SMART ERA Privacy Policy

Dear participant, we want to make sure that your rights are protected during this activity. Therefore, we prepared this form to give you more information about our project, this event, and how your personal data will be protected.

As you know, personal data (e.g. your e-mail address or what will be discussed during the activity) is protected under the European Law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We, therefore, need to ensure that we have properly recorded your consent for the use of the data gathered from this activity.

We would kindly ask you to read the following information carefully. If you agree with the content, please provide us with your signature at the bottom of this form and return it to us. In case this is an online or hybrid event, please send the signed form via email to the Partner organization who has invited you to participate in a project activity and/or the Data Controller (see Section 5 of this Privacy Policy).

 

1. The SMART ERA project

SMART ERA is a 4-year project (2024-2027) funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, aimed to foster resilience in rural areas by upgrading and co-designing, co-developing and co-validating with local communities a set of smart solutions, integrated within Smart Innovation Packages (SIPs) able to tackle pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges and to empower rural people to act for change. SMART ERA’s main ambitions are:

a) building the first large-scale European-wide solution for systematic rural data screening and smartness analysis; b) using co-design methods and techniques to involve residents and stakeholders in the design and validation of SIPs, as well as in the collection of old and creation of new data sources; c) proposing a unified Smartness/Digital Maturity assessment method; d) providing unique and timely evidence-based and performance-focused recommendations to upgrade the new local, national and European policy instruments and enhance their efficiency and efficacy in supporting smart villages across the EU; e) fostering cooperation among pilot regions, as well as among the four EU macro-regional strategies and improve their rural communities’ ability to address socio-economic and environmental challenges.

  Val di Sole/Trentino (Italy), Tramuntana/Sóller (Spain), Northern Ostrobothnia (Finland), Trebinje/East Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Šmarje-Padna (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia), and Devetaki Plateau (Bulgaria) are the 6 SMART ERA rural pilot areas across Europe. These sites aim to enhance their communities’ ability to address challenges and will actively participate to the co-design, co-development and co-validation of smart solutions within the project.  

The project is carried out by a consortium of 25 partners, associated entities and associated partners from 10 different countries. Among those, the following partners are identified as “Pilot Orchestrators” since they will coordinate the execution of the pilot activities in their own territories: the Coordinator Fondazione Bruno Kessler (IT), the University of Ljubljana (SI), the University of Oulu (FI), Anysolution (ES), Slow Food Trebinje Hercegovina (BA), Devetashko Plato Sdruzhenie (BG). The “Pilot orchestrators” operate in synergy with the partners identified as “Community activators”, who are responsible for the engagement of the local communities and their active participation in the activities: Provincia Autonoma di Trento (IT), Sredisce Rotunda (SI), Council of Oulu (FI), Més Cultura (Spain), Turisticka Organizacija Republike Srpske (BA), Municipality of Sevlievo (BG). The other partners are involved with a technical/transversal role in the project execution: Software Competence Center Hagenberg (AT), Poliedra (IT), University of Maribor (SI), Engineering – Ingegneria Informatica (IT) with its affilitated entity Municipia (IT), Fondazione Icons (IT), Association Europeenne pour l’Innovation dans le Developpement Local (BE), Baltic Institute of Finland (FI), Fundingbox Accelerator (PL) with its affiliated entity Fundingbox Communities (ES), Schweizerische Arbeitsgemeinschaft für die Berggebiete (CH), Sluzba Vlade Republike Slovenije za razvoj in evropsko kohezijsko politiko (SI), Stadt Wien (AT).

 

2. Voluntary participation

Participation is not compulsory. You can decide for yourself whether you want to participate in the project SMART ERA or not. If you decide to participate, you will receive this privacy policy to keep and will be asked to sign a consent form and/or tick a box to indicate their agreement. You can withdraw your participation at any time and without giving any reason, without this affecting the benefits to which you are entitled or having any negative consequences (right to be forgotten).

 

3. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?

No risks are foreseen. You are only requested to be available to participate. All the information provided will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. Any concerns should be immediately notified to the organizer of the activities to facilitate resolution.

 

4. The Pilots

The SMART ERA project focuses on six pilots, including very different rural areas located across Europe (Val di Sole/Trentino, Italy; Smarje-Padna, Slovenia; Trebinje/East Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Devetaki Plateau, Bulgaria; Tramuntana/Soller, Spain; Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland). If you are taking part to an activity organized in the context of one of these territories, you can find detailed information on the pilot you are involved in, at the following link: https://smartera-project.eu/pilot-regions/

 

5. Data Controller

The project is carried out by a consortium of 24 entities from 10 different countries. Detailed information can be found at the following link: https://smartera-project.eu/project/#consortium

 Contact information of the Data Protection OfficerThe Data Controller of personal data linked to the Research/Pilots’ activities, is the partner responsible for the activity you are involved in, also called “Community Activator”: the Autonomous Province of Trento for the pilot in Val di Sole/Trentino, Italy; ROTUNDA for the pilot in Smarje-Padna, Slovenia; Turisticka Organizacija Republike Srpske for the pilot in Trebinje/East Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Municipality of Sevlievo for the pilot in Devetaki Plateau, Bulgaria; Més Cultura for the pilot in Tramuntana/Soller, Spain; Council of Oulu for the pilot in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Relevant contacts of the organizers will be provided together with the link to this Privacy Policy and a Consent Form to be signed for accepting the Policy and participating in the activity.  

