Mydex CIC case study: Fair Data Company Certification
Why did you have an interest in gaining the Fair Data accreditation?
Trust is vital between individuals and organisations. How our information is used, protected and managed is central to that trust. Mydex CIC is a Community Interest Company committed to empowering individuals to manage their lives better through deriving value from their personal data.
We have built a Trust Framework and platform that allows individuals to manage their personal data and their relationships with organisations they work with and who use their personal data in a variety of ways. A large part of this is being able to access their personal data, organise it, make sure it’s accurate and share it with those that need it. This needs a connection between the organisation and the individual that lets them easily see what information is held, what it’s being used for and to make it easy to keep it accurate.
In most cases it has been large organisations, big brands, third sector organisations, the public sector including both central and local government that generate and consume large amounts of data about us as individuals. Increasingly we are also generating a lot of data ourselves as a byproduct of daily living. This is really valuable data that many organisations want access to.
Trust is essential but all too often convenience trumps trust as people are time pressured and cannot easily understand who they can trust. Fair Data is one such external indicator of trust as is ISO27001.
Mydex as a Trust Framework working with individuals and organisations wanted to demonstrate that trust and show how something like Fair Data and the Mydex Trust Framework together make it possible for trust to be visible and easily understood.
How did you find the process of becoming accredited, specifically the advisory visit and audit?
The process was very straightforward. It allowed us to talk about who we are and what we do in the context of Fair Data. It was thought provoking as it gave us a different perspective on some aspects of the work we do and helped us understand the organisations that are connecting to our platform and how we could help them more, especially in terms of living the ten principles fully.
The independent auditor engagement was very valuable in the same way as ISO27001 audits are and continue to be. We knew this was the start of an ongoing programme of work and the interest and knowledge of the auditor was a vital part of the experience.
The independent assessment and review by the Fair Data board also added significance to the process for us. We really wanted to secure the Fair Data Certification. We feel it is important and we also wanted to promote Fair Data. Being one of the vanguard organisations also demonstrates our commitment to the principles it stands for.
It was an investment in time and thought but it has already delivered returns and improvements to us.
We were particularly proud to be awarded the double honour of being the first certified Fair Data enabler.
Why do you feel it is important for Mydex to be accredited?
Mydex is a Community Interest Company. It is asset locked. It serves individuals by helping them manage their lives more effectively through provision of tools and services that let them collect, accumulate, organise, analyse and share the data about their lives — whether this is data that organisations hold about them, that they generate themselves or is generated around them by daily living. In short we are different and we focus on trust. Fair Data is an important external indicator of that difference and trust.
Personal data is valuable and personal control over personal data requires transparency and trust. Our mission as a Community Interest Company and operator of a Trust Framework and secure platform is to demonstrate that trust transparently. Certification as a Fair Data Company and the first Certified Fair Data enabler is an important external measure of trust as is our ISO27001 certification for information security management.
There are lots of organisations that say “you can trust us” but they don’t go as far as to prove it via external certification or by creating the right legal frameworks to build that trust into the fabric of their organisation and so it is transparent for all to see. Fair Data is an important external measure.
Do you feel that the Fair Data accreditation has helped Mydex in any way?
It is early days as we were certified in July 2014 but there has been a lot of interest from the public, private and third sector already which we are delighted about.
Everyone is wrestling with managing privacy, consent and management of personal data and relationships with their citizens, customers, members and stakeholders. Being able to demonstrate that you take it seriously by secure Fair Data certification and connecting to a service like Mydex can be a major step in the right direction.
Individuals and organisations want to trust each other. They want seamless processes, convenience and ease of use, which they can only experience when information flows securely as part of business processes and customer journeys within an organisation and across organisational boundaries. To make that happen needs active participation and consent from individuals, which means they need to understand what information is being used for, have confidence that it is being managed properly and have the ability to control that process easily. Mydex makes that possible and we believe organisations signed up to and certified as Fair Data organisations are acknowledging and understanding these basic needs and acting accordingly.
We expect to be helping a lot of organisations achieve Fair Data certification through provision of secure connections to our platform so they can securely engage with their customers, manage consent, permission and data sharing transparently and securely.
Do you feel it is important that other organisations look at becoming accredited?
We think it is essential. Trust online, and in dealings between individuals and organisations, is moving at increasing speed all the time. External verification of trust and commitment to principles and standards are important.
There is a lot of work underway in this area such as the Information Commissioner work on Privacy Seals, the Open Identity Exchange work on Trust Marks and verified data (attribute) exchange. Another example is the UK Government Identity Assurance programme which requires tScheme approval and ISO27001 certification to be an identity provider (Mydex is one of five current identity providers). All are examples of the increasing demand for independent assessments of trust that people can understand and believe in.
Fair Data has taken a central position in this arena. It is active, it is independent and it embodies the aspirations of all those committed to supporting a world in which respect for the individual is assured and personal control over personal data is good for everyone. Fair Data makes it possible to see who believes that and is prepared to stand up and be counted.
Fair Data
Fair Data is an accreditation launched in January 2013 by The Market Research Society to show which companies handle their customers’ personal data fairly. A Fair Data company must adhere to the 10 Fair Data principles.
The Marketing Research Society
The Market Research Society (MRS) is the world’s leading research association for all those who need, use, generate or interpret the evidence essential to making good decisions for commercial and public policy.
The quality standards, suitability and sustainability of evidence is important because evidence matters to decision makers.
MRS is dedicated to the support, promotion and enrichment of the research and business world.
With members in more than 60 countries, MRS is the world’s largest research association serving all those with professional equity in provision or use of market, social and opinion research, and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy.
Emma Molton
emolton@camarguepr.com
+44 (0) 20 7636 7366
Laura Pattie
lpattie@camarguepr.com
+44 (0) 20 7636 7366
