Open Information Policy

Accountability and transparency are core values of Restless Development.

We want everyone we work with, especially young people, to be engaged and informed participants in all we do. For our organisation to be truly transparent, everyone involved with Restless Development must have access to timely, relevant and clear information about us and our activities.

Scope and responsibilities

This