Privacy Policy

Cambridge Ahead is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you interact with our website, communications, and services.

Who we are (Data Controller)

Cambridge Ahead is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

Contact details:
Cambridge Ahead
Botanic House
98-100 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 1PH
United Kingdom

Email: info@cambridgeahead.co.uk

Information we collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

Name
Email address
Telephone number
Postal address
Organisation and job title (where provided)
Correspondence and communication history
Preferences for receiving communications
Website usage data (such as pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation behaviour)
Technical data (such as IP address, browser type, device information, and operating system)

We do not collect more personal data than is necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

How we use your information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To send our monthly CA member newsletters
To provide news, updates, and information about Cambridge Ahead activities
To conduct surveys and market research
To manage and improve our communications and services
To maintain internal records
To improve the performance, security, and usability of our website

Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

Consent – where you have explicitly agreed to receive communications from us
Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for our organisational activities and does not override your rights and interests
Legal obligation – where we are required to comply with applicable law

You may withdraw your consent at any time.

Sharing your information

We do not sell your personal data.

We may share your data with:

Trusted third-party service providers who support our operations (for example, Mailchimp for email distribution)
Carefully selected partner organisations where their work may be relevant to you (only where appropriate and in line with your preferences)

All third parties are required to process your data securely and in accordance with data protection law.

International transfers

Some of our service providers (including Google and Mailchimp) may process or store personal data outside the UK. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with UK GDPR requirements.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to ensure it functions correctly and to improve user experience.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help websites recognise users and understand how the site is used.

We use:

Strictly necessary cookies – required for website functionality
Analytics cookies – used to understand website usage and improve performance

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time.

Website analytics (Google Analytics)

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to understand how visitors use our website and to improve its performance and user experience.

Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information such as:

Pages visited and time spent on pages
How users arrive at and navigate the website
Device, browser, and operating system information
Approximate geographic location (derived from IP address)

We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual users. We have implemented privacy-enhancing settings where possible, including IP anonymisation.

Data collected through Google Analytics may be transferred to and processed by Google on servers outside the UK. For more information, please see Google’s Privacy Policy:
https://policies.google.com/privacy

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the browser add-on:
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, or reporting requirements.

Where you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, we will remove your data from marketing systems in a timely manner.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

The right to be informed about how your data is used
The right of access to your personal data
The right to rectification of inaccurate data
The right to erasure (the “right to be forgotten”)
The right to restrict processing
The right to data portability
The right to object to processing
Rights in relation to automated decision-making (where applicable)

You also have the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at info@cambridgeahead.co.uk.

Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect it against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, or disclosure.

Your data may be stored securely on:

Our website servers
Our email and communications systems (including Mailchimp)
Internal secure systems and devices

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the content, security, or privacy practices of those websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal data.