In this document, 'we', 'our' and 'us' refer to TVERC.
Using data
Partners may use the GIS datasets for the duration of the annual agreement only (one year). The annual agreement covers access to our data, not ownership of it.
The one exception is that the partner may keep a copy of our data on file solely to audit previous decisions (for example, at a planning appeal or examination). The partner must not use the data for any new decisions.
A partner using old data would also risk making decisions that breach wildlife legislation and planning policy.
Data ownership
Partners do not own the vast majority of our data and are restricted in:
- what they can do with the data
- with whom they can share that data
The person who made the record (the person who saw the badger, surveyed the wildlife site, or mapped the habitat) owns the data we hold in our database. Our annual charges to partners cover access to GIS datasets and other services but do not grant ownership rights.
We are a partnership whereby all data users contribute to the annual costs of collating and managing our database. The data we hold in our database takes time to collect and manage. Volunteers and paid staff work to ensure the data we hold and provide to you is high quality, and we can keep our charges as low as possible. As a non-profit organisation, we use our income to sustain the services we provide to the local recording community, who in turn share their data with us, so we can share it with you!
Publishing data
Partners can make material derived from the information supplied by us (tables, graphs, maps) publicly available. Partners can present such materials within publications and reports, but must acknowledge us as the source of information. For example, an acknowledgement might be:
This [document/table/map] incorporates biodiversity data supplied by Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) and is copyright to TVERC and/or its partners.
Partners cannot make GIS files publicly available without permission from the data owner(s). However, any information that can be published is already publicly available.
Sharing data with contractors
A partner can share data with contractors working on their behalf. The partner must:
- inform us
- issue a contractor's licence
The contractor must:
- use the data solely for that work
- not share the data with anybody else
- delete the data once they have completed the work
Sharing the data with a third-party contractor
A partner can share the data in two ways:
- The partner issues a contractor's licence to the third party, ensuring they are aware of the restricted use of the data and requirements as above. The partner organisation is responsible for ensuring contractors adhere to the agreements within the licence and are liable for any breaches
Copy us into the email when sending the licence (tverc@oxfordshire.gov.uk). We need to know how you share the data to ensure compliance with individual agreements. We can supply you with a contractor's licence template.
2. We issue the contractor's licence. We charge an admin fee of £100 plus VAT.
We will also charge for our time if you ask us to:
- send the GIS layers to the contractor
- make adjustments to the layers
If a partner cannot pass on the data, the contractor can request the data directly from us through our data search service. We will reduce the charge by 50%.