Privacy policy

We created this privacy policy to explain how information you provide to us is used and shared. This privacy policy applies to personal information collected from program applicants, program participants (“fellows”), program mentors (“mentors”), and contributors, as well as suppliers, users who visit and/or use our website and online platform, and individuals who otherwise interact with us. Please read this policy carefully as it contains important information on how and why we collect, store, use, and share your personal information. This policy also explains your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us in the event you have a privacy-related question or complaint.

1. Key Terms. It would be helpful to start by explaining some key terms used in this policy:

• “We”, “us”, or “our” refers to the MATS Program, which is operated by MATS Research, Inc., a United States 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 99-0648563) (“MATS U.S.”) and MATS Research UK Ltd, an England and Wales company (no. 17234700) (“MATS UK”).

The “data controller” for the purposes of this website and for individuals dealing with our U.S. programs is MATS U.S. and for individuals dealing with our UK programs is MATS UK.  MATS UK also acts as the UK representative of MATS U.S.

• “Our website” refers to this website, https://www.matsprogram.org/, unless otherwise specified.
• “Personal information” refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.

2. What Personal Information We Collect and How It’s Collected. We collect most of the personal information directly from you when you provide it to us voluntarily, such as through our website or when applying for one of our programs, in communications with us (via e-mail/phone/video conference), or in person when participating in our programs or events. We may also collect some information about you from others, and some information is also collected automatically when you visit our website.

The categories listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we collect based on the nature of your interactions with us. Note that some categories may overlap or include additional information not specifically mentioned here.

Personal Information we collect directly from you 

Personal Information collected in relation to applicants, fellows, and mentors: 

• Identifiers such as your full legal names, alias, e-mail addresses, mailing/physical addresses, and phone numbers. If you are offered a place on the program, or are engaged as a mentor, we may also collect further information such as your date of birth, social security numbers, tax identification numbers, signatures, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, and similar identifiers.
• Financial information, where applicable (e.g., if you are offered a place on the program, are engaged as a mentor, or take part in a paid work trial), such as your bank account numbers, ABA RTNs (Routing Transit Numbers), IFSC codes (Indian Financial System Codes), BIC codes (Bank Identifier Codes), and IBAN codes (International Bank Account Numbers), in order to coordinate stipend payments, reimbursements, and other program benefits.
• Other Information such as your education, employment, resume, professional biography, photograph, research interests and publications, application responses, work samples, proposed research agendas, availability and mentoring preferences, test scores, interview notes, assessment results, assessor comments, application or matching scores and rankings, feedback, and other assessments or inferences concerning your suitability or performance, demographic information like age, gender, and race, and other data collected from your application or participation that helps us understand your logic, intelligence, aptitude, abilities, personality, and overall candidacy for our programs and to help us match fellows with mentors.
• Health-related information such as the medications you take, any known allergies, any disabilities, dietary or accessibility requirements, existing medical conditions, name and contact details of your healthcare provider, emergency contact, medical insurance specifics, relevant vaccination statuses, and similar details related to your health status, which may be collected when participating in our in-person programs and events to ensure your safety and the safety of others. Like other categories of personal information, we employ stringent measures to secure your sensitive health information.  

Personal information we may collect in relation to other third parties 

• Job Applicants. If you apply to work for MATS Program, we may collect basic personal information such as your name and contact details, employment history, references, eligibility-to-work information, recruitment assessments, and any information you include in your resume or that you disclose in interviews. 
• Referees. If you provide a reference to an applicant (to be a fellow, mentor, or to work at MATS Program) we may collect basic personal information such as your name and contact detail, employment details, relationship to the applicant, and information contained in the reference or otherwise provided to us.
• Suppliers (and their employees). If you (or your employee) provide us with products or services, we may collect business contact information such as your name, title, role, employer, products or services provided, payment details, and the content of communications with you.  
• Donors. If you donate to MATS Program we may collect basic personal information such as your name and contact details, financial information, and information needed to process your donation payments.
• Other. if you communicate with us, we will collect basic personal information such as your name and contact details and the contents of any communications with you. 

