Privacy policy

Overview

Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC) respects your privacy, and it is important to us that you understand how we handle your personal information when interacting with our website. In this Privacy Notice, we explain how Health Research BC’s website collects and uses your personal information, and when we may share your information with others. We also explain some of the choices you have when interacting with our website. All personal information collected by our website is governed by BC’s Personal Information and Protection Act (PIPA).

Please note our online grants management system, ApplyNet,asks for more detailed personal information. As such, it has its own Privacy Notice and Terms of Use. In addition, Health Research BC uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system as a central place to manage contact information for interested parties, track interactions, and share this information with colleagues within Health Research BC for the purposes of conducting our day-to-day business. We will not collect or share any personal information provided to us by a contact, interested party, or partner without consent, in accordance with PIPA. If you have shared any personal information with us, and would like to have it removed from our CRM, please contact CRMsupport@healthresearchbc.ca.  

Personal information you provide to us

We collect personal information that you provide to us when you subscribe for our newsletters, contact us via our website, register for events, apply for a job, and interact with us over social media. This type of information may include:

  • Contact information when you sign up for our mailing list through Mailchimp, a third-party platform integrated with our website. Examples of contact information include your name and e-mail address.
  • Recordings or notes of correspondence if you email, call, chat, tag, or communicate with us through our digital channels, including social media. If we send you an email, we may collect information about whether you have opened the email, whether you have accessed the link(s) provided and, if you do, what pages you visit on our website.
  • Job application information if you apply for a job through bambooHR, the job application on our website. Through your application, you will provide Health Research BC with significant personal information, which could include your contact information, work experience, education, skills, licenses and certifications.
  • Event registration information if you register for an event hosted by Health Research BC via a link on our website. This includes personal information such as your participation in the event.
  • Other information, such as personal information you submit directly to Health Research BC on a voluntary basis (e.g. general feedback).

 Personal information we automatically collect

When you access our website, we may automatically collect certain information about you. This may include:

  • Device, server, usage and internet connection information when you access the Health Research BC website such as:
    • IP addresses (unique numbers assigned by internet service providers to all devices used to access the Internet) of visitors to our Health Research BC website.
    • Device information, including the type of device, browser and operating systems used to access our website.
    • Usage information about visitor browsing behaviour on our website. This includes the sections and pages visited, the date, time and duration of the visits, actions taken within our website (e.g. number of clicks, downloaded content), connection speed, experienced website crashes, and the websites visited before and after using the Health Research BC website.
  • Cookies and tracking technology: Health Research BC collects personal information via cookies from Google Analytics, WordPress, Bugherd and other similar tracking technologies when you access the Health Research BC website.

Use of your personal information

We will use the personal information we collect from the website for the following purposes:

  • Communications: we may use your personal information to correspond with you directly (via phone, chat, email, social media, or other method) and to manage our relationship. This includes responding to your questions, comments, or concerns. Where permitted, we may also send you messages that include general updates and announcements, grant opportunities, event information, and electronic newsletters.
  • Analytics: we use analytics to better understand how visitors interact with our website, enabling us to improve user experience, optimize content, and enhance site functionality.
  • Job applications: we use personal information provided by job candidates to assess applicants’ eligibility and qualifications for employment and to contact applicants. We may also gather additional information from third parties in the hiring process, such as contacting candidates’ references or (if permitted by law and authorized by you) conducting background checks.
  • Events: we may use your personal information for Health Research BC hosted events to process your registration payment (if applicable), and to contact you about the event or future events.
  • Feedback: we may use personal information to respond to feedback, questions, issues, or concerns related to their experience with Health Research, to improve our website and services, and to personalize your digital experience with our organization.
  • Device server and usage information: we use this information to understand the activity on our website and to improve our services. We also monitor system usage, server and software performance to maintain, and ensure the integrity of our website.
  • Legal and regulatory requirements: we may use your personal information to meet our legal obligations and for regulatory purposes.

Sharing your personal information

It may be necessary for us to share your personal information to provide you with services, respond to your requests, and improve the overall functions of Health Research BC. We only share your information as described in this Notice, or in situations where we have your consent and are permitted by law. This includes:

  • Service providers who perform website operations and functions on our behalf to deliver requested services. Please see the section titled “Service providers” for more information.
  • Permitted legal disclosures under applicable privacy laws, where Health Research BC may be required or permitted by law to disclose your personal information under certain circumstances. This could include to law enforcement or governmental authorities.
  • Disclosure by you when you post publicly available content to our social media channels or anywhere else that is accessible by others. Please note that any information you provide to third party sites is not governed by this Privacy Notice and outside of Health Research BC control.

