Privacy Policy: Lead Information & Advertising
Effective Date: October 1, 2023
The Institute of World Politics (“IWP,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide when you interact with our advertising, website, and lead generation forms.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share information submitted through Google Ads lead forms and related advertising campaigns.
1. Information We Collect
When you respond to an advertisement, complete a lead form, request information, or otherwise contact us, we may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including:
- Full name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Employer, company, or organization name
- Job title or professional affiliation
- Academic or program interest
- Any message, question, or inquiry details you choose to submit
We may also receive certain technical or campaign-related information from advertising and analytics platforms, such as:
- The ad, campaign, or form through which you contacted us
- Date and time of submission
- General location information
- Device or browser-related data collected through advertising and analytics tools
2. How We Use Your Information
IWP may use the information collected through lead forms and related advertising channels to:
- Respond to your inquiry or request for information
- Provide information about academic programs, admissions, events, or other services you requested
- Follow up regarding your interest in IWP programs, offerings, or institutional initiatives
- Send marketing or promotional communications, where permitted by law or where you have opted in
- Improve our advertising, communications, website performance, and outreach efforts
- Maintain records of communications and inquiries for administrative, operational, and reporting purposes
3. Legal Basis and Consent
By submitting your information through a lead form or similar inquiry channel, you consent to IWP using your information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Where required by applicable law, we will rely on your consent for marketing communications. You may withdraw that consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly.
4. Data Sharing and Third Parties
IWP does not sell your personal information.
We may share or process your information with trusted third parties only as necessary to support our operations, including:
- Google, which may collect lead data on our behalf through Google Ads lead forms and related advertising services
- Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, marketing automation tools, and email communication systems used to manage inquiries and communications
- Website analytics, advertising, and technology vendors that help us understand campaign performance and improve outreach
- Service providers and contractors who assist with admissions communications, marketing operations, or technical support and who are required to protect the information appropriately
Information submitted through Google lead forms is subject to both this Privacy Policy and Google’s own privacy practices.
We may also disclose personal information if required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or other legal process, or when necessary to protect the rights, safety, and operations of IWP.
5. Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including:
- Responding to and managing inquiries
- Maintaining admissions, communications, or outreach records
- Complying with legal, regulatory, accreditation, tax, or internal policy obligations
When information is no longer needed, we will delete it, anonymize it, or securely archive it in accordance with our recordkeeping practices.
6. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to applicable exceptions
- Object to or restrict certain processing activities
- Withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time
- Opt out of promotional emails by clicking the unsubscribe link included in those messages
Please note that even if you opt out of marketing emails, we may still contact you regarding a specific inquiry, request, transaction, or administrative matter.
7. Cookies, Tracking, and Advertising Technologies
IWP may use cookies, pixels, tags, and similar technologies on its website and landing pages to:
- Understand user interaction with advertisements and webpages
- Measure the performance of marketing campaigns
- Improve user experience and website functionality
- Support remarketing or audience development through advertising platforms, where applicable
These technologies may be provided by third-party vendors such as Google and other digital advertising or analytics partners. Users may be able to control certain tracking preferences through browser settings or platform-specific privacy controls.
8. Data Security
IWP takes reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
However, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Third-Party Links and Platforms
Our advertisements, forms, emails, or website may contain links to third-party platforms or websites. Once you leave an IWP-controlled environment, your information may be subject to the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before submitting information.
10. Children’s Privacy
IWP’s advertising, website, and academic inquiries are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our lead forms or advertising channels.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
IWP may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or institutional operations. Any updates will be posted with a revised effective date.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact:
The Institute of World Politics
1521 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036-1464
(202) 462-2101
info@iwp.edu