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OUR POLICIES

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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Our policy is to reduce our operations' impact on the environment through our Climate Change Mitigation Agenda initiative. The goal is to promote sustainability and the environmental awareness of staff at all levels by:

  • Complying with all applicable environmental legislation and sustainability commitments in every country in which we work

  • Measuring and analysing our business activities' carbon footprint in conjunction with other climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts

  • Preventing pollution and reducing resource consumption through waste minimisation, reuse, recovery, and recycling, as appropriate

  • Promoting and continuing to invest in technologies that provide alternatives to business travel to conduct our work

  • Adopting a procurement programme that accounts for the environmental impact of products and services and supports the purchase of energy-efficient products

  • Training all of our staff on our environmental programmes, ensuring they are aware of the environmental impacts of their work activities, and encouraging them through regular awareness and training to minimise those impacts

  • Communicating our environmental commitment and efforts to our clients, our staff, and the communities our staff work with

  • Pursuing a programme of continuous improvement by reviewing our Environmental Management System and related objectives and targets, policies, and practices

GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION POLICY

We are a values-based organisation. Human rights, equity, and justice are at the core of our existence, and it is of the utmost importance to provide our services in a responsible and accountable manner. Therefore, we are committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment:

  • We ensure that all aspects of our work reflect our commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, taking additional measures when possible to honour this commitment. When direct action is not possible, we ensure that our actions do not contribute directly or indirectly in any way to gender inequality, gender-based discrimination, or gender injustice.

  • We invest in strengthening our institutional capacity (in terms of our understanding of gender and our skills in relevant tools, methodologies, and approaches) to promote gender equality, women’s empowerment, and gender justice. We strive to develop our institutional expertise on tools, methodologies, and approaches that are designed around or anchored on gender and empowerment (such as feminist evaluation approaches and utility-focused evaluation).

  • Our work team is gender-balanced, including when engaging outside of the core team, such as the in-country teams (local and national consultants and enumerators) and other technical teams, experts, specialists, advisors, analysts, editors, and quality controllers.

  • Everyone involved with or representing us is expected to demonstrate attitudes and behaviours that promote gender equality, and this is clearly articulated in our contractual agreements. We promote a gender-friendly work environment in our work teams and field operations. Appropriate actions are taken against any team members found to be involved in any manner (directly or indirectly) in promoting or supporting gender-based discrimination, gender-based violence, gender inequality, or gender injustice. 

  • We adopt gender-sensitive approaches and methodologies in all aspects of our services, from proposal development to implementation to submission of our deliverables. We propose and apply gender-sensitive and gender-focused methodologies, methods, and tools for undertaking consultancy assignments (even when such approaches are not specifically demanded by the clients or the area of work is not directly related to gender or women).

  • We promote participatory approaches in all aspects of our work to ensure women's equitable participation, as well as ensure equitable gender representation in data collection and that women's voices are heard and represented appropriately.

  • We adopt gender analysis as a key approach for analysing our data and drawing conclusions. Gender-disaggregated data is an integral part of our data collection, analysis, and presentation.

  • We ensure that our recommendations reflect our commitments to promote gender equality, women's empowerment, and gender justice, as well as that the presentation of our findings is gender-sensitive and reflects gender concerns. We use gender-sensitive and gender-neutral (where possible) language in all our communications, including all our reports, presentations, and debriefings, as well as all our official communications and publications (both internal and external).

  • We ensure that adequate resources are allocated in our proposed budget so that assignments operationalise the proposed gender-sensitive methods and approaches without constraints. Additionally, we ensure that our work approaches adequately address ethical standards and safety, security, and protection concerns that reflect the importance of dignity and respect for human and women's rights. This is articulated and documented in our proposals and inception reports and agreed upon with the clients.

  • We consider it our moral duty to report any kind of gender-based discrimination, gender-based violence, or abuse (actual or potential) that comes to our notice. If such a situation arises, we approach the appropriate authorities and take necessary measures. We also seek partnerships and alliances with institutions that align with our gender principles and approaches. Where any shortfalls are noticed, such partnerships and alliances are discontinued.

GDPR COMPLIANCE

PRI  has implemented routines that are in accordance with GDPR. Our routines consist of the following: 

  • Scrutinize the actual need for gathering personal data on a case by case basis to minimize personal data collected. 

  • Data is stored securely

  • Making sure that the unit of analysis limits the chances of identifying individual responses and views. 

  • Deleting data after finalization of project.

  • Our legitimate purpose and routines will be explained to respondents in interviews and in questionnaire surveys. Written consent will be asked for before starting interviews and surveys.

PRIVACY POLICY - MEL WITH PURPOSE

Effective date: 11 March 2026


1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how MEL with Purpose (“the App”) collects, uses and protects personal data when you use our services.
The App is operated by Policy Research Institute, Sàrl, with registered office at Plane Ville 22, 1955 Chamoson, Switzerland (“we”, “us”, “our”).
By installing or using the App, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.


