The Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map Privacy Statement
Notice Of Collection of Organizational Information
Information pertaining to organizations or business ventures submitted to the Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map by a Black-led / Black-owned business, commercial venture, non-profit / charity, social enterprise, upcoming Black entrepreneurs, representative of a governmental or financial institution or other individual is collected in accordance with sections 1, 10 and 43 of Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. It is intended to be used for the purposes of collecting business and organizational information to build a database of Black owned businesses and organizations and Black serving governmental and financial institutions with the aim of documenting the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem space.
The BEEM may collect the minimum amount of Organizational Information about a Black-led / Black-owned business, commercial venture, non-profit / charity, social enterprise, upcoming Black entrepreneurs, representative of a governmental or financial institution or other individual that is publicly available on the internet, on social media or in any other medium and that is necessary for the BEEM’s needs and for the smooth administration or discharge of its functions or lawful activities, including without limitation:
- planning, review or delivery of programs or services.
- research and statistical activities; and
- compliance with policies, procedures, and regulations.
Questions by an individual regarding the collection and use of their own Organizational Information in a particular instance should be addressed to the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub General in writing by email at bekh@carleton.ca or directly to the BEEM Administrator at ecosystem.bekh@carleton.ca.
The Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map Privacy Statement
Introduction
Welcome to the website for the Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map project (“BEEM”). By accessing this website (the “website”), you (“you” or “user”) agree to the following terms and conditions. Detailed below are the principles that are considered for privacy, accountability, and retention of use of your information under this policy.
Identifying Purpose and Limiting Collection
The BEEM is designed around a default profile that includes such information as organization name, province of operation, mode of service/product delivery, organizational contact information, address, business activity tags, ownership of organization and the type of organization. A second optional form collects information pertaining to the size of the organization, the number of employees, the year of establishment, a description of the goods and services offered or sold, the procurement access codes where applicable, the corporate social responsibility of the organization as applicable and the names of other organizations and businesses connected to or collaborated with your business or organization. We collect this information through a self initiated process of account creation and then followed up by form fields of the default profile and finally the detailed profile. Your input on the map will help build a community of all Black-led / Black-owned businesses, commercial ventures, non-profits, social enterprises and upcoming Black entrepreneurs. We are collecting information about your business and your services that will be made public with a nation-wide reach. The detailed notice of information privacy notice can be accessed here.
Use of Website and Disclosure
Purpose: Our content is intended for research, education, professional development, networking, and resource sharing among academics, journalists, policymakers, and members of the public. We collect information only through the self-initiated account creation process and consequent default and detailed profile forms. We collect and use this information only for purposes that are considered appropriate and in governance with sections 1, 10 and 43 of Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and with consent of the user. Information collected through these forms will not be used beyond stated purposes without additional explicit, prior informed consent.
Content and Intellectual Property
Ownership: Content on this website is copyright-protected and owned by, or licensed to, the members of BEEM or Carleton University. This includes texts, images, logos, and other materials.
Use of Content: Content is for organizational, non-commercial, educational use only including research, education, professional development, networking, and resource sharing among academics, journalists, policymakers, and members of the public. All other rights reserved.
Contributions: User-contributed content remains the intellectual property of the contributor, but the contributor grants BEEM a worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, and display the content in connection with the website.
Privacy
Data Collection: We collect minimal personal information for the purpose of account creation that is managed as described in our Privacy Policy.
Confidentiality: Personal account creation information will be kept confidential and used only for purposes related to the services provided by BEEM. Organizational Information inputted into the BEEM will be made public with a nation-wide reach.
Consent
To ensure a clear consent mechanism, the BEEM requires a self-initiated account creation to input organisational information into the map. By setting up an account on the BEEM, you consent to have your organisational information made available to a national audience. Organizational data cannot be submitted or edited data without the creation of an account. Self-initiating account creation is voluntary. Creation of an account enables you to access your own organisational information, edit and delete where necessary.
You may withdraw consent at any time without giving a reason and without cost by deleting your account and associated data. The information provided in this statement is used to record your explicit consent by agreeing to voluntarily set up an account on the BEEM.
In the very rare cases your information may be used by researchers for academic purposes, during consultations with governmental institutions or through technical updates to the information servers.
Prohibition of Automated Review
Restrictions on Automated Access: Users are prohibited from using any form of automated tool, software, or process to access, scrape, download, or otherwise extract data or content from this website. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of bots, spiders, crawlers, and scraping technologies.
