This privacy policy explains the information that ICMA and the Alliance for Innovation maintain about members, customers, and other website users; how that information is used; and the privacy choices available.

This privacy policy applies to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Alliance for Innovation (AFI). It also applies to data provided through Knowledge Network use by state affiliates that sponsor Knowledge Network groups and profiles, including GOSCMA, LOGMAN, MCCMA, and SCCCMA. In this document, “we” and “us” refer to ICMA and AFI.

Please also read the Terms of Use for guidelines about appropriate use of the Knowledge Network.

What information do we collect?

Personal information you provide

We receive and store any information you explicitly provide. This includes information you provide when you complete your online “Knowledge Network” profile on the website, submit a membership application, make a purchase such as a book or conference registration, complete a survey, send an email, or provide information via paper forms or in-person interactions (e.g., making a purchase at an on-site conference bookstore).  It includes information you type such as Name and Title, as well as information that you select, such as Department or Areas of Interest.

Derived information

We will derive information from the data that you explicitly provide. For example, if your job title is City Manager or County Manager, we also will record that you are the chief appointed official in your local government.

Merged information from other sources

We may match your information with other information sources. For example, we may import census data that would let us know the population of the community where you work. We may update or add to your record when we receive information about you from external sources such as data provided by other organizations with whom we work.

Products you purchase

We keep a record of the products you purchase from us and the events we sponsor that you attend.

Content you post

You provide information when you contribute content to our websites and  Knowledge Network, including but not limited to questions, comments, blog posts, file uploads, document submission, and wiki contributions. Because your contributions are associated with your profile, they are identifiable to us and to other users as posted by you, with the exception of anonymously posted questions. (Only members of ICMA or the Alliance have the ability to post questions anonymously.)

Information collected automatically

We collect and store several types of information automatically:

Web server log information—Standard information automatically collected in web server logs, including your IP address, web browser type, and pages accessed in order to create reports of common website metrics such as page views, time spent on a page, and clicks on a page.

Cookies—Small identifiers used to identify you when you visit one of our websites in order to maintain your  preferences and security rights, and to provide traffic statistics via Google Analytics. For more information about Google Analytics and your privacy options, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html

Advertising Cookies—We contract with Google DoubleClick for Internet advertising technologies and services. Google uses cookies to improve your online experience, including the display of more relevant ads. Google’s cookies do not track your name, address, email address, or phone number. You can opt-out of Google’s DoubleClick cookie so that no unique information or number is associated with your computer's browser by visiting http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/. For complete information on DoubleClick's privacy policy, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacy/.

Email open and click-throughs—Information about email messages and newsletters from us that you open and links you click in those emails that direct you to one of our websites. This helps us evaluate the relevance of the content in our communications.

Visits to shortcut website addresses—Some published website addresses such as ICMA.org/311 are shortcuts that redirect you to a page with a longer address. When a redirect is initiated, we log shortcut website address, date, time, and your IP address.

Log-ins and attempted log-ins—When you create a user account, log in, log out, or attempt to log in with invalid credentials, we record the date, time, your user ID (if you are logged in), your IP address, the website address (URL) you accessed, your web browser type,  and a description of the event, which would include email address if you entered one as a username.

How is this information used?

Content and feature development

We may use this information to generate reports on website activity and to conduct analysis for internal use. The purpose of this analysis includes, but is not limited to, improving content and functionality, and customizing your experience of the website based on your activity and preferences.  

Marketing

We will use your information to contact you for market research and to inform you of products and services we offer. You may change your settings for ICMA communications here. You may change your Alliance for Innovation communications settings here. All other partners’ use of your information for marketing purposes will comply with your ICMA preferences.

Member communication

Each of the participating partners and affiliates will use contact information to communicate with its members to keep them informed of and engaged in the work of the organization.

To collaborate with state associations and other nonprofit organizations

We may use your information to cross-reference data with state associations of local government management and other related organizations, especially when we are working with them on joint initiatives. For example, we might host a special event at a related organization’s conference and share data in order to invite our members who are attending the conference. 

Summary reports

We may provide an aggregate report of users’ activity to third parties for the purposes of demonstrating the value of website, selling advertising, or building partnerships with other organizations. Such reports will contain no personally identifiable information.

Who may have access to this information?

Staff, contractors, and volunteers

We will grant access to your information only to staff, volunteers, contractors and organizations who require such access to conduct work on our behalf.  These contractors and organizations will have access for the sole purpose of conducting content and feature analysis, development, or service provision, and may not use or distribute the data for other purposes. They will be required to comply with this Policy on our behalf.

State associations and other nonprofit organizations

We may share your name, title, employer, mailing address, email address, business phone number, membership status, and event registration status with related nonprofit organizations including state associations of local government management, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and other nonprofit organizations with whom we work. Your information may be used for member and prospective member communications and to invite you to special events such as receptions at conferences. 

Candidates Seeking Election to the ICMA Board
(applies only to ICMA members eligible to vote)

Petition candidates for the ICMA Executive Board may purchase access to ICMA voting members' email addresses for up to two email solicitations to those members. If you are an ICMA member, you may choose not to have your email address shared with petition candidates by changing your privacy and communication preferences.

Corporate partners (limited access)

We may cross-reference our membership lists with our corporate partners’ customers and inform a corporate partner of the membership status of those customers. This enables our corporate partners to contact their customers who are also our members for purposes such as focus groups. We also may contact you on behalf of a corporate partner without sharing contact information.

Mailing lists renters

Through a mailing list rental company, we may provide your name, job title, and work mailing address to organizations whose products or services may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to be included on these lists, you may opt out using the links above. We do not rent or sell email addresses or phone numbers.

Law enforcement

We may disclose information about you to law enforcement or other government officials as is legally required.

What choices do you have about how your information is shared?

Choices about what is visible in your website profile

When you complete your website profile (also called a Knowledge Network profile) you will have the option of limiting what information is visible to different groups of Knowledge Network users.  You also may select what alerts to receive from the Knowledge Network, as well as what communications you are interested in receiving from us.  To do so, create a profile or log in and click “Edit Profile” at the top right. On the screens where you enter contact information, set the “Who can see this?” option at the right for each section of information.

Although the Knowledge Network is built on the principle of sharing knowledge and connecting users in a community of professionals, you may choose not to provide information in your profile or not to contribute content.

Choices about whether your information is shared with other organizations

You may choose not to have your contact information shared with state associations, affiliates, and other nonprofits. You also may choose not to have your mailing information shared with private sector companies. (Change your preference for ICMA here. Change your preferences for the Alliance here.)

How will you be informed of changes in the policy?

We reserve the right to change this policy. When a change is made that expands the ways your information will be used, we will notify you by email. It is your responsibility to provide correct and updated contact information including email address to ensure that you receive these notifications.

Who is responsible for the privacy practices?

Each of the partner organizations is responsible for complying with this privacy policy. ICMA maintains the database. If you have questions or concerns about the privacy policy or practices, please contact CustomerServices@icma.org.

Copyright © 2012 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Alliance for Innovation.  All rights reserved.