How can you maintain confidentiality and privacy when organizing a community event?

1 Assess your risks

Before you start planning your event, you need to identify what kind of information you will collect, store, and share, and what are the potential threats to its security. For example, you may need to gather personal details, such as names, emails, phone numbers, or health status, from your attendees, volunteers, or speakers. You may also need to communicate with your sponsors, donors, or media partners, and disclose some financial or strategic information. You should consider the risks of data breaches, leaks, theft, or misuse, and how they could affect your reputation, relationships, and legal obligations.

2 Choose your tools

Once you know what kind of data you need to handle, you can select the appropriate tools and platforms to manage it. You should look for options that offer encryption, password protection, access control, and backup features, and that comply with the relevant privacy laws and regulations. For example, you may use online forms, surveys, or registration systems to collect information from your participants, and cloud services, databases, or spreadsheets to store and organize it. You may also use email, messaging, or social media platforms to communicate with your stakeholders. You should review the privacy policies and terms of service of each tool, and adjust the settings to limit the exposure of your data.

3 Train your team

Another important step to maintain confidentiality and privacy is to educate your team members and volunteers about their roles and responsibilities. You should establish clear guidelines and protocols for how to access, use, and share the data, and who is authorized to do so. You should also provide training and resources on how to prevent and respond to any security incidents, such as phishing, hacking, or lost devices. You should monitor and evaluate your team's performance and compliance, and provide feedback and support as needed.

4 Inform your participants

You also need to inform your participants and other stakeholders about how you will collect, store, and use their information, and what are their rights and options. You should obtain their consent before collecting any personal or sensitive data, and explain how they can opt out, update, or delete their information. You should also disclose any third parties that you will share their data with, such as sponsors, partners, or media outlets, and how they will protect their privacy. You should communicate this information through clear and accessible channels, such as your website, flyers, or emails, and update it regularly.

5 Review your data

Finally, you should review your data regularly and delete or archive any information that you no longer need or that is outdated. You should also check for any errors, inconsistencies, or duplicates in your data, and correct them as soon as possible. You should also audit your data sources and destinations, and make sure that they are secure and reliable. You should also ask for feedback from your participants and stakeholders, and learn from any issues or complaints that they may have.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?