The Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) aims to connect, support, and inform the global mountain research community. In order to do so, we collect certain personal data from you when you join our Expert Database, sign up to our newsletter mailing list, and use our website.
We respect your personal data, and we are transparent about its collection and use. This Privacy Policy outlines the online data collection and usage policies and practices that are helping us make connections for our changing mountains.
We may amend this policy from time to time. Therefore, we suggest you check this page occasionally to ensure you are aware of any amendments.
What is Personal Data?
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal data is any information relating to you that can be used to identify you personally. Personal data also includes different pieces of information which, when collected together, can lead to your identification. Examples of personal data include:
- A name and surname;
- A home address;
- An email address;
- Location data;
- An Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Personal information does not include technical, device, or usage information that cannot be used to identify you personally, nor does it include aggregate information, which is data collected on the use of the website or about a group or category of websites or users, from which individual identities or other personal information have been removed. This Privacy Policy does not limit our collection and use of this aggregate and non-personal information, and we may share such data with third parties in order to better understand and meet the needs of the MRI community.
What Data Does the MRI Collect and How Is It Used?
THE MRI EXPERT DATABASE
When you sign up for the MRI Expert Database, you choose to provide us with certain information when creating your profile. This can include your name, contact details, affiliation, expertise, research interests and activities, portrait photo, publications, and links to external sites. You are also consenting to the publication of your profile in this database. This means that the data you provide will be made visible and searchable online for the agreed parts. This is to facilitate your connection and collaboration with other members of the mountain research community.
By joining the MRI Expert Database, you give consent for the MRI to contact you directly regarding your profile. Additionally, you give your consent for your profile to be included in our experts’ registry, and accept that the information given may be used by the MRI to facilitate connections for potential consultancies, expertise, policy inputs, speaking roles, interviews, or similar. All communications will adhere to our privacy policy.
The MRI also uses data from the Expert Database to monitor and report on metrics of our community as a whole (e.g., total number of members per country or region, research interests, etc.).
THE MRI GLOBAL NEWSLETTER
When you sign up to receive the MRI Global Newsletter, we collect your email address, first name, and last name. To deliver our newsletter we use a third party provider (MailChimp), and we gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our newsletter.
MRI EVENT REGISTRATION AND OPPORTUNITIES
We use a third-party provider (Jotform) to collect and process information for event registrations, funding applications, network evaluations and surveys, and other MRI opportunities advertised on our website. When you submit a form using JotForm, the platform collects the data you provide, including your name, email address, and any other information required for the specific registration or application process. The data collected through JotForm is used solely for the purpose of processing event registrations, evaluating proposal applications and events, and managing other MRI-specific opportunities. We may also use this data to communicate with you regarding your registration, application status, or to provide you with relevant updates.
THE MRI WEBSITE
We use Google Analytics to collect general information about how visitors use the MRI website. Google Analytics collects data through cookies to provide insights such as how many users our website has, where they are from, and on which pages they click. This information is used only for website traffic analysis in order to improve our website, and we treat it confidentially. This information cannot be used by the MRI to identify individual users personally.
PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
When you contact the Mountain Research Initiative directly, your contact data is used to facilitate any future direct communications, such as by email, postal mail, telephone, etc. as required. In addition, if you apply for a job at the MRI you will be asked to provide information typically found in a curriculum vitae.
How Is This Data Stored and Secured?
The data the MRI collects is stored on servers in Switzerland, and protected from third-party access.
To deliver our newsletter, we use MailChimp. You can read MailChimp’s privacy policy for contacts here.
To organise event registrations, funding applications, and network evaluations and surveys we use Jotform. You can read Jotform’s privacy policy for form responders here.
Data collected by the MRI is only used for the stated purpose and is not forwarded on to third parties without prior written consent from the data owner.
User Rights
You may update or delete your personal data in the Expert Database at any time by accessing your profile though our website. You may update or delete your contact details in the MRI newsletter mailing list at any time by clicking ‘Update My Details’ or ‘Unsubscribe’ at the bottom of our newsletter.
There may be some specific instances where the MRI can legally turn down such requests. These include:
- Right of Freedom of Expression and Information
- To comply with a legal obligation
- Public interest
- Archiving purposes
- Exercise or defence of legal claims
You may contact us at any time regarding such requests, or with any questions or concerns you may have: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Links to Other Websites
Our website contains links to other sites. When you click on one of these links, you leave the MRI’s website and go elsewhere. The MRI does not accept liability for the misuse of any information by any website to which we may link. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites, which may differ from ours.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy please get in touch: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
