About

The Data Privacy Handbook is a practical guide on handling personal data in scientific research, primarily written for Utrecht University researchers and research support staff in the Netherlands. It is an initiative of Research Data Management Support, in collaboration with privacy and data experts at Utrecht University.

The Data Privacy Handbook consists of:

  • A knowledge base which explains how the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Dutch: Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming) applies to scientific research, including guidelines and good practices in carrying out GDPR-compliant scientific research;
  • An overview of privacy-enhancing techniques & tools and practical guidance on their implementation;
  • Use Cases in the form of research projects with privacy-related issues, for which a reusable solution (e.g., tool, workflow) is shared.

This is an Utrecht University (UU) community-driven, open source project. We welcome feedback and contributions of any type, please read our contributing guidelines for more information.

If you work at the University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU) or any other institution outside of Utrecht University, some of the guidelines in the Data Privacy Handbook may not be in line with your institutional guidelines. Please consult with your local privacy staff whenever you are in doubt about this.

License and Citation

The Data Privacy Handbook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can view the license here.

When using (parts of) the Data Privacy Handbook in your work, please cite us:

Research Data Management Support et al. (2023). Data Privacy Handbook (v2023.11.24). Utrecht University, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8005847. Last updated on 2024-03-15.

Contributions

The Data Privacy Handbook is a collaborative effort, made possible by a large number of contributors. All contributors can be found in our GitHub repository.

Would you like to contribute to this Handbook yourself? Please follow our Contributing guidelines and the Style guide.