Service providers

We use third party service providers to perform day-to-day website operations. At times we may require service providers to collect, use, or disclose personal information on our behalf. We may also provide personal information to service providers to support Health Research BC in maintaining our operations and interacting with the BC health research community.

We use third-party service providers in activities such as:

  • Analytics: we use service providers to assist us with reporting to analyze usage information about our website.
  • Communications: we use email marketing service providers to facilitate our electronic communications and engage with members of the BC health research community.
  • Job applications: we use a human resources information system service provider to facilitate and manage online job applications through the website.
  • Event management: we may use a service provider for Health Research BC hosted events to process registration payments, and to contact attendees about the event or future events.

Please note that we may share aggregated or other non-identifying information with our third-party service providers so that they can better manage and improve their products and services, including their services to Health Research BC (e.g. information about website usage and performance). This aggregated and/or non-identifying information is not considered personal information and is not subject to this Notice.

Safeguards

We are committed to ensuring the security and protection of your personal information from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure copying, modification, disposal or similar risk. We apply various administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. We also require our employees and third-party service provider to respect and adhere to confidentiality obligations related to your personal information.

 While Health Research BC endeavours to minimize the privacy and security risks to the best of our ability, no internet or e-mail transmission is ever fully secure or error free and no security system is impenetrable. We cannot always guarantee the security of personal information, and any transmission of your personal information is at your own risk. In addition, the Health Research BC website includes links to external websites and third-party platforms that are not governed by this Privacy Notice nor is Health Research BC responsible for the privacy practices and compliance controls adopted by these external sites and platforms. Health Research BC recommends you review the privacy policies of these external sites and platforms and make an informed decision about your interactions with them before proceeding.

Retention, storage, and disposal of your personal information

We will retain your personal information to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, for as long as we have a business or legal reason to do so, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. When your personal information is no longer necessary, we will dispose of it in accordance with our internal policies and the applicable law.

Please note that some of our third-party service providers are partially or fully located outside of Canada, and your personal information may be stored and processed outside of Canada. This means that your personal information may be subject to the laws and access by government or regulatory organizations outside of Canada.

Consent and changes to your consent

Health Research BC takes a consent-based approach to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information via your interactions with our website. We collect both implicit and explicit consent for the information being collected, used, disclosed and stored by us, and will do so only as described in this Privacy Notice.

If you wish to have any of your information removed from our databases, you can send a request to our Privacy Officer at privacy@healthresearchbc.ca. Where your information is stored with our third-party service providers, we will proceed as necessary to remove your information as requested.

If at any time you would like to stop receiving emails from Health Research BC, you may unsubscribe at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” in the email you receive from us. Please note that even if you opt-out, Health Research BC may still communicate with you (including by email) about important matters, including updates about your job application or a grant application (as per the ApplyNet Privacy Notice).

If at any time you would like to stop having your information collected by cookies on our website, you can disable cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of the Health Research BC website may not be accessible function properly for you.

Contact us

Questions or concerns regarding this Notice and how we handle your personal information can be directed to the Health Research BC’s Privacy Officer, who is responsible for ensuring Health Research BC’s compliance with this Notice.

Contact our Privacy Officer using any of the following methods:

Michael Smith Health Research BC

Attention: Privacy Officer

#200-1285 West Broadway

Vancouver BC V6H 3X8

 E-mail: privacy@healthresearchbc.ca

Health Research BC takes complaints about our privacy practices seriously. If you are not satisfied with a response to a complaint, you may have options to exercise, including to raise the complaint with the BC Privacy Commissioner.

Mailing Address:

947 Fort Street

Victoria, BC V8V 3K3

Tel: 250-387-5629 Website: www.oipc.bc.ca

CRM Policy

Health Research BC uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system as a central place to manage contact information for interested parties, track interactions, and share this information with colleagues within Health Research BC for the purposes of conducting our day to day business.

We will not collect or share any personal information provided to us by a contact, interested party, or partner without consent, in accordance with PIPA legislation. If you have shared any personal information with us, and would like to have it removed from our CRM, please contact CRMsupport@healthresearchbc.ca.