Why we collect your data and what we do with it
OTF (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to upholding data protection laws and providing you with transparent information about how we use or ‘process’ your data and your rights in relation to this. This notice explains how we process your data when you submit an application for funding to us. If your application is successful, further information will be required from you, and further notice will be provided.
Please also see our website Privacy and Information Sharing Policy for further information about OTF – the data controller, how we process your data, your rights in relation to that data and how to exercise them.
In order to apply for support from us, we ask for information about your idea, the background to it, your goals and the impact you hope to make through receiving funding from OTF. We use this information to understand and assess your application and to issue contracts in line with OTF’s values and mission. If you are invited to submit a formal proposal, we may also collect some personal contact details including your name, email address, and physical address. At the contracting stage we require a legal name (individual or entity) and information necessary to process payments to you under the contract.
Once you submit this information it is assessed by OTF, shared within our organisation as necessary and stored on our servers. We will use your contact details to get in touch with you and inform you of the outcome of your application. In some circumstances, we may also share your application and details with our Advisory Council who help us make decisions about the projects we fund. We will also retain a copy of it for our records and in case you wish to apply again in the future – more information on this is provided below.
Legal basis for collecting and processing application data
Before we offer support in the form of funding or services, we need information about how it will be used and who by. We collect this information from you through our open calls. The legal basis for this is preparation to enter into a contractual agreement with you for provision of funds or services.
How we retain your data and the legal basis for retention
-Once you submit an application with us, we will retain it for different time periods, depending on how we categorize it:
-We retain unsuccessful applications that we deem outside the scope of OTF’s mission and values. We do so on the basis of our legitimate interest in maintaining a record of the application process and reviewing our assessment practices;
-We retain unsuccessful applications that we deem to be relevant to our work on the basis of our legitimate interest in maintaining a record of the application process, in case the applicant’s idea is relevant in the future so we can invite the applicant to submit a further application, and so that we can maintain a record of applications to understand how the ideas and projects of applicants who apply multiple times have grown and developed over time;
-If your application is successful, we will retain it for at least as long as the contract is active and for a period thereafter to meet regulatory and legal data retention requirements. More information about how we process contractor data will be supplied at a later time.
-We may also retain some non-personal information from all application categories for statistical purposes, including the region in which you are based and other information. We retain this information on the basis of our legitimate interests in developing an understanding of the size and demographics of the audience we are reaching overtime. This is processed in accordance with GDPR Article 89.
How we share your data and the legal basis for this
OTF is an independent 501(c)(3) corporation registered in the District of Columbia in the United States. OTF receives funding from the United States government through the United States Agency for Global Media. OTF is not a government agency. OTF is not an instrument of the U.S government. OTF’s employees are not government employees. For the purposes of this policy “OTF” includes our employees, contractors providing programmatic support, and our Advisory Council.
Data sharing
We may share your application data with our Advisory Council for the purpose of evaluating the merits of your application. We do so on the basis of our legitimate interests in fulfilling our mission.
Where we transfer your data outside of the European Union or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that your data is appropriately protected by requiring the recipient to respect and uphold your rights as a data subject under all applicable laws and by making the transfer subject to an international transfer safeguard, for example the Standard Contractual Clauses issued by the European Commission.
Licensing
You retain ownership of any intellectual property that you submit to us. In short, what belongs to you stays yours. When you submit an application to OTF, you give us a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free worldwide license to use, host, and store submitted content in whole or in part as outlined in this policy. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose outlined in this policy.
See further:
Policy updated 18 March 2021.