Terms and conditions

Introduction and purpose of the Essex Residents’ Panel

Over the course of the next 3 years, Beehive Research Limited is working with Essex County Council (ECC) to create an online research panel of Essex residents. The Panel will be a representative group of Essex residents who will be asked to provide their views and opinions on various subjects.

The feedback provided through these research studies will feed into the wider plans within ECC.

Role of Panel members

  • The panel will be an opportunity for its members to have their voices heard at senior level within the Essex County Council.
  • Panel members will work in partnership with Beehive and Essex County Council to provide feedback and opinion on current and future issues that will impact how ECC and partner organisations provide services to the community.
  • Panel members will register their interest in taking part in research studies over the time of their membership, subject to the following terms.
Privacy and Confidentiality
  • With respect to your privacy, Beehive will process (collect, store and use) all information you provide (personal or other), on behalf of ECC, for the purposes of market research and analysis, and in a manner compatible with GDPR and ECC's Privacy Policy.
  • We will endeavour to keep your information accurate and up to date and will only keep your information for as long as you remain a valid member of the Panel.
  • Your personal information will be used:
    • to invite you to take part in research projects
    • to administer the Panel and to deliver relevant research surveys to you
    • to segment and analyse your surveys responses
    • to answer questions you may have as a member of the Panel
    • to confirm you are a genuine resident of Essex, thus an eligible member of the Panel
    • to answer any data subject requests from yourself or via ECC
    • whenever applicable, to administer any prize draws
    • for general communication with you relating to the Panel, such as a newsletter
  • Your personal information will:
    • NOT be used for advertising, marketing or other solicitations not related to the purpose of conducting market research for ECC
    • NOT be published in public documents without specific written consent
    • NOT be passed to any third-parties for their own promotional purposes
  • Your personal information is securely stored on servers in the UK and security measures are in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Only certain employees have access to the information you provide us. They have access for data analysis and quality control purposes only.
  • The answers you provide to surveys remain anonymous unless you specifically give your consent to the contrary and are only analysed along with all the other respondent answers. This information may be aggregated at postcode or other levels for the building of statistical and analytical tables.
  • Unsubscribing from the Panel. If you change your mind and you no longer wish to be a member of the Residents’ Panel, there are several ways to unsubscribe:
    • click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email invitation to unsubscribe
    • send an email to EssexResidentsPanel@BeehiveResearch.co.uk from the email address you used to register to the Panel with and include ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line
    • send a letter to Essex Residents’ Panel, c/o Beehive Research Ltd, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SE1 8HP, clearly stating that you wish to unsubscribe from the Panel including the email address you used to register to the Panel with. (Please note that this form of unsubscribe will be reliant upon postal services and may take up to 28 days from the point of receipt by Beehive).

Please note that when unsubscribing from the Panel you are only unsubscribing to membership of the Panel and you will no longer receive survey invitations.

General Terms of Membership

  • Membership of the panel will be limited to adults (18 yrs +) who reside within the ECC catchment area (excluding Southend and Thurrock).
  • The Panel will be open to all Essex Residents who complete the online registration form. When registering, some personal information about you and your household will be collected in order that we can send you invitations to take part in research surveys or interviews.
  • Members will be, from time to time, asked to check and update their personal and household information to keep it up to date
  • Panel members will always be expected to behave in a responsible manner; to be as accurate as possible in their response to research questions; and not to provide any inappropriate, malicious, or defamatory content.
  • ECC will reserve the right to remove membership from any member who, in their sole opinion, breach any of the terms of membership and will not be required to enter correspondence with the member. And, although there is no obligation to take part in any studies, ECC will also reserve the right to remove membership from any member who:
    • does not take part in any study within a 12-month period
    • has not updated their personal information within a 12-month period

Participating in research studies

  • Research studies will predominantly be conducted online, however there may be occasions where ECC or Beehive may wish to engage with Panel members by telephone, face-to-face focus groups, or one-to-one interviews, or other similar research methodologies.
  • As with all forms of market and opinion research, your participation is always voluntary. Panel members have no obligation to take part in every study and may choose the ones they wish to take part in.
  • Members may at any stage of the interview, or subsequently, ask that part or all of the record of your interview is destroyed or deleted. Wherever reasonable and practical we shall carry out such a request.
  • Any answers you give to any survey will remain confidential unless you specifically give your consent to the contrary. No personal information is collected during any survey without your prior knowledge and consent.
  • Each quarter, all residents who register for the Residents’ Panel during the quarter are entered into a quarterly free prize draw.
  • For each qualifying study that a Panel member provides a fully complete response, they will be entered into a prize draw. The exact terms of each prize draw will be published in the invitation to each qualifying research study.

Conflict of interests

  • Forum members should make a member of Beehive staff aware if they feel they are involved in anything which might either have an effect on the Panel purpose, or be seen as a conflict of interest
  • Areas that should be declared may include, a financial, business or commercial interest in any organisations that may benefit from any decisions made
  • A personal relationship with anyone who may benefit from any decisions made

Annual Review

  • These terms of reference are subject to an annual review