Safeguarding at Good Grants

Online privacy and security goes beyond simply accepting cookies or giving consent to receive correspondence. In a world where data sovereignty and protection are of utmost importance, it's crucial that your program take safeguarding seriously. With Good Grants, there are steps you can take to support safeguarding every step of the way. 

What is safeguarding? 

Defined as "measures to protect the health, well-being, and human rights of individuals" (source), safeguarding is inclusive of all measures to protect the safety and privacy of all users, such as children and at-risk adults. 

How can I support safeguarding? 

When it comes to configuring your account and application form with Good Grants, there are measures that you can take to support safeguarding from the start. These include:

• Link to your own program's legal documents for opt-in consent purposes for users under the age of 16
  During registration users will check to agree to the Good Grants terms of service and optionally provide consent to receive broadcast and notification emails. If your region requires further consent for minors you can link to your own policies via Settings > Users > Registration in the 'Consent' box. The default terms of service link in the account footer can also be changed by contacting support. 
• Collecting only the minimum necessary data from users
  Whether you're configuring user fields for registration or form fields for the purposes of completing an application, collecting only the most necessary information is recommended.
• Configure clear questions according to relevant regulations for age verification and opt-in to the collection of personal data
  Add fields, such as a numeric field or drop-down, to your registration or application form to gather a user's age. If your region forbids minors from entering or has stricter requirements, use conditional fields to display the necessary messaging. 
• Involve parents/guardians when potentially collecting data from minors
  Further to the above, the action flow feature of Good Grants can be used to either notify a parent or guardian of a minor's intent to submit or require their permission. To learn more about action flow, see our dedicated guides: Understanding action flow and Action flow configuration. 
• Implement a content moderation process to ensure that any harmful or inappropriate content is flagged and removed
  Grant managers can preview submitted applications and mark them as approved or rejected using the moderation feature. If only some content of an application needs to be removed or edited, managers may also edit the submission on behalf of the applicant. For a more thorough examination of every submission after closing the application period, try configuring a Qualifying reviewing stage. 
• Provide clear instructions for users on how to report any inappropriate behaviour or content
  Using an 'About' page or other content block, detail the steps users can take to notify your program organisers if anything is amiss. Simply provide contact information, such as a phone number or Markdown-linked email address, to report issues.