Statement of Policy
It is the policy of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, and the Land Trust Alliance (“LTA”) to respect the confidentiality of data provided to each organization and to create a “firewall” of confidentiality between data used to make accreditation decisions and information gathered as part of LTA’s technical assistance programs.

Furthermore, it is the policy of both organizations that both will act in a manner that protects the integrity and reputation of the accreditation program and neither will compromise the Commission’s ultimate authority to make final decisions with respect to accreditation applications. Both organizations will also operate in a fashion that does not compromise LTA’s relationship with land trusts or the capacity-building programs it offers.

Introduction
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission is committed to making objective, fair and consistent accreditation decisions. The Commission recognizes that, in the course of conducting its business, land trusts will submit highly confidential information to representatives of the Commission. The Commission is committed to maintaining the confidentiality of this material. The Commission’s processes are designed to request and use only that information that is needed to assess compliance with the eligibility requirements and accreditation indicator practices and is essential to examine in order to make an accreditation decision.

The Land Trust Alliance is committed to providing technical assistance to land trusts to help build strong organizations that are able to implement Land Trust Standards and Practices and to help organizations prepare for accreditation. LTA recognizes that, in the course of providing this assistance, land trusts must be able candidly to discuss challenges in their organizations and be confident that information provided in the course of receiving technical assistance will be confidential to LTA and not forwarded to the Commission to be used as part of the accreditation evaluation.

Both organizations respect and understand that only the Commission acting as a whole can make a final decision on an applicant and that those providing technical assistance or help during the application process may not provide assurances of accreditation to potential applicants.

Scope
This policy applies to all Land Trust Accreditation Commission members, staff, consultants, contract employees and other individuals working on behalf of the Commission, and LTA staff, board members, consultants and contract employees and others working on behalf of LTA to provide direct technical assistance to land trusts.

Confidential Material
This policy shall apply to the following material:

• All data submitted to the Commission by an applicant for accreditation (confidential to the Commission and those working on behalf of the Commission)

• All internal Commission discussions, documents and records (confidential to the Commission and those working on behalf of the Commission).

• Data provided to LTA for the purposes of grant proposals, organizational assessments, mentoring, information requests, or other forms of technical assistance (confidential to LTA).

This policy shall not apply to general information maintained by LTA (such as organization contact information, attendance at training events, publication orders, or membership status) that is available to the Commission via LTA’s standard membership database. However, the Commission may not use the data listed above as a determining factor in an accreditation decision.

This policy does not prevent LTA or the Commission from sharing information regarding general trends in accreditation or technical assistance needs in order to design training, technical assistance and other programs to better serve the land conservation community, so long as information about individual organizations is not revealed.

Procedures for Protecting Confidentiality
All representatives of the Commission will:

1. Only request and use information that is needed to assess compliance with the accreditation eligibility requirements and indicator practices and is essential to have in order to make an accreditation decision.
2. Not divulge to any third party any specific documentation or information provided by an individual applicant as part of the accreditation process without the express permission of the applicant.
3. Not exploit for individual benefit, or improperly use or permit to be used for the benefit of others, any information obtained or knowledge gained through association with the Commission.
4. Not release information about the Commission’s policies, procedures, deliberations, plans, or records without prior approval of the director.
5. Not provide any potential applicant with an advantage in the accreditation process by providing information about the Commission’s evaluation and review process that is not generally available to all applicants.
6. Keep all confidential information in their possession in a safe and secure place and take reasonable steps to protect the information against inadvertent disclosure or theft.
7. Not make any copies of any materials, unless needed for Commission business, and will purge electronic materials from their computers when no longer needed for Commission business.
8. Inform the director of the Commission immediately if materials have been compromised due to events such as loss or theft.
9. Advise the director of the Commission promptly upon becoming aware that another party has disclosed, used or handled confidential information in a manner inconsistent with this agreement.
10. Return all materials to the Commission’s office by appropriate means when an accreditation decision is made and the materials are no longer needed, unless directed by the Commission to destroy the materials rather than return them.
11. Not provide any assurances to any potential accreditation applicant that the Commission will take a specific action with respect to their application.
12. Not use any information obtained from LTA in a manner that would violate this policy.
13. Follow the Commission’s conflict of interest procedures if data is obtained in violation of this policy that would impair the commissioner’s ability to make objective, fair and consistent decisions.
14. Follow the Commission’s Conflict of Interest Policy in the event that there is a conflict between this Confidentiality Policy and the Conflict of Interest Policy, as the Conflict of Interest Policy takes precedence.

All representatives of LTA, with respect to accreditation, will:

1. Not divulge to the Commission any specific documentation or information provided by an individual land trust as part of a technical assistance service provided by LTA without the land trust’s express permission.
2. Not provide any assurances to any potential accreditation applicant that the Commission will take a specific action with respect to their application.
3. Not exploit for individual benefit, or improperly use or permit to be used for the benefit of others, any information obtained or knowledge gained through LTA’s technical assistance programs.
4. Not provide assurances to funders that specific accreditation decisions will be made.
5. Keep all confidential information in their possession in a safe and secure place and take reasonable steps to protect the information against inadvertent disclosure or theft.
6. Inform the chief operating officer of LTA immediately if materials have been compromised due to events such as the loss or theft.
7. Advise the chief operating officer of LTA promptly upon becoming aware that another party has disclosed, used or handled confidential information in a manner inconsistent with this agreement.
8. Not use any information obtained from the Commission in a manner that would violate this policy.

Breach of Confidentiality
Any land trust or stakeholder in the land trust community that believes that an individual has breached these confidentiality policies and procedures may report the facts to the Commission as part of the Commission’s process to receive and address public complaints. The Commission will share complaints with LTA as appropriate.

Individuals who the Commission and/or LTA has determined to have failed to comply with these policies and procedures deliberately or recklessly may be required to terminate their affiliation with the Commission or LTA.

Periodic Review
The Commission and LTA commit to periodic monitoring and review of this policy to ensure that each organization is operating in a manner that maintains the confidentiality of data provided to them.

Approved by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission September 2006

Approved by Land Trust Alliance October 2006