Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

VAND (“we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website, use our assessment and award services, or communicate with us.

2. Information we collect

We collect information you provide directly, such as your name, email address, project title, design discipline, project description and any images or files you upload. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address and profile information in accordance with the scopes you approve.

We also collect technical information automatically, including your IP address, browser type, device information and pages visited, to help us operate and improve the service.

3. How we use your information

• To provide, operate and improve our assessment and award services.
• To communicate with you about your submission, results and related opportunities.
• To verify eligibility, prevent fraud and enforce our Terms of Service.
• To analyse usage trends and improve the user experience.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data on the basis of your consent, the performance of a contract with you, compliance with legal obligations, and our legitimate interests in operating and improving the service.

5. How we share your information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with trusted service providers who help us host, secure and operate the platform, and only to the extent necessary for them to perform those services. We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights.

6. Data retention

We keep your information for as long as necessary to provide the service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us.

7. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict processing of your personal data, and to object to or withdraw consent for certain processing. To exercise these rights, contact us at the address below.

8. Security

We use industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your information. No online service can be guaranteed completely secure, so please help keep your account safe by using a strong password and signing out on shared devices.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session, remember preferences and understand how the service is used. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version on this page and update the “Last updated” date. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at info@vand.org.