Personal information we collect from others

We may also obtain personal information about applicants, fellows, and mentors from referees, other applicants, or programme participants, mentors, service providers, and publicly available professional sources such as employer websites, research publications, and professional networking profiles. 

This may include contact information, professional history, references, feedback, rankings and assessments of suitability or performance.

Where we interact with you through your employer, then we may obtain basic personal information about you from your employer.

Personal information we collect automatically

With your consent, where required by applicable law, 

• we may collect Internet or other electronic network activity information such as your operating system, IP addresses, geolocation data, browser type and language, referring and exit pages, keywords, date and time of access, duration of visit, and website sections visited. Like most websites, this information is automatically collected through cookies and pixel tags (web beacons), which store data on your computer’s hard drive. You can refuse to accept cookies using the cookie banner that is presented when you first visit the website, but this may limit certain website functionalities.
• we may work with third party partners to employ technologies, including the application of statistical modeling tools, which permit us to recognize and contact you across multiple devices. These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
• we may use Google Analytics to understand which links, buttons, tabs, and search filters are most popular so that we can develop site features and improve our visitors’ user experience. As with DAP< IP addresses are anonymized and never stored. Anonymous demographic information is gathered using Google Demographics and Interests reports. When you visit a website that has partnered with the Google Display Network, Google stores a number in your browser using a persistent cookie to remember your visits. This number uniquely identifies a web browser, not a specific person. Browsers may be associated with a demographic category, such as a gender or age range, based on the sites that were visited. You can opt out of all Google Analytics tracking by installing a browser extension available for most major browsers. Read the Google Analytics Privacy Policy.

4. How and why we use your personal information.

We only use your personal information in accordance with applicable law. Certain data protection laws, including the EU and UK versions of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) require us to have a “lawful basis” for processing your personal information. We have set out below the primary reasons for our processing of your personal information, and the applicable lawful bases for this. 

Note that you are not obliged to provide us with any personal information, but if you do not provide us with information that we need, we may be unable to provide services to you or consider you for participation in our programs (as a fellow or a mentor).

MATS does not make solely automated decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects based on your personal information. 

1. Legitimate interest. We will process your personal information where it is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, provided that such interests are not outweighed by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms.  This is the lawful basis we rely on for the following processing: 

• Program. We use personal information as necessary for our legitimate interest in carrying out our program, e.g., to evaluate applications and references, coordinate stipend disbursements, coordinate travel and arrange office and housing accommodations for participants to attend our programs and events, match fellows with mentors, administer the fellow/mentor relationship, support fellows, mentors, and alumni, accept donations, and organize program activities.
• Recruitment. We use personal information as necessary for our legitimate interest in identifying, assessing, and recruiting the most appropriate individuals for open roles that we may have. 
• Communications. We use personal information to communicate with program applicants, program participants (fellows and mentors), contributors, alumni, and other users of our website and online platform. This includes providing updates, responding to inquiries, and delivering relevant information about our organization, events, initiatives, and opportunities.
• Research and publication. We use personal information for research purposes such as to identify correlations between the characteristics of applicants and their success in the program. This helps us evaluate the effectiveness of inquiries in our application forms in measuring candidacy for the program, allowing us to continually refine the application process for future cycles. We also use personal information to publish program metrics, such as the number of participants who completed our program, as well as demographic information like age and gender. At some point, we may publish our findings in order to contribute to a broader understanding of these research inquiries and to provide transparency about our program’s outcomes. When we do so, all personal information will be aggregated and anonymized to protect the privacy of our applicants and participants.
• Website usage monitoring and improvement. We use personal information, such as IP addresses and browsing patterns, to monitor and analyze the usage of our website and online platform. This information helps us improve functionality, content, and user experience.
• Technical issue detection, prevention, and addressing. We use personal information to detect, prevent, and address technical issues, such as troubleshooting problems, ensuring web security, and investigating potential unauthorized access in our database and systems.

