Privacy

1. Who we are

Insight Forward Ltd, trading as Insight Forward, is a geopolitical intelligence and advisory business based in the United Kingdom.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Insight Forward is the controller of the personal information described in this Privacy Notice, except where we process information solely on the instructions of a client or another organisation acting as the controller.

You can contact us about privacy or data protection at:

Email: info@insightforward.co.uk
Website: https://www.insightforward.co.uk
Post: Insight Forward, 6 Melbourne Mews, Wheathampstead, St Albans, AL4 8FN, United Kingdom.

2. What this Privacy Notice covers

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you:

• visit our website;
• contact us or make an enquiry;
• subscribe to our newsletters, briefings or other publications;
• interact with Insight Forward on LinkedIn or other professional platforms;
• attend an event, webinar, briefing or other activity involving Insight Forward;
• become, or represent, a client, supplier, partner or other business contact;
• are identified as a potential business contact through legitimate professional research;
• engage with Insight Forward's content or company pages;
• or otherwise interact with us in a professional or business context.

Some client assignments may require different or additional types of personal information. Where appropriate, we may provide supplementary privacy information for a particular assignment.

Where Insight Forward processes personal information solely on behalf of a client and under that client's instructions, the client will normally be the controller and its privacy notice will apply to that processing.

3. Personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Information you provide directly

This may include:

• your name;
• work email address;
• telephone number;
• job title;
• employer or organisation;
• professional interests;
• correspondence with us;
• information provided in enquiries, meetings or project discussions;
• newsletter and communication preferences;
• event registration information;
• billing and administrative information;
• and other information you choose to provide.

Client and business information

When we work with clients, suppliers or partners, we may process information about relevant personnel including:

• names;
• job titles and professional responsibilities;
• business contact details;
• organisational relationships;
• correspondence;
• meeting records;
• contractual and administrative information;
• and information necessary to deliver or manage our services.

Newsletter and publication information

If you subscribe to an Insight Forward newsletter, briefing or publication, we may receive information through our publishing or email platform, including:

• your email address;
• subscription status;
• subscription date;
• newsletter preferences;
• email delivery information;
• and information about engagement with our publications, such as whether particular communications or articles have been opened or viewed, where the platform makes this information available.

We may use this information to manage the publication, understand audience engagement, improve our content and assess the types of organisations and professional audiences engaging with Insight Forward.

LinkedIn and other professional-platform information

Insight Forward operates company pages and professional accounts on platforms including LinkedIn.

Where permitted by the platform and applicable law, we may receive information about people who follow or interact with our company pages. This may include:

• your name;
• LinkedIn profile or other professional profile identifier;
• employer or organisation;
• job title or professional role;
• professional profile information;
• the date you followed or interacted with an Insight Forward page;
• information about engagement with our content;
• and other Page audience information made available by the platform.

This may include information obtained through LinkedIn's Pages Data Portability API where the relevant Page administrator has authorised access and the information is made available in accordance with LinkedIn's privacy controls.

We use this information to understand the professional and organisational composition of our audience, identify patterns in the companies and sectors engaging with Insight Forward, assess the relevance of our content and services, and support internal market and business-development analysis.

Where possible, we use this information at company, sector or aggregate level rather than retaining unnecessary individual-level information.

Information obtained from public and professional sources

In the course of normal business development, market research and professional networking, we may obtain business-related information from sources such as:

• company websites;
• corporate reports and regulatory filings;
• professional networking platforms;
• conference and event information;
• professional directories;
• publicly available professional profiles;
• media and industry publications;
• referrals and introductions;
• and other legitimate public or professional sources.

This information may include a person's name, employer, job title, professional responsibilities and business contact information.

We do not use this type of research to build detailed profiles about individuals' private lives.

Website and technical information

When you use our website, limited technical information may be collected automatically by our website, hosting, analytics or security providers. Depending on the services in use, this may include:

• IP address;
• browser and device information;
• approximate location derived from an IP address;
• pages visited;
• referring website;
• date and time of access;
• and cookie or similar technology information.

More information about cookies and similar technologies is provided through our cookie notice or cookie-management tools where applicable.

4. Sensitive personal information

We do not intentionally collect or use special category personal information for newsletter management, LinkedIn audience analysis, ordinary marketing or business-development purposes.

We do not use information about race or ethnicity, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, health, genetics, biometrics or sexual orientation to select or prioritise commercial prospects.

