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Alma Economics - Terms of Participation

Your views on the distribution of funding and resources for culture and heritage –terms of participation

Participant Information Sheet

What is the purpose of the study?

We have been commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to understand how people think funding and resources for culture and heritage should be fairly distributed across different places within the UK and groups in society. We will use the insights from these focus groups to develop further research to understand people’s preferences for the fair distribution of funding and resources in the culture and heritage sector.

Do I have to take part?

It is up to you and you alone whether you wish to take part. If you do decide to take part you can still choose not to answer any questions you do not want to and you will be free to withdraw at any time without providing a reason.

What would I be required to do?

You have been invited to take part in a focus group discussion with other members of the general public. The focus group will last around 90 minutes. We will encourage you to share your views on funding and resources for the culture and heritage sector and constructively discuss this with others who may hold similar or different views to you.

The discussion will be moderated by a member of our research team who will ensure the discussion focuses on what we would like to discuss and ensure everyone has a chance to share their views. The topics we would like you to discuss include: 

What fairness looks like for distributing funding and resources in culture and heritage

Who (if anyone) should be prioritised

Which places (if any) should be prioritised

What is important to consider when thinking about the fair distribution of funding and resources

Everyone who participates in the focus group will receive £45 as a thank you for their time. 

Will others know I have participated in this research?

Your participation will be confidential, and your personal information will not appear on any published material. If we choose to quote what you say or refer to any examples you mention, we will not use your real name. Quotes and examples will be further edited where needed to remove information that could identify you. 

Informed consent

It is important that you are able to give your informed consent before taking part in this study and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions in relation to the research before you sign the participant consent form.

What should I do if I have concerns about this study?

Please contact the Project Oversight for this study Lawrence Newland at [email protected]. 

Contact details

For any communication other than concerns, please contact the Project Lead for this study Rob Dutfield at [email protected]. 

Privacy Notice

What is personal data?

Personal data is defined under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person’.  

What personal data will you be collecting from me as part of this research?

For the purpose of the focus groups, Alma Economics will collect the following personal information (also known as ‘personal data’) about you:

Your name

Your age

Your gender

Information about where you live, including:

nation/region

area type (urban/rural)

where your area is on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

Video and audio recordings of the focus groups (including participants’ faces and voices)

Your caring responsibilities

We will also collect personal information that is considered special category data under UK GDPR. For this study, this includes:

Your ethnicity

Whether or not you have a disability or long term health condition

We collect this information to ensure the study includes a diverse range of participants. This will help us understand to what extent preferences for how funding and resources should be distributed vary based on these characteristics.

Under UK GDPR, the lawful basis we rely on for processing this information is your consent. This includes agreeing to the collection and use of special category data (ethnicity and disability/long-term health conditions) for the purposes of this research. You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting the Project Lead for this study Rob Dutfield at [email protected].

How will my data be stored, for what period and who will have access to it?

Your personal data, including special category data such as your ethnicity and whether you have a disability or long-term health condition, will be stored securely electronically. This information will only be accessible to members of the research team who need it for recruitment, sampling, and analysis purposes.

All of our computers use full disk encryption. This ensures that the whole disk will remain unreadable in case of accidental loss or theft. If we destroy the data, the full disk encryption means any retrieved deleted files are unreadable.

Your personal data, including special category data, will be deleted six months after the completion of the research project. Your anonymised data (which does not contain any personal information about you) may be retained indefinitely and used for any legitimate purpose in future.

For more information about Alma Economics IT & Data Security Policy please send an email to: [email protected].

How will you use and in what form will you share my data?

The data you share will be used to inform the research, which will result in a report shared with DCMS.  

Your participation will be entirely confidential. This means that your personal information will not appear on any published material and it will not be possible for someone to identify you by reading the report. If we choose to directly quote part of your response or refer to any examples you mention, we will not use your real name. Quotes and examples will be further edited where needed to remove information that could identify you.  

We will record audio and video from the focus group. This will be used to assist with note taking only and will not be used for any other purposes. 

What are my rights regarding the data I provide?

You have several rights under UK GDPR, including the right to request access to and/ or to withdraw your personal data for the period we hold it (i.e. before it is destroyed). Please note that if your data is anonymised, we will not be able to withdraw it, because we will not know which data is yours.

You can read all of your rights under UK GDPR here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/data-sharing/data-sharing-a-code-of-practice/the-rights-of-individuals/

Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for explicitly addressing all matters relating to GDPR. Our security policies are compliant with GDPR and we have ready-to-use protocols for participants wanting to access or delete data and for data breaches. For more information, you can contact our DPO (Evan Spyropoulos) by sending an email to: [email protected].

What if I have concerns about how my data is being handled?

If you have concerns on how we have processed your personal data, you can contact the Project Oversight for this study Lawrence Newland at [email protected]. 

You also have the right to raise any concerns you have with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or another data protection regulator.

You can find details about how to contact ICO at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/contact-us-public/.

Participant Consent Form

Please consider the following points before signing this form and ask the researcher(s) any outstanding questions you may be having before the research begins. Adding your name in this form confirms that you are willing to participate in this project. You are free to withdraw your participation at any time without providing a reason.

Statement
I understand that my participation is entirely voluntary and that I can withdraw from the study at any time without giving an explanation.	Yes No
I give my explicit consent for Alma Economics to collect and use the personal data, including special category personal data, outlined in the privacy notice for this research.	Yes No
I understand that I will be able to withdraw my data before March 2026 and I understand that if my data has been anonymised, it cannot be withdrawn.	Yes No
I agree to being quoted in relevant research outputs without my real name being used.	Yes No
I understand that the focus group will take place via an online video platform and that the session will be recording both audio and video.	Yes No
I agree to take part in the above research.	Yes No

I confirm that I am willing to take part in this research

November 12, 2025

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October 29, 2025 12:20 pm GMT

Alma Economics - Terms of Participation Uploaded by Georgie Chaffey - [email protected] IP 82.148.32.25

October 29, 2025 12:27 pm GMT

Take Part - [email protected] added by Georgie Chaffey - [email protected] as a CC'd Recipient Ip: 82.148.32.25