The template Data Sharing Agreement is intended to promote responsible data practices and sharing between organisations in the nonprofit sector, and, where applicable, their private sector partners. It borrows from corporate best practices and approaches, and is intended as:

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• a transactional roadmap for responsible data sharing in a given context

• an educational tool for organisations to understand obligations in this area

• requiring early and deep discussion and due diligence of expectations around approaches, policies and procedures and related roles and responsibilities amongst the parties

• a starting point for negotiations of an eventual written agreement between the parties.

 

Each provision must be carefully considered, and it is not just appropriate but necessary for modifications (both additions and deletions) to be made based on context and the views of the parties. Footnotes should be deleted. Nothing in this template is fixed or predetermined and it is intended only to assist the parties by providing them with a basis for discussion.

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This template agreement contemplates considerable ethical, programmatic, and legal responsibilities and should only be utilised in close consultation with appropriate country office management, information technology/digital teams, and local and home office legal counsel at each participating organisation/company. This agreement requires discussion and modification, and application to each specific context and party.

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While the parties signing the agreement will generally be sharing personal information that has already been collected, a basic consent form has been provided for organisations who may wish to consider adapting for use when collecting personal information. Like the agreement itself, the form of consent is a mere template that should be carefully reviewed and modified to ensure its suitability for the specific context in which it is being used.