Certain specialist client assignments may involve information subject to additional data-protection requirements. Where that occurs, we will apply the appropriate lawful conditions and safeguards and may provide additional privacy information relevant to that processing.

5. How and why we use personal information

We only process personal information where we have a lawful reason to do so.

Providing and managing our services

We use personal information to:

• respond to enquiries;
• discuss potential assignments;
• enter into and administer contracts;
• provide intelligence, advisory and related services;
• communicate with clients;
• manage projects;
• issue invoices;
• and maintain appropriate business records.

Our lawful basis may be performance of a contract, taking steps before entering into a contract, legitimate interests, or a legal obligation, depending on the circumstances.

Managing newsletters and publications

We use subscriber information to:

• deliver publications you have requested;
• administer subscriptions;
• manage subscriber preferences;
• understand readership and engagement;
• improve our publications;
• and communicate about relevant Insight Forward content and services.

Where electronic-marketing consent is required, we will rely on consent. In other circumstances, we may rely on our legitimate interests where permitted by applicable law.

You can unsubscribe from marketing or newsletter communications at any time.

Audience analysis

We may analyse information from our newsletter platforms, LinkedIn Page and other professional channels to understand:

• which types of organisations engage with Insight Forward;
• which sectors and professional functions are represented in our audience;
• how our audience changes over time;
• which content is relevant to our readers and followers;
• and where there may be legitimate professional interest in our services.

Our lawful basis for this processing is normally our legitimate interests in understanding our professional audience, developing our services, measuring the relevance of our work and operating and developing our business.

We seek to minimise the amount of individual-level information retained and use company-level or aggregated information where it is sufficient for our purpose.

Business development and professional research

We may use professional and business contact information to identify organisations that may have a legitimate need for Insight Forward's services.

This may include researching an organisation, identifying relevant professional functions and deciding whether it is appropriate to make business contact.

Our lawful basis is normally our legitimate interests in developing Insight Forward's business and communicating with organisations that may reasonably have an interest in our services.

Where electronic marketing rules require consent or impose other conditions, we will comply with those requirements.

Anyone may object to the use of their personal information for direct marketing at any time.

Improving our services

We may use information about client, subscriber and audience engagement to:

• assess how our services and publications are used;
• improve our content and products;
• identify areas of professional interest;
• plan future research and services;
• and evaluate the effectiveness of our communications.

We normally rely on our legitimate interests for this processing.

Security and legal compliance

We may process information where necessary to:

• protect our systems and information;
• prevent misuse or fraud;
• establish, exercise or defend legal rights;
• comply with legal, regulatory, tax or accounting requirements;
• and respond lawfully to requests from courts, regulators or public authorities.

The applicable lawful basis may be legitimate interests or compliance with a legal obligation.

6. Legitimate interests

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider:

1. the purpose we are seeking to achieve;
2. whether using the personal information is necessary for that purpose; and
3. whether the person's interests, rights or freedoms outweigh our interests.

We take particular account of the professional context in which information has been made available, the nature of the information, reasonable expectations and whether the same purpose can be achieved using less personal information.

We may document this assessment through a legitimate interests assessment where appropriate.

7. Direct marketing

We may send relevant business communications about Insight Forward's research, publications, events or services where permitted by law.

We distinguish between:

• communications people have specifically requested, such as subscribed newsletters;
• existing professional or client relationships;
• and appropriate business-to-business communications to professional contacts.

We comply with applicable data-protection and electronic-marketing requirements when sending these communications.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

You can unsubscribe using the link contained in a marketing email or contact us at info@insightforward.co.uk.

If you opt out, we may retain limited information on a suppression list so that we can respect your preference and avoid contacting you again for marketing purposes.

8. Where we obtain information from someone other than you

We sometimes receive professional information indirectly, including from LinkedIn, Substack or other publishing platforms, public corporate sources, professional directories, events, referrals and other legitimate business sources.

Where data-protection law requires us to provide privacy information directly to you after obtaining information from another source, we will do so within the applicable period unless an exemption applies.

This Privacy Notice is also made publicly available so that people can understand the types of information we process and how we use them.

9. Who we share personal information with

We do not sell personal information.

We may share limited personal information where necessary with:

• service providers that support our website, email, publishing, cloud storage, communications, IT, accounting or business operations;
• professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers or insurers;
• contractors working with Insight Forward where they need information to perform their role;
• clients where disclosure is necessary for an agreed assignment and lawful;
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where we are legally required or entitled to do so;
• and a buyer, investor or adviser in connection with a proposed merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of all or part of the business.

