Kent Analytics: Use of MAXQDA AI Premium and Tailwind for Qualitative Data Analysis privacy notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated on 29 October 2025.

Kent County Council (KCC) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.  This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Who we are

We collect, use and are responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018.  We are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information. This privacy notice explains how we collect, use and protect personal data when using MAXQDA Software with AI Premium and MAXQDA Tailwind to support qualitative data analysis in evaluation and improvement projects.

Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

The personal information we collect

Information collected by us

In the course of evaluation we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

• Personal data (e.g. views and experiences of service users, staff, and stakeholders).

We also obtain personal information from other sources as follows:

• Service units within KCC, KCC staff and directly from KCC residents through interviews, surveys and internal records.

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information for:

• statistical research and qualitative analysis to generate insights that inform service improvement, policy development, and strategic planning.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

We rely on Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR – performance of a task carried out in the public interest, as the lawful basis for processing personal data.

How long your personal data will be kept

Data will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the evaluation purpose, in accordance with our retention schedule. AI-processed data is deleted from external servers within 30 days.

Who we share your personal information with

Personal data will only be accessed by authorised KCC staff and, where necessary, by commissioned evaluators under appropriate agreements. Data will not be shared with third parties for marketing or commercial purposes.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings.

We transfer your data to Europe. This is based on an adequacy decision by the Secretary of State/safeguards prescribed by the UK GDPR.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

• know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
• ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
• ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
• object to direct marketing
• make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
• withdraw consent at any time (if applicable)

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

• ask us to delete information we hold about you
• have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
• object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
• object to how we are using your information
• stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request. However, we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under GDPR.

If you would like to exercise a right, contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Contact

Contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can also contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at:

UK GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with Information Commissioner, who may be contacted via the Information Commissioner's website or call 03031 231113.

Read our corporate privacy statement.