2. Data controller and contact
The data controller is:
Policy Research Institute, Sàrl
Address: Plane Ville 22, 1955 Chamoson, Switzerland
Email: mel@pri.swiss
If applicable, you may also contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at: ananda@pri.swiss, with cc to bobbie@pri.swiss


3. What data we collect
Depending on how you use the App, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

  • Account and profile data: name, email address, organisation, role, password (encrypted), profile settings.

  • Course and usage data: courses enrolled in, progress, quiz results, completion status, activity logs (for example, lessons viewed and time spent).

  • Communication data: messages or feedback you send us, support requests, survey responses.

  • Device and technical data: device type, operating system version, app version, approximate location (country/region), IP address, crash data and performance diagnostics.

  • Payment data (if applicable): limited billing information such as transaction ID, product purchased, and subscription status; payment card details are processed by our payment provider and are not stored by us.

  • We do not intentionally collect special categories of data (such as health data, political opinions, or religious beliefs) through the App

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4. How we collect data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

  • Directly from you: when you create an account, enrol in courses, complete lessons or quizzes, contact support, or respond to surveys.

  • Automatically: via the App and our servers, which log technical data and diagnostic information when you use the App.

  • From third party services (if enabled): for example, if you log in via a single sign on provider such as Apple, Google, or Microsoft, we receive basic profile data required to create or link your account.

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5. Legal bases for processing

We process personal data only when a legal basis under applicable law (such as the GDPR) applies:

  • Performance of a contract: to create and manage your account, provide access to courses, track your progress, and issue certificates.

  • Legitimate interests: to maintain and improve the App, prevent abuse, secure our systems, and understand how our training is used, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.

  • Legal obligations: to comply with accounting, tax, and regulatory requirements.

  • Consent: for specific optional activities (for example, marketing communications or certain analytics or tracking where required by law). You can withdraw consent at any time as described below.


6. How we use your data
We use personal data for the following purposes:

  • To provide, operate, and maintain the App and its learning features.

  • To create and manage your user account and learner profile.

  • To track course progress, assessments, and certifications.

  • To respond to support requests and communicate with you about the App, including service announcements and security notices.

  • To analyse aggregated usage patterns to improve content, features, and user experience.

  • To prevent, detect, and address technical issues or misuse.

  • To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

If you consent, we may also use your email to send occasional updates, new course announcements, or other information about MEL with Purpose. You can opt out at any time via the unsubscribe link or by contacting us.

 

7. Cookies and tracking technologies

The App and related web services may use cookies or similar technologies (such as SDKs and local storage) to:

  • remember your login and preferences;

  • maintain session security;

  • measure usage and performance in an aggregated way.

Where required by law, we will request your consent before using non essential cookies or similar technologies for analytics or marketing.


8. Third party services and data sharing

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties that help us deliver the App, always under appropriate contractual safeguards:

  • Hosting and infrastructure providers that supply cloud hosting and database services.

  • Learning and analytics tools that help us understand course engagement in aggregated or pseudonymised form.

  • Payment processors (for example Stripe, Apple, or Google) that handle subscription payments securely; they process your payment details and share limited transaction information with us.

  • Communication tools (such as email delivery and support ticketing systems) that we use to contact you and manage support.

These providers process data only on our behalf and according to our instructions.
We may also share data when required by law, in response to valid legal requests, to protect our rights or the rights of others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition or other corporate transaction.

We do not sell your personal data.


9. International transfers

Your information may be processed and stored in countries outside your country of residence, including countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where we transfer personal data internationally, we do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws and implement appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent measures).


10. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by law:

  • Account and course data are kept while your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter to maintain records, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations.

  • Technical logs and diagnostic data are kept for shorter periods, typically between 30 and 365 days, unless needed for security or legal reasons.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it or anonymise it so that you can no longer be identified.


11. Your rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.

  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.

  • Request deletion of your data, in certain circumstances.

  • Object to or restrict certain types of processing.

  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal).

  • Receive a copy of your data in a portable format, where technically feasible.

You can exercise these rights by contacting us at [insert privacy contact email]. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

If you believe your data protection rights have been violated, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.


12. Children’s privacy

The App is not intended for children under 16 (or any higher minimum age required by local law), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children in this age group. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can take appropriate steps to delete it.getterms+1


13. Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include access controls, encryption in transit where appropriate, regular monitoring, and staff awareness.v-lawyer+2

However, no system can be completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.


14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in law, our practices, or the App’s features.

When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the “Effective date” at the top and, where appropriate, by providing an in app notice or email.


15. Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, you can contact us at:

Policy Research Institute, Sàrl

Attn: Data Protection / Privacy

Plane Ville 22

1955 Chamoson

Switzerland

Email: mel@pri.swiss

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