Evaluation of ERDF Supported Businesses – Survey of Businesses

The Welsh Government has commissioned Wavehill to undertake an evaluation of ERDF support for Business in Wales during the 2014-2020 programme period. The ERDF operational programmes are designed to contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and to economic, social and territorial cohesion. The programmes aim to help address long-standing weaknesses in the economy of Wales, whilst building on territorial strengths.

The aim of the evaluation is to investigate the outcomes achieved by the businesses which have been assisted by the Programmes. Furthermore, it will allow for the exploration of whether the interventions funded by the Programmes are having an impact and to what extent. As part of this evaluation, Wavehill will be gathering information through a survey with individuals from businesses who have received support via ERDF funded projects. Participants will be invited to complete the survey either online or via a telephone interview. The survey will be conducted by Winning Moves on behalf of Wavehill.

The Welsh Government is the data controller for the research. The Welsh Government will receive a copy of the data collected by Wavehill and Winning Moves. However, Wavehill and Winning Moves will delete any personal data provided through the online survey and telephone interviews and anonymise the raw data, before it is shared with the Welsh Government.

The information collected during the project will be included in a report published on the Welsh Government website and possibly in other publications by the Welsh Government.

Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. However your views and experiences are important in order to help inform Welsh Government policies.

The contact for this research at Wavehill is Oliver Allies.

E-mail address: oliver.allies@wavehill.com

Telephone number: 01545 571711

PRIVACY NOTICE

What personal data do we hold and where do we get this information?

Personal data is defined under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’.

Welsh Government requires Beneficiaries delivering projects approved under the 2014-2020 ERDF Programmes to collect detailed data about each enterprise (i.e. each business that benefits directly from ERDF support). This monitoring data is used by the Welsh Government to monitor and evaluate the EU funds in Wales. Welsh Government have provided Wavehill and Winning Moves with this monitoring data, which includes contact information for supported businesses in the form of names, email addresses and telephone numbers.

As part of this evaluation, participants will be invited by Winning Moves to complete a survey, either online or via telephone, providing feedback and details on the business support received and any associated impacts. All respondents will be given the opportunity to complete the survey in Welsh or English.

This research does not require the collection of additional personal data from you. In all instances, your participation is voluntary and if you do not wish to take part or be sent reminders then please reply to the invitation email or let us know using the telephone number provided and your details will be removed. Wavehill and Winning Moves will only use email addresses and telephone numbers for the purposes of this evaluation.

Some participants will be invited to complete an online survey. If invited to the online survey and no response is received, Winning Moves will send out two further reminder emails after which individuals who have not completed the online survey will be telephoned and invited to complete the survey as a telephone interview (or if preferred the online survey could be resent).

Some businesses will be invited to participate by telephone only and will be asked to complete the survey as a telephone interview.

Where the survey is administered via a telephone interview, Winning Moves may need to record the calls for operational reasons. If this is the case, we will make this clear to you before the interview begins, and you will have the opportunity to tell us if you are not happy for the discussion to be recorded. If interviews are recorded, personal data will be removed during the process of transcribing. Recordings will be deleted as soon as this process is completed. If discussions are not recorded, personal data will not be included in written notes prepared following the interviews.

As part of their quality control procedures, Winning Moves may wish to re-contact participants completing the telephone survey interview to verify some of the information provided. Winning Moves will ask participants at the conclusion of the telephone survey if they are willing to be re-contacted for this purpose.

If you choose to provide additional personal data as part of the research we will try not to identify you from, or link your identity to, the responses you provide. If you raise a query or complaint and provide personal data requesting a response, the researcher will forward the request only to the relevant official and subsequently delete it from the research data.

What is the lawful basis for using your data?

The lawful basis for processing information in this data collection exercise is our public task; that is, exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government.

Participation is completely voluntary. Research studies such as this are important for the Welsh Government to collect information and actionable evidence about its ability to deliver government priorities. The information collected in this research, for example, might be used to:

• Explore perceptions of the support received

• Investigate whether the interventions funded by the Programmes are having an impact and to what extent.

• Develop recommendations for future funding programmes

How secure is your personal data?

Personal information provided to Wavehill and Winning Moves is always stored on a secure server. The data can only be accessed by a limited number of researchers working on this project. Wavehill and Winning Moves will only use this data for research purposes. Wavehill and Winning Moves both have valid cyber essentials certification.

When conducting surveys, Winning Moves use a survey software programme called IdSurvey. We have ensured that IdSurvey is GDPR compliant and meets our expectations in terms of the security of any data collected via the software and all data is processed within the EEA.

Wavehill has procedures to deal with any suspected data security breaches. If a suspected breach occurs, Wavehill will report this to the Welsh Government who will notify you and any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so. Wavehill will use the information gathered to produce a report that will be published on the Welsh Government website. This report will not include any information that could be used to identify individual participants.

How long do we keep your personal data?

Wavehill and Winning Moves will hold personal data during the contract period, and any personal data not already removed will be deleted by Wavehill and Winning Moves 3 months after the end of the contract. This includes your contact details. Wavehill will provide Welsh Government with an anonymised version of the data which will not include information that could identify you.

Individual rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to the personal information you provide as part of this [project], you have the right:

• To access a copy of your own data;

• For us to rectify inaccuracies in that data;

• To object to or restrict processing (in certain circumstances);

• For your data to be ‘erased’ (in certain circumstances); and

• To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.

The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 01625 545 745 or 0303 123 1113. Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Further Information

If you have any further questions about how the data provided as part of this study will be used by the Welsh Government or wish to exercise your rights using the UK General Data Protection Regulation, please contact:

Name: Laura Bloomfield

E-mail address: Laura.Bloomfield@gov.wales

The Welsh Government’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ, Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.wales.