Where third parties process information on our behalf, we seek to use appropriate contractual and security protections.

Third-party platforms such as LinkedIn and Substack also process personal information under their own privacy terms when you use their services.

10. International transfers

Some of the technology and service providers we use may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where a transfer of personal information outside the UK is subject to UK data-protection restrictions, we use an appropriate transfer mechanism where required. This may include:

• UK adequacy regulations;
• an approved International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses;
• or another lawful safeguard.

We also consider the security and data-protection practices of service providers handling personal information on our behalf.

11. How long we keep personal information

We do not keep personal information for longer than we reasonably need it.

Retention periods depend on the nature and purpose of the information.

As a general guide:

Client and contractual records: normally retained for up to six years after the relevant relationship or assignment ends where required for contractual, legal, accounting or record-keeping purposes.

Financial and accounting records: retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting law.

Enquiries that do not become clients: normally retained for up to two years after the last meaningful contact unless there is a reason to keep them longer or the person asks us to delete them.

Business-development contacts: reviewed periodically and deleted or updated when the information is no longer relevant, accurate or reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected.

Newsletter subscriber information: retained while you remain subscribed and thereafter only to the extent required for legal, administrative or suppression purposes.

Marketing suppression information: may be retained for as long as necessary to ensure we continue to respect an opt-out request.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it, securely dispose of it or anonymise it so that it is no longer personal information.

12. How we protect personal information

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss or misuse.

These measures may include:

• controlled access to business systems;
• authentication and account-security measures;
• appropriate cloud and technology providers;
• access restrictions;
• secure devices and communications;
• data minimisation;
• backups and recovery controls;
• and appropriate contractual protections for relevant service providers.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, but we take proportionate measures having regard to the nature of the information and the risks associated with its processing.

13. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law gives you rights including:

Right of access

You can ask whether we process personal information about you and request a copy of that information.

Right to rectification

You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

Right to erasure

You can ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to restriction

You can ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances.

Right to object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.

If your objection relates to direct marketing, we will stop using your personal information for that purpose.

Right to data portability

In some circumstances you may have the right to receive personal information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Right to withdraw consent

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Not every right applies in every situation, and exemptions may apply under data-protection law.

To exercise a right, contact:

info@insightforward.co.uk

We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. We will only request information that is reasonable and proportionate for that purpose.

We normally respond to valid data-protection rights requests without undue delay and within the period required by applicable law.

14. Data-protection complaints

If you are concerned about how Insight Forward has handled your personal information, please contact us at:

info@insightforward.co.uk

We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days of receiving it.

We will take appropriate steps to investigate the matter, keep you informed where necessary and provide an outcome without undue delay.

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data-protection regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
https://ico.org.uk/

We would welcome the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you approach the ICO, although you are not required to do so where the law provides otherwise.

15. Automated decision-making and profiling

Insight Forward does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions about individuals that produce legal effects or similarly significant effects.

We may use analytical tools, scoring or categorisation to help organise business, audience or market information. Where we do so, these tools support human analysis and business decisions and are not used to make legally or similarly significant automated decisions about individuals.

We do not use sensitive personal characteristics to score or select individuals for commercial purposes.

16. Children

Insight Forward's services, publications and website are intended for professional and business audiences.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing or business-development purposes.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact info@insightforward.co.uk.

17. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies for functions such as:

• website operation;
• security;
• preferences;
• analytics;
• and measurement.

Where consent is required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, we will request it through our cookie-management system.

Further information is available in our Cookie Notice where applicable.

18. Links and third-party services

Our website and publications may contain links to websites, platforms or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for how those organisations process personal information. Their own privacy notices and terms apply when you use their services.

This includes platforms such as LinkedIn and Substack.

19. Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice when our services, technology, processing activities or legal obligations change.

The latest version will be published on our website and will show the date on which it was last updated.

Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to draw attention to the change where appropriate.

20. Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Notice, to exercise your data-protection rights or to make a data-protection complaint, contact:

Insight Forward Ltd
6 Melbourne Mews
Wheathampstead
St Albans
AL4 8FN
United Kingdom

Email: info@insightforward.co.uk
Website: https://www.insightforward.co.uk