2. Contract. We will process your personal information where necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request prior to entering into such a contract.  This is the lawful basis we rely on for the following processing: 

• Program. We use personal information to comply with our obligations under contracts with fellows and mentors, e.g., to process reimbursements, and other program benefits where required by contract.
• Recruitment. We use personal information prior to entering into employment contracts with individuals. 
• Suppliers. Where we enter into contracts with individual suppliers, we may process their personal information in connection with such contracts. 

3. Legal obligation.  We will process personal information where necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. This is the lawful basis we rely on for the following processing: 

• Tax and legal compliance. We use personal information to comply with tax reporting requirements and to fulfill any legal and regulatory obligations imposed under United States (“U.S.”) federal and state law, United Kingdom (“UK”) law, as well as the laws of other jurisdictions that may apply to us.

4. Consent. We will process personal information where we have your consent to do so. This is the lawful basis we rely on for the following processing:

• Newsletter.  In certain circumstances, where you sign up to our newsletter (see Promotional Communications). 
• Public profiles and materials. Where you agree, we may publish your name, professional biography, photograph, testimonial, research outputs or other program-related materials.
• Research and Publication.  As noted above, we may use personal information to publish program metrics.  We may ask if you would like to also provide additional voluntary demographic information, like race. If you choose to provide this information, you consent to us using it for such analysis. As discussed above, all information will be aggregated and anonymized before any publishing. 
• Health Information. Where you provide information concerning health so that we can make accommodations for you as needed (e.g., accessibility and dietary accommodations) then you consent to us processing such personal information for these purposes.   

We may use personal information for any other purpose fully disclosed at the time of collecting the information or with your consent, including sharing with parties interested in hiring program affiliates and alumni, and providing post-program support.

Special Category Person Data. 

Certain personal information may be afforded additional protection under applicable laws and require and additional condition for processing.  We may process special category personal information only: (i) with your explicit consent (for example in relation to diversity monitoring or where you provide allergy and health information); (ii) where required to exercise or defend legal claims (for example if you bring a claim of discrimination); and (iii) where it is necessary to protect your vital interests where you are incapable of giving consent (for example in a medical emergency). 

5. Promotional Communications.

We may use your personal information to send you updates by e-mail about our programs and initiatives. Depending on how we collect such information, we may have a legitimate interest in processing your personal information for such purposes, which may mean we do not need your consent to send you these types of communications. 

However, where consent is needed, we will ask for this consent separately and clearly. 

We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and never sell or share it with other entities for marketing purposes.

You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in e-mails.

6. Who we share your personal information with.

• Mentors and Assessors. We will share fellows’ data with their mentors and employing or affiliated organisations.  We may also share fellows’ data with individuals and organisations involved in the application and process to provide suitability assessments. 
• Prospective Employers. We may share personal information with parties interested in hiring program affiliates and alumni.  If you would prefer that we did not share your information with such parties, please let us know. 
• Service Providers. We share personal information with service providers and data processors: (i) that we use to facilitate the programs and perform services related to our website or assist us in analyzing how our Services are used; (ii) that are involved in application processing, testing, and matching; (iii) that act as payment processors to process stipend payments and receive donations; and (iv) to arrange travel, immigration, accommodation, and catering for our programs and events. We only allow our service providers and data processors to handle your personal information if we are satisfied they take appropriate measures to protect your personal information and they must only use your personal information as instructed by us.
• Professional Services. We may from time to time share personal information with other third parties we use to assist with our general operations, such as legal and tax counsel, accountants, as well as external auditors in relation to the audit of our books and records.  
• Corporate Transaction. We may disclose personal information about you as part of, or in preparation for, a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or other sale or transfer of the assets or operations of MATS Program. In such circumstances, we will at an appropriate time take steps to inform you of the transfer either directly or indirectly, e.g., through publishing news of the transaction.
• Other Third Parties.  We may share personal information with third parties with your permission, including social media sites you choose to link your account to.
• Government Agencies. We may disclose and exchange information with law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations or where we believe it is our interests to do so (and such interests are not outweighed by your interests or fundamental rights or freedoms).

