Data protection for grant applicants

The Cancer Foundation processes personal data to process grant applications and awarded grants, to communicate awarded grants, to control the use of grants, to communicate with you, to pay the grants and to send out newsletters. The processing of personal data is based on the legitimate interest of the Cancer Foundation (EU General Data Protection Regulation, Article 6 (1) (f)). At your request, the Cancer Foundation can justify why the processing of personal data is in the legitimate interest of the Cancer Foundation for this purpose. The legal basis for the accounting related to the payment of the grant is compliance with the controller’s statutory obligation (GDPR Article 6 (1) (c), Finnish Accounting Act (1336/1997)). Newsletters are sent out based on your consent (GDPR Article 6 (1) (a)).

You will be obliged to provide the following personal data: name, academic qualification, occupation/position, gender, year of birth, addresses, telephone number, email address, and the names, academic qualifications and occupations/positions of possible research team members. Grantees are asked to provide their personal identity code, banking details and related party affiliations. Research grant recipients are also asked to provide their ORCID ID. The data that are processed when paying grants include the name of the grantee, the grantee’s bank connection and the amount to be paid.

The data you provide to the Cancer Foundation are only handled by personnel who are entitled to do so by virtue of their work. The handlers are bound by professional secrecy.

Your personal data will be handed over to experts who have been tasked with reviewing your application. Your personal data will be stored in the grant application database for a maximum of ten years. Supporting accounting documents are stored for six years from the end of the financial year. The accounts are stored for ten years from the end of the financial year. Non-electronic material is stored in locked and technically access-controlled areas. Access to the register is restricted to designated persons. Applicants’ linkage to the online service is protected by SSL encryption. Datalink Oy takes care of the technical design, implementation and maintenance of the online grant application system.

Personal data concerning awarded grants are disclosed to authorities as required by law. The Cancer Foundation is obliged to process personal identity codes when notifying grants to the Tax Administration and the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Mela), which is also the pension institution for grant and scholarship recipients. Datalink Oy will transfer the name and ORCID ID of the grantee or the project’s contact person, together with other project information, for permanent preservation in the Research Information Hub of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Datalink Oy will create a CAN ID for research grant recipients so that they can report on their research results through Researchfish, a British platform run by Elsevier (Amsterdam). The Cancer Foundation will transfer the title, name and email address of the grantee to the platform, along with other project information. All data on the platform are stored in an Amazon Cloud (Ireland) indefinitely. Personal data on grantees may be processed outside the EU/EEA in Britain. The European Commission has adopted a decision on the adequacy of the protection of personal data in Britain. Personal data is not transferred to any other third country.

Grants are paid through the financial management system maintained by the Cancer Society of Finland. Personal data related to the payment of grants are also processed by Heeros Oyj.

You have the right to

• withdraw your consent (concerning newsletters)
• access your personal data
• correct your personal data
• delete your personal data (not in paying grants)
• restrict the processing of your personal data
• object to the processing of your personal data(not in newsletters or in paying grants).

Exercising the last three of these rights could result in failure to have your grant awarded or paid. You can exercise your rights with respect to the above firstly by emailing Jarmo Wahlfors: firstname.lastname(at)cancer.fi. The Cancer Foundation will send the replies by registered letter to the address you have provided.

You also have the right to file a complaint concerning a breach of the Data Protection Regulation with the supervisory authority: Data Protection Ombudsman, Po Box 800, FI-00521 Helsinki, street address: Ratapihantie 9, 6th floor, Helsinki, telephone (switchboard): +358 295 666 700, email: tietosuoja(at)om.fi.

When processing your personal data, no automatic decision-making or profiling is performed. Cookies will not be linked to personal data.

Controller: Cancer Foundation Finland

Contact person: Jarmo Wahlfors, firstname.lastname(at)cancer.fi, tel. +358 50 410 1456, Cancer Foundation Finland, Unioninkatu 22, Helsinki.

Data Protection Officer: Tapio Luostarinen, tietosuojavastaava(at)cancer.fi, tel. +358 50 464 7028, Unioninkatu 22, FI-00130 Helsinki.

On the right to object to processing of personal data

You have the right to object to the processing of personal data based on the Cancer Foundation’s legitimate interest for the following purposes: to process grant applications and awarded grants, to communicate awarded grants, to control the use of grants and to communicate with you. The right to object refers to a request not to process your personal data at all for a specific purpose. Exercising this right could result in failure to have your grant awarded or paid. You can exercise your right to object to the processing firstly by emailing Jarmo Wahlfors: firstname.lastname(at)cancer.fi. The Cancer Foundation will send the replies by registered letter to the address you have provided.