Purpose of Restriction: The purpose of this prohibition is to maintain the integrity of our website, protect our proprietary content, and prevent the unauthorized use of data. It also serves to prevent the overload of our website’s infrastructure and to ensure fair access to all users.
Exceptions: Exceptions to this prohibition may be granted in specific cases at the discretion of BEEM. Requests for such exceptions must be made formally in writing and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Liability
Disclaimer: BEEM provides information on an “as is” basis without warranties of any kind. Any use of the information on the website is solely at the user’s risk. Neither BEEM nor Carleton University is liable for any, direct, indirect, or incidental damages arising from or related to the use of the website.
Limitation of Liability: BEEM and Carleton University disclaim any and all liability arising from the website. Liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Amendments
Changes to Terms: For the purposes of building community trust and in keeping with our commitment to informed consent, BEEM reserves the right to modify these terms with ample notice to our users at any time. Notice of any intended or updated changes will be communicated to users by email for awareness and opportunity to comment. Continued use of the service after ample prior notification with no communication from users about the intended or updated changes indicates acceptance of the new terms.
Governing Law
Jurisdiction: These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario. You agree that any action arising from this website, or these terms may be heard solely by the courts of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Retention
Information entered unto the map will be recorded unto the Carleton University and GCRC information servers. Data collected within the BEEM consists of information keyed in by users including emails and password information entered at the account creation stage, responses to form fields of default and detailed information, pictures, videos, and audio files as added to an existing profile. GCRC and Carleton University will be responsible for the retention of data on their respective servers until a time when the information is transferred to a separate or private server owned by the BEEM or other service provider. The term of retention of the information collected is ten years after which an archival review will be conducted. Unless a trigger is initiated by a user to permanently delete the record of information from the servers, information will be retained for a period of ten years. At the stage of archival review outdated or irrelevant information will be deleted permanently from the servers.
Accuracy
Data keyed into the map is subject to a vetting process conducted by a BEEM Administrator. After information has been vetted for completeness and accuracy, the submission is approved to be on the map. Users can correct or edit their information at any time through their account. All edits and corrections would also be vetted by the BEEM Administrator for accuracy before approval.
Safeguards
The BEEM is a platform for the use and benefit of Black-owned business owners, Black entrepreneurs and the wider public. The element of trust and confidence is one we are committed to building.
To protect the data of users, the BEEM uses a self-initiated account creation process where only registered users can access and modify their information. All information keyed into the map is screened for appropriateness before approved unto the map. Only administrative vetters are authorized to review information being entered into the map. Only systems programmers, network LAN technical staff and Global ID Administrators have privileged access to where data servers are kept and are trusted staff members of GCRC.
To ensure that users accessing information are who they say they are, the identity of any individual who accesses, uses, modifies, or disposes of the organisational information must be verified and authenticated prior to access to information being granted. This is done using passwords through the self-initiated account. The password generated is controlled and distributed in a manner which known only to the user of the user.
Only administrative vetters and trusted technical staff of GCRC have access to delete or dispose of irrelevant information after the ten-year retention period. All systems hardware and software are routinely screened and updated to ensure their functionality and to be secure from inappropriate access, accident, misappropriation, viruses and systems failure.
Methods of communication to users in the BEEM will be by email through the email used to set up the self-initiated account All data is stored on multiple servers to ensure that information is still safeguarded in the event of damage, or accidental or deliberate loss. Additional safeguards include disaster recovery safeguards that range from the use of on-site storage units to replication and duplication as well as a single off-site storage facility.
Individual Access
Unregistered users can access the information displayed on the map at any time. Only registered users with a self-initiated account can change, modify or delete their own entry keyed into the map using their account. Administrative vetters and trusted technical staff will not make any changes without prior notification.
Openness
The BEEM is committed to being an open access platform where there is no financial, accessibility or legal barrier to accessing and using the map. This map is freely available digital information online for the benefit of registered users and the general public.
Continuous to use of the website and service provided by the BEEM indicates acceptance of the terms written in this privacy notice.
Contact Information
For inquiries or concerns regarding these terms, please contact the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub General Inbox in writing by email at bekh@carleton.ca or directly to the BEEM Administrator at ecosystem.bekh@carleton.ca.