We have never sold, nor will we ever sell, any personal information to a third party. In the preceding 12 months, we have only disclosed personal information to our service providers and other third parties to the extent conducive to our operations. The categories of personal information disclosed are those outlined earlier above (see What Personal Information We Collect and How It’s Collected).

7. Where your personal information is held.

Information may be held at our offices and on our IT infrastructure, and that of our service providers, third party agencies, representatives, and agents as described above (see Who We Share Your Personal Information With). 

As our operations are primarily based in the U.S., it may be necessary for us to share your personal information with our office, service providers, and other relevant parties located in the U.S. We want to assure you that we implement appropriate measures to comply with data protection laws and ensure the security of your personal information when doing so. These measures may involve utilizing standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or UK Secretary of State.

8. How long your personal information will be kept. We will keep your personal information only for as long as is necessary:

• To process your application and to provide you program benefits;
• To maintain our relationship with you where such relationship is ongoing;
• To respond to any questions, complaints, or claims made by you or on your behalf;
• To show that we treated you fairly; or
• To keep records required by law.

We will not retain your personal information for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of personal information depending on applicable law. For instance, U.S. tax law may require us to keep certain records for a certain number of years. When it is no longer necessary to retain your personal information, we will delete or anonymize it.

10. Children under 13. Our program is open to adults ages 18 and older. As such, we do not knowingly collect personal information from or market to children under the age of 13 and our website is not designed to be attractive to children under this age. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected personal information from anyone under age 13, we will promptly delete it. As stated in this privacy policy, we use collected information only for the intended purposes and do not disclose it to third parties, except with permission or as necessary to facilitate our program or as mandated by law. 
11. Keeping your personal information secure. We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorized way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to access it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorized manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

11. Your rights. Under the GDPR and certain U.S. state laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), you have the following rights:

• Right to Access (GDPR): You have the right to access and obtain a copy of your personal information held by us along with certain information in relation to our processing operations (which is set out in this privacy policy).
• Right to Rectification (GDPR): You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to Erasure (GDPR): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information.
• Right to Restrict Processing (GDPR): You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability (GDPR): You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that information to another data controller.
• Right to Object (GDPR): You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information, including for direct marketing purposes and in certain other situations.
• Right Not to be Subject to Automated Decision-Making (GDPR): You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, if it produces legal effects or significantly affects you.
• Right to Withdraw Consent (GDPR): You have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information where that is the basis on which we rely. However, where we are relying on an alternative legal basis, we may continue to process your personal information.
• Right to Complain (GDPR): We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information.  However, you have the right to complain to us and to an appropriate supervisory authority (e.g., the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or the EEA supervisory authority in the member state in which you are located).

When we receive a data protection complaint, we will: (i) acknowledge receipt within thirty (30) days; (ii) take appropriate steps to respond without undue delay, including by making enquiries into the subject matter of the complaint; and (iii) inform you of the outcome without undue delay.

• Right to Know (CCPA): You have the right to know the categories of personal information collected, the sources of collection, the purposes of collection, the categories of third parties with whom the information is shared, and the specific pieces of information collected about you.
• Right to Opt-Out (CCPA): You have the right to opt-out of the sale or disclosure of your personal information to third parties.
• Right to Deletion (CCPA): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, with certain exceptions.
• Protection Against Discrimination (CCPA): We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights under the CCPA.

Please note that certain exceptions and limitations may apply to these rights as outlined in the respective regulations.

13. How to exercise your rights. If you would like to exercise any of your rights as described in this privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@matsprogram.org.

Please note that you may only make a CCPA-related data access or data portability disclosure request twice within a 12-month period. When you contact us, you will need to provide us with enough information to identify you, including your full name and e-mail address, and a description of what right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates. Note that we are not obligated to make a data access or data portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information, or is someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf. Any personal information we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with you request will be used solely for the purposes of verification.

14. Changes to this privacy policy. This privacy policy was last updated on the date provided above. We may change this privacy policy from time to time–when we do, we will post any such changes to this page. Where we make material updates, we may notify you of these. 
15. How to contact us. If you have questions about this policy or would like this notice in another format (for example: audio, large print, braille), please contact us at privacy@matsprogram.org.