RIAS Privacy Statement

This Privacy Policy sets out how the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) uses and protects any information that you give the RIAS when using any of our services, including this website. We ask that you read this privacy notice carefully as it contains important information on how and why we collect, store, use and share personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information and on how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint. 

The RIAS is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. When we collect and use personal information about you, we do so under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as "controller" of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. 

Please do not send us any personal information if you do not want that information to be used in this way.

The RIAS may change this Policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This Policy is effective from 24th April 2018.

What we collect

We may collect the following information:

  • name and job title

  • contact information including email address

  • demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests

  • other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

  • to provide and improve our services to you

  • to process and respond to inquiries

  • to communicate with you periodically by bulletin/notices about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided. You can change your preferences for receiving email communications or postal. You can unsubscribe at any time in the footer of e-bulletins.

  • internal record keeping

  • from time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail. 

  • We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.

We will hold the personal information for 6 years. 

Under the GDPR, most commonly, we will use your personal information where it is necessary 

  • to perform the contract we have entered into with you

  • to comply with a legal obligation 

  • for our legitimate interests 

Although this will be rare, in may be necessary for the RIAS to obtain your consent from time to time for processing certain personal information. If so, we will seek your consent for that in accordance with the GDPR rules. 

Keeping your personal information secure

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

  • whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes

  • if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at info@rias.org.uk 

  • We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have a number of important rights to access your personal information free of charge. In summary, those include rights to: 

  • access your personal information which this Privacy Notice has described above

  • require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold 

  • require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations

  • receive the personal information concerning you in certain situations 

  • receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structure, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit this data to a third party in certain situations

  • object at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing 

  • object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affecting you

  • object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information 

  • otherwise restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances

If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please: 

  • write to our Data Protection Officer (DPO), Karen Stevenson at RIAS, 15 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BE or email info@rias.org.uk

  • Let us have enough information to identify you

  • Let us have proof of your identity and address (a copy of your driving license or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill) 

  • Let know the information to which your request relates

How to complain 

We hope that our Data Protection Officer can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information. 

The GDPR also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the European Union state where you work, normally live or where any alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or 0303 123 1113.