Data Protection & Privacy Rules

Sonar-Global Association privacy notice for participating social scientists

This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.

• Context
• Contact details
• Changes to how we store your personal data
• What information we collect, use, and why
• Lawful bases and data protection rights
• Where we get personal information from
• How long we keep information
• Who we share information with
• Sharing information outside Europe
• How to complain

Context

The focus of the Sonar-Global Platform is the integrated networking database of social sciences, for which the Sonar-Global Association collects data in all countries addressing infectious threats and engaging in the Sonar-Global Platform by participants’ self-completion of an online profile subscription. The purpose of this database is to compile the names, specializations, professional experience, training and contact information of social scientists around the world. It can be accessed through password-protected access by relevant actors, organizations and institutions seeking your expertise in a particular domain of infectious threats and health and environmental disasters. To join the networking database, and to opt-in to the Social Sciences Emergency Support Network, Sonar-Global requests that you provide your professional information as well as training and contact information (not all fields are mandatory).

This database is in conformity with EU regulation on ethics and personal data protection and management. It is open to all members of the Sonar-Global Platform, subscribed on a voluntary basis. All participants must follow an opt-in process. Your rights to access and alter your collected personal data and to withdraw your consent to participate are respected.

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to access, rectify, and delete your personal data. You can exercise these rights at any time by contacting us at:

Contact details

Post : 25-28 Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, Paris, Ile de France, 75015, FR

Email : sonarglobal.project@gmail.com

Below is additional information on your rights:

• The Sonar-Global website and platform and all data contained, including personal data, are hosted on a secure server located in the EU.
• Consultation of your provided data will be possible for both EU and non-EU country research institutions, centers, national authorities, which are members of the Sonar-Global Platform.
• In order for the data collection and processing to occur, you must read this information notice and tick the informed consent checkboxes at the moment of the online subscription, then explicitly request to join the Sonar-Global Platform.
• We respect your rights to access, rectify, or oppose collected personal data or to withdraw from the database altogether. Simply log in to your profile where you can withdraw and permanently erase or edit your data.
• Data integrity, portability, back-up measures and security measures for data transfer through encryption are conducted, where necessary.
• Data will be kept fifteen years after the completion of the Sonar-Cities project.

The Sonar-Global Association is responsible for declaring the database to the relevant European regulatory authorities for personal data and to other committees according to country or regional regulations.

We collect and provide information on EU and non-EU individual participants and institutions. The database includes participants from low resource countries. To promote equity, information is provided on an open basis to low resource participants and countries, with priority given to web technology that can be used in regions with low connectivity.

Changes to how we store your personal data

On 20/12/2022, the Sonar Global project became an Association, hosted by Institut Pasteur. Following the successful application for a Horizon Europe grant for the project Sonar-Cities (Grant ID 101168315), the Sonar Global Association became an affiliated entity in this project, coordinated by Institut Pasteur.

As part of the Sonar Cities project, a Data Sharing Agreement has been produced to govern the non-pseudonymised data shared between the Sonar Global Association and the Institut Pasteur, in the aim of maintaining the Sonar Global Directory, and developing the Social Sciences Emergency Support Network.

The location of your data will remain the same, stored securely on a MySQL database belonging to the Sonar Global Association. Due to the Data Sharing Agreement, allocated persons from Institut Pasteur will also have access to your data, through a password-protected interface. This is to allow for collaboration within the framework of coordination of the project Sonar-Cities. Your data will not be shared with any third parties without your consent.

What information we collect, use, and why

Based on the information you provide, we collect or use the following information to provide services (the Sonar-Global Directory and the Social Sciences Emergency Support Network), and for research and archiving purposes:

• Name and surname
• Email address
• Membership status (Association / Association and Emergency network)
• Social media handles
• Gender
• Country of residence
• Languages spoken
• Years of professional experience
• Level of education
• Specific training needs
• Areas of professional expertise
• Professional experience in disaster context
• Regions of professional experience
• Current professional status
• Professional field
• Professional entity
• Interests and preferences
• Profile photograph (if provided by user)

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Under European data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below:

• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with.
• Your right to rectification– You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Your right to erasure– You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information.
• Your right to restriction of processing– You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information.
• Your right to object to processing– You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
• Your right to data portability– You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you.
• Your right to withdraw consent– When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and, in any event, within one month.

To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information are:

• Consent – we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation, or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
  • In alignment with the Horizon Europe project Sonar-Cities, funded by the European Commission (Grant agreement ID: 101168315), the personal information collected here is done so with the objective of creating the Social Sciences Cross-National Emergency Support Network by building on the existing Sonar-Global network to support governments and partners in countries confronted with actual or potential disasters and health crises. The networks will offer social sciences-based knowledge, tools and training support to relevant crisis support structures experiencing disasters or health emergencies. The processing of the personal data entered by individuals is necessary to constitute an active network of professionals with crisis experience which can be mobilised for the following activities: practical guidance concerning generic and/or more contextual best practices; relevant findings or specific tools; facilitation of support between national contact persons/coordinators.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

• Public task – we have to collect or use your information to carry out a task laid down in law, which the law (in the context of the Horizon Europe project Sonar-Cities) intends to be performed by an organisation such as ours. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure and the right to portability.

Where we get personal information from

Directly from you, through the responses you give to the questionnaire produced by the Sonar Global Association.

How long we keep information

Data will be kept fifteen years after the completion of the Sonar-Cities project. For more information on how long we store your personal information or the criteria we use to determine this please contact us using the details provided above.

Who we share information with

Data processors

We store your personal data securely in a MySQL database managed by the Sonar-Global Association. In the case where Institut Pasteur becomes data processor, the processor acts only on the instructions of the Sonar-Global Association and implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure your data is protected against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Others we share personal information with

• Other relevant third parties:
  • The database can be accessed through password-protected access by relevant actors, organisations and institutions seeking individuals’ expertise in a particular domain of infectious threats.

Sharing information outside Europe

While your personal data is stored within the European Economic Area (EEA), it may be accessed and extracted by authorised users located outside the EEA (research institutions, centers, national authorities). In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, and strict access controls and confidentiality obligations. For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the CNIL.

Last updated

27.10.2025

Cookies

Online platforms (websites and applications) use cookies to manage their services. The only cookie we currently use for Sonar-Global is Google Analytics, a marketing analytics and measurement program to collect basic data on website usage. This utility uses cookies stored in the user computer or mobile phone. This information is usually transmitted to a Google server in the US, where it is stored. Recorded anonymous data can then be transmitted by Google to third parties, provided this is legally required or third parties process this data on behalf of Google. Google respects the provisions of the agreement “safe harbor” or “Safe Harbor” signed by the Department of US trade. It is possible at any time, to prevent the collection and recording of data with prospective effect. “Opt-out cookies” tools are available online, such as http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp or http://adtelligence.com/de/opt-out/.