Privacy & Legal Notice

Privacy notice

The SPECS consortium is committed to protecting your privacy. When personal data are processed, the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR) are observed. This privacy notice explains what personal data are collected, why, how they are used, and your rights.

Data controller

For personal data processed through this website (newsletter subscriptions, contact requests, social media interactions and similar), the data controller is the European Federation of Geologists (EFG), acting as Communication and Dissemination Lead of the SPECS consortium and operator of the website infrastructure and social media channels.

For project-level personal data processed in the framework of consortium operations and reporting (e.g. partner contacts, contractual data), IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), as Project Coordinator, acts as the controller. The two organisations cooperate closely and may, depending on the activity, act as joint controllers within the meaning of Article 26 GDPR.

What personal data we collect

We may collect personal data about you in the following situations:

• Newsletter subscription (when launched) — name and email address.
• Event registration — name, email address, organisation, and any other information you provide when registering for a SPECS event (workshop, webinar, conference).
• Contact requests — name, email address, and the content of your message when you contact us through the website or by email.
• Surveys and feedback — any information you voluntarily provide.
• Strictly necessary website data — minimal technical information (such as IP address) used solely to operate and secure the website. No analytics cookies are currently set.

Why we collect personal data — purposes and legal bases

Purpose	Legal basis (GDPR)
Sending the SPECS newsletter	Your consent — Art. 6(1)(a)
Managing your registration to a SPECS event	Performance of a request you made — Art. 6(1)(b)
Responding to your contact request	Legitimate interest — Art. 6(1)(f), or your consent
Conducting surveys and collecting feedback	Your consent — Art. 6(1)(a)
Operating and securing the website	Legitimate interest — Art. 6(1)(f)
Compliance with reporting and audit obligations under the Horizon Europe Grant Agreement	Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c)

How long we keep your personal data

• Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe, or up to 24 months after the end of the project, whichever comes first.
• Event registration data — up to 12 months after the event, then deleted or fully anonymised.
• Contact request correspondence — up to 24 months after the last interaction.
• Survey and feedback data — anonymised as soon as practicable, and at the latest at the end of the project.
• Records required for Horizon Europe audit purposes — kept for the period required by the Grant Agreement (typically up to 5 years after the final payment).

Who has access to your personal data

Your personal data are accessed only by:

• Authorised staff of EFG (for website and communication operations) and IFPEN (for project coordination).
• Service providers acting as data processors on our behalf, under written data-processing agreements (Art. 28 GDPR), namely:
  • ICDSoft — website hosting (data centre located in the European Union).
  • Newsletter platform — to be confirmed before the newsletter sign-up goes live; this notice will be updated accordingly.
• Authorised staff of the European Commission and its agencies (notably CINEA), where required for reporting, monitoring or audit purposes under the Grant Agreement.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share them with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

International data transfers

Personal data collected through this website are processed within the European Union / European Economic Area. We do not transfer your personal data to countries outside the EU/EEA. Should this change in the future (for example through the choice of a non-EEA newsletter platform), this notice will be updated and appropriate safeguards under Chapter V of the GDPR will be put in place.

Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you (Art. 15);
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal data (Art. 16);
• Erase your personal data (Art. 17);
• Restrict processing of your personal data (Art. 18);
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format (Art. 20);
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest (Art. 21);
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent (Art. 7(3)) — without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal;
• Not be subject to automated individual decision-making, including profiling (Art. 22). SPECS does not carry out automated decision-making or profiling.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@specsproject.eu. There is no charge for handling such requests, unless they are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority:

• For website and communication-related processing handled by EFG (Belgium) — the Autorité de Protection des Données / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (APD/GBA) — www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be.
• For coordination-related processing handled by IFPEN (France) — the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) — www.cnil.fr.
• You may also lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority of your country of residence.

Is providing your personal data mandatory?

Providing personal data through this website is always voluntary. However, certain services (such as the newsletter or event registration) cannot be delivered without the relevant data.

Accessibility statement

Our commitment

The SPECS consortium is committed to making this website accessible in line with the principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA, as a target conformance level. Accessibility is part of our wider commitment to inclusive communication, set out in Task 7.2 of the SPECS Grant Agreement.

What we do to be accessible

• Use semantic HTML structure with proper headings, landmarks and lists.
• Provide descriptive text alternatives for informative images and logos.
• Ensure sufficient colour contrast between text and background.
• Support keyboard navigation, including a “Skip to main content” link.
• Use a responsive layout that adapts to mobile, tablet and desktop screen sizes.
• Avoid auto-playing media and intrusive animation.

Known limitations

This is the first iteration of the SPECS website. Some content (PDF deliverables, embedded illustrations) may not yet be fully optimised for assistive technologies. The forthcoming full project website, expected later in the project, will undergo a more detailed accessibility review.

Reporting an accessibility issue

If you encounter any accessibility barrier on this website, or need information in an alternative format, please contact us at pavlos.tyrologou@eurogeologists.eu. We aim to respond within 15 working days.