Confidentiality

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 release to any third party any Applicant Materials provided by an individual applicant as part of the accreditation process without the express written permission of the applicant¬ [or, as necessary, author of proprietary materials (e.g., certain appraisals, etc.)] or as required by court order or state and/or federal law.

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 Commission Records without prior approval of the executive director and/or executive committee.

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 Material in their possession in a safe and secure place and take reasonable steps to protect the information against inadvertent disclosure or theft.

7. Retain Commission copies of Confidential Materials for only so long as directed by its records policy, and destroy materials in accordance with its document destruction procedures.

8. Inform the executive director of the Commission immediately if Confidential Material has been compromised due to events such as loss or theft.

9. Advise the executive director of the Commission promptly upon becoming aware that another party has disclosed, used or handled Confidential Material in a manner inconsistent with this agreement.

10. Return all paper copies of Confidential Material 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), purge electronic documents from computers when no longer needed for Commission business, and complete certification of document destruction forms.

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 the Alliance in a manner that would violate this policy.

13. Follow the Commission’s Conflict of Interest Policy 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.

1. Not divulge to the Commission any Alliance Data 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 the Alliance’s technical assistance programs.

4. Not provide assurances to funders that specific accreditation decisions will be made.

5. Keep all Confidential Material 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 vice president of education of the Alliance immediately if materials have been compromised due to events such as the loss or theft.

7. Advise the vice president of education of the Alliance promptly upon becoming aware that another party has disclosed, used or handled Confidential Material in a manner inconsistent with this agreement.

8. Not use any information obtained from the Commission in a manner that would violate this policy.

9. Not reveal to any party outside of Alliance staff, the names of any organizations that have withdrawn from the accreditation program, have not been successful in the pre-application, application or renewal process, and/or are no longer current applicants or accredited land trusts, unless required by court order or state or federal law and after informing the land trust and the Commission’s executive director of the requirement to release the names.

The executive director of the Commission may verbally disclose, or authorize a commissioner or staff member to verbally disclose, the substance of Commission Records or Applicant Materials to Alliance staff to the limited extent reasonably necessary: 1) to respond when a Covered Land Trust raises questions about a Commission action to the Alliance, 2) to aid the Alliance in providing services requested by a Covered Land Trust to comply with accreditation requirements, 3) to alert the Alliance about an accreditation decision that it may receive inquiries about, or 4) to inform the Alliance director of standards and educational services or other designee about organizations that have withdrawn or are no longer part of the accreditation program. Alliance staff may share this information within the Alliance at their reasonable discretion, subject to the provisions of VB9.

The executive director shall, upon authorization of the Commission or the Commission’s executive committee, inform the president of the Alliance in writing, after the appeal period has expired, of a Commission decision to revoke or not award accreditation or renewal on the basis of (1) willful disregard of Land Trust Standards and Practices or (2) other significant actions or omissions that could threaten the credibility or integrity of the Alliance, land trust community or accreditation program, and will include the indicator element(s) that was the basis for the decision in (1) or (2). This information may serve as a “credible source” for the purposes of Alliance implementation of its Policy on Suspending or Terminating a Land Trust’s Membership in the Alliance.

Representatives of the Alliance may disclose to the Commission information (including Alliance Data) related to a Covered Land Trust that in the Alliance’s reasonable judgment is reliable, serious in nature, material to the Covered Land Trust’s application or accredited status and that demonstrates conduct or activities directly by a Covered Land Trust that, if unreported, reasonably threatens the credibility and integrity of the Alliance, land trust community or accreditation program. The Commission may use this information in implementing its accreditation application final decision, compliance confirmation and disciplinary action policies.