6. Types of data collected

The following personal data may be collected during the course of the SMART ERA research activities (interviews, workshops, focus groups, etc.) or events:

• Name
• Address
• Email
• Phone number
• Age
• Gender
• Image (photo or video)
• Education level
• Professional field and status
• Activity while using the digital solutions (e.g., logs)

7. Purposes of processing

Your personal data is collected to allow the Data Controller to provide its service, comply with its legal obligations, respond to enforcement requests, protect its rights and interests (or those of its participants or third parties) and detect any malicious or fraudulent activity.

Personal data will be processed for the following purposes:

• To co-design the SMART ERA solutions taking into account users’ needs and expectations.
• To evaluate and assess the impact of the SMART ERA solutions. To achieve this objective, the project will process personal data from citizens and stakeholders to assess participation and understand the socio-economic impact of the project.
• To verify user’s participation in the project: pictures/videos will be taken in order to verify that you participated in the SMART ERA activities.
• To register for the events and activities organised during the project.
• For dissemination and communications purposes.
• To review the project results and solutions taking into account the feedback received from external experts.

8. Methods of processing personal data

The data controller will take appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorised destruction of the data. The data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organisational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated.

Your personal data shall be processed through online/paper questionnaires, online/phone interviews, during workshops, focus groups or events in contexts that do not compromise your personal dignity and your decorum, ensuring the necessary precautions to guarantee the confidentiality of the use.

No automated decision-making process, nor any profiling activity is planned.

We collect your personal data directly from you when you are participating in the SMART ERA project.

 

9. Legal basis of processing

Participation in the SMART ERA project is accepted on the basis that you freely and independently sign a consent form and/or tick a check box to indicate your consent, in order to authorise us to process your personal data. You have the right to withdraw your consent to any further processing at any time.

 

10. Place of the processing

Your personal data is processed at the Data Controller’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located.

Depending on your location, data transfers may involve transferring your personal data to a country other than your own. Personal data may be processed in the countries where the SMART ERA partner organisations are located or in any other country of the European Union.

The activity of processing personal data takes place on the territory of the European Union, or with the help of IT tools involving processing in countries for which the European Commission has taken a decision on the adequacy of the protection of personal data or, alternatively, through the signing with the provider of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of data protection adopted by the European Commission.

 

11. Data sharing

Your personal data may be transferred to and processed by other members of the SMART ERA consortium. More information regarding other members of the consortium can be found at the following address: https://smartera-project.eu/

Personal data shall not be disseminated, besides those used for dissemination and communication purposes (e.g., photos or videos taken with the explicit consent of participants).

For exclusive purpose of scientific dissemination of statistical and/or scientific results (for example through the publication of scientific articles and/or the creation of databases, also with open access methods, participation in conferences, etc.), the data may be shared among the scientific community and disclosed anonymously and aggregated and always in a way that does not make the interested party identifiable.

The Project Coordinator is moreover confident that any future processing is purpose specific and is permitted ONLY for the purposes of the project and facilitating the completion of the specified tasks.

 

12. Retention time

Personal data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for. The data controller may be allowed to retain personal data for a longer period whenever you have given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the data controller may be obliged to retain personal data for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority.

Once the retention period expires, personal data shall be anonymized and deleted. Therefore, the right of access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.

The retention period will run for five further years from the end of the SMART ERA project (December 2027).

 

13. Your rights

You may exercise certain rights regarding your personal data processed by the data controller. In particular, you have the right to do the following:

 

• Withdraw your consent at any time. You have the right to withdraw consent where you have previously given their consent to the processing of your personal data.
• Object to processing of your data. You have the right to object to the processing of their data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. During the course of SMART ERA, all data is processed based on your consent.
• Access to your data. You have the right to learn if data is being processed by the data controller, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the data undergoing processing.
• Verify and seek rectification. You have the right to verify the accuracy of their data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
• Restrict the processing of your data. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of your data. In this case, the data controller will not process your data for any purpose other than storing it.
• Have your personal data deleted or otherwise removed. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of your data from the data controller.
• Receive your data and have it transferred to another controller. You have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on your consent, on a contract which you are part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
• Lodge a complaint. You have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.

 

How to exercise these rights

Your request to exercise your rights can be directed to the responsible for the activity you are involved in, see Section 5/Data Controller. This request can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the data controller as early as possible and within one month (with extensions in some specific cases).

 

14. Benefits of the project

You will make a significant contribution to the achievement of the main objectives of the SMART ERA project. The project can help understand the main drivers for change in rural areas and empower their local communities to tackle the main socio-economic and environmental challenges.

 

15. Confidentiality

All the personal data collected during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. You will not be able to be identified in any publications (except for pictures or videos you have given your specific consent to be in). The results of this investigation may be published in reports, scientific journals or conferences and used in further studies, but it will not be possible to identify the source of the information. None of the provided data will be handled by third parties. The authorization for the use and access to personal data is valid until the end of the project, unless you decide to withdraw from the project. Your decision whether or not to give your authorization for the use and diffusion of your personal data is completely voluntary.

 

16. Future change in privacy policy

The Data Controller reserves the right to make, if necessary, the appropriate changes to this privacy policy – currently updated on https://smartera-project.eu/project-privacy-policy/ giving the widest visibility to the data subjects.

In any case, it is advisable to regularly check the project website and refer to the most up-to-date version. The previous versions will be available for consultation in the same dedicated page of the website.

 

17. Dispute resolution

Questions or complaints regarding the data collected, this privacy policy or other privacy matters can be addressed at SMART ERA consortium through the following address: SMARTERA-privacy@fbk.eu

You have the right to lodge a complaint also to the relevant national Data Protection Authority of your country.