As part of the University’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) preparedness activities, an exercise to capture and document processes involving the use of personal data was undertaken between February and May of this year. The response and engagement across the University was excellent, with almost one thousand responses submitted.

Since then, the Data Protection & Freedom of Information Office (DP&FOI Office) team has been conducting a high-level review (on a College by College and Service by Service basis) of submissions to identify gaps in coverage and areas of concern. To manage the number of submissions the DP&FOI Office team has also been working with colleagues within Planning & Business Intelligence to develop an online Information Asset Register (IAR) and to import the existing submissions into this new system.

The online IAR was launched on Monday 12 November and will allow information asset owners (and their delegates) to monitor, create, maintain and manage their returns in a much more intuitive and user-friendly environment. It will support version control of returns, create an audit trail and facilitate email contact between users and the DP&FOI Office team directly from the system. The new platform will also allow returns to be shared between colleagues and can be exported via email.

The University is required under the GDPR to maintain a record of all processing activities which must be made available to the Information Commissioner, on request. The online IAR will enable the University to meet this obligation and to manage the challenges arising from its size and the complexity of its information. In addition, it will provide an online repository for colleagues where associated documentation such as privacy notices, retention schedules, consent statements and privacy impact assessments can be stored and accessed.

Now that the online IAR is available, staff from the DP&FOI Office will be in touch with information owners to provide feedback and further guidance on submitted returns. The new online system can be accessed via the DP&FOI Office webpages and a video has been produced to guide staff through the process of creating and editing a return.
For further information, please contact dp-iar@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 12 November 2018

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