters or publications;
• request marketing to be sent to you;
• give us feedback or contact us;
• request us to bid for funding, or to provide services to you.

 

If you are applying for a job at RUSI, you will be covered by our Staff Privacy Policy.

This website is not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

This privacy policy should be read alongside any other privacy policies or fair processing policies we may provide so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data.

Our contact details:

RUSI is made up of different legal entities, details of which can be found here: https://www.rusi.org/about/our-work/companies-controlled-rusi. This privacy policy is issued on behalf of the RUSI group of companies, so when we mention “RUSI”, "we", "us" or "our" in this privacy policy, we are referring to the relevant entity in the RUSI group of companies responsible for processing your data. RUSI is the controller and responsible for this website. Data may be shared between the different entities part of the RUSI group as described below in the “International Transfers” section.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below:

Name: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
Address: 61 Whitehall. London, United Kingdom. SW1A 2ET
Phone Number: +44 (0) 207 747 2600
Email: compliance@rusi.org (for data protection and privacy enquiries only).

Please be advised that you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-Party links

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

How we collect information

We may collect personal data from you in various ways, for example:

• You may have provided us with this information yourself, by signing up to a newsletter or mailing list or becoming a member, making a donation, providing funding or attending an event.
• We may also collect information about your computer and about your visits to this website (including information about your browser, your IP address, your general location as determined from your IP address and provided by your browser, the site from which you come, and the links followed when leaving our site).
   

Information can also be collected through cookies. Cookies are text files stored on your computer, and accessible only to the websites which create them. Our website may from time-to-time use cookies and log files for statistical analysis, to understand user behaviour, to administer the site, to tailor the information presented to a user based on their preferences, and to improve user experience. Any information gathered by our use of cookies is compiled on an aggregate, anonymous basis. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies; however, you may delete, or disable cookies by following the instructions at allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies. Please note that you may not be able to take full advantage of our website if you disable cookies and this may impair your experience of the service. For more information about the cookies we use, please see https://www.rusi.org/cookie-policy.

What information do we collect?

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
• Contact Data includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.
• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
• Profile Data includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback, and survey responses.
• Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products, and services.
• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
   

We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

With your explicit consent we may collect some Special Categories of Personal Data. Said categories include details about your race or ethnicity, and your gender which we process with the objective of promoting diversity amongst our members and website users. The decision to provide this information is completely optional.

In certain instances, failing to provide personal data may render us unable to execute contractual obligations we have with you or provide our services adequately.

How we collect your Personal Data

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity and Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:

• become a RUSI Member;
• attend a RUSI event;
• create an account on our website;
• subscribe to our newsletters or publications;
• request marketing to be sent to you;
• give us feedback or contact us;
• request us to bid for funding, or to provide services to you.
   

Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this data by using cookies and other similar technologies. However, the data collected is both aggregated and anonymous meaning it does not constitute personal data. Please see our cookie policy https://www.rusi.org/cookie-policy for further details.

Technical Data from the following parties:

• analytics providers such as Google Analytics based outside the UK;
• Ready Membership based in the UK(applicable to members only); and
   

Contact, Financial and Transaction Data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services such as Stripe and GoCardless based the UK.

How we use your Personal Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

 

Generally, we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data although we will get your consent before sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

The table below gives a general outline of the purposes for which we might use your personal data. Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data 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 you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

Promotional offers from us

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us, attended an event or have acquired a membership from us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Third-party marketing

We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.

How is the information kept?

We ensure that there are appropriate technical controls in place to protect your personal details; for example, our online forms are protected and routinely monitored. We undertake regular reviews of who has access to information that we hold to ensure that your information is only accessible by appropriately trained staff, and contractors.

We may use external companies to collect or process personal data on our behalf. We will do comprehensive checks on these companies before we work with them and put a contract in place that sets out our expectations and requirements. We may disclose your personal information to these carefully selected third parties and or prospective partners who are carrying out work on behalf of and for the benefit of the institute.

Some of our suppliers may run their operations outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Although they may not be subject to same data protection laws as companies based in the UK, we will take steps to make sure they provide an adequate level of protection in accordance with UK and EU data protection law. By submitting your personal information to us you agree to this transfer, storing or processing at a location outside the EEA.

How Long Do We Keep This Information

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements.

We will keep this information for the periods described in our Data Retention Policy.

Use of links

Throughout our website, we provide links to other servers which may contain information of interest to our readers. We take no responsibility for, and exercise no control over, the organisations, views, or accuracy of the information contained on other servers.

Use of text and images

UNAUTHORIZED USE OF CONTENT PUBLISHED IN OUR WEBSITE IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN AND MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT LAW. If you would like to publish information that you find on our website, please send your request to publications@rusi.org.

Disclosure of your information

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table above.

• Internal Third Parties as set out in the Glossary.
• External Third Parties as set out in the Glossary.
• Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.
   

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

International transfers

We share your personal data within the RUSI group of companies. This may involve transferring your data outside the UK.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• International Data Transfer where applicable
• Data Processing Agreements where applicable.
   

We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data.

Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.

Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. If you would like to make such a request, you should contact us at database@rusi.org detailing the information you require.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. If you would like to make such a request, you should contact us at database@rusi.org detailing the information you wish to have erased.

Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response. We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Opt-Out or change your contact information

Our website provides users with the opportunity to opt-out of receiving all communications from us. You may choose to receive only specific communications or none at all. You may also update your contact information previously provided to us via e-mail, telephone, post or text.

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by: logging into the website and checking or unchecking relevant boxes to adjust your marketing preferences, clicking the unsubscribe box linked in all our emails, or contacting us through any of the channels provided at the beginning of this policy.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of making a financial gift to the Institute, by way of RUSI Membership, attending an event or giving a donation, as we will need to keep a record of this information and any gift aid that has been claimed. The information that we keep varies according to what we have previously collected and what it is used for. In some cases, there are legal requirements to keep data for a minimum period and we will only have it for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which the data was collected or for which it is to be further processed (unless there’s a legal reason for us to keep it longer).

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may make changes to this privacy policy from time to time. If we change our privacy policy, we will post the changes on this page. This version was last updated on October 2023. Continued use of the service will signify that you agree to any such changes.

Questions about our policy

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this website, you can contact us at compliance@rusi.org

Lawful Basis

• Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.
   
• Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.
   
• Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.

Third Parties

Internal Third Parties:

• Other companies in the RUSI group of companies acting as joint controllers or processors and who are based in Europe, Kenya and the US which have their own publications, newsletters and events and provide their own services.
   

External Third Parties

• Service providers acting as processors who provide IT and system administration services. Currently, our web service providers are Ready Membership and Amazon Web Services, both based in the UK. Our financial services providers are Stripe and GoCardless which are also based in the UK.
   
• Professional advisers acting as processors or joint controllers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services.
   
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities acting as processors or joint controllers who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.