We Are Here Scotland
Privacy Policy
We Are Here Scotland CIC is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and how we use it.
We Are Here Scotland CIC is a Community Interest Company registered in Scotland (Company Number SC710532). For data protection purposes, we are the data controller.
1. What information we collect
We may collect the following types of information:
Contact information: name, email address, phone number, postal address
Professional information: creative practice, work history, portfolio or website links, biography
Financial information: bank details (for payments), invoices
Equality monitoring data: ethnicity, gender, disability, age range, and other protected characteristics (always optional and collected anonymously where possible)
Access requirements: information about support needs to help us make our programmes accessible
Application materials: written responses, audio or video submissions, supporting documents
2. Why we collect your information
We collect personal information for the following purposes:
• To process applications for our programmes (e.g. Creators' Fund+)
• To deliver programmes you are participating in
• To make payments to you
• To match mentors with programme participants
• To provide you with access support at events
• To send you information about our events, opportunities, and news (only with your consent)
• To report anonymised and aggregated data to our funders
• To monitor equality and diversity across our programmes
3. Lawful basis for processing
Under UK GDPR, we process your data on the following bases:
Contract: where we need to process your data to deliver a programme you have been accepted onto, or to make payments to you
Consent: where you have given us permission to contact you (e.g. newsletter sign-up), or to use your image or quotes for publicity
Legitimate interest: where we need to process your data to assess applications, maintain our mentor database, or report to funders in anonymised form
4. Who sees your information
Your personal information may be seen by:
• We Are Here Scotland staff and directors
• External judges or assessors (for funding applications only, under confidentiality agreements)
• Mentors (limited information to facilitate matching and delivery)
We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
We may share anonymised, aggregated data with funders (e.g. Creative Scotland) for reporting purposes. This data cannot be used to identify you.
We may be required to share information if required by law or for safeguarding purposes.
5. How long we keep your information
Programme participants (successful applicants): We keep your information for the duration of the programme plus 6 years, to meet our legal and financial reporting obligations.
Unsuccessful applicants: We delete your application data within 12 months of the funding decision, unless you give us permission to keep you on our mailing list.
Mentor expressions of interest: We keep your information on our database until you ask us to remove it, or for a maximum of 3 years if we have not been in contact.
Newsletter subscribers: Until you unsubscribe.
Equality monitoring data: Kept in anonymised form for reporting and may be retained indefinitely.
6. How we keep your information safe
We take appropriate measures to protect your personal data, including:
• Secure, password-protected systems
• Limited access on a need-to-know basis
• Confidentiality agreements with external assessors and contractors
• Regular review of our data handling practices
7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data (in certain circumstances)
• Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@weareherescotland.com. We will respond within one month.
8. Cookies and website analytics
Our website may use cookies and analytics tools to understand how visitors use our site. You can control cookie settings through your browser. We do not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information without your consent.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website.
10. Contact us
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:
Email: hello@weareherescotland.com
Website: www.weareherescotland.com
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk
We Are Here Scotland CIC
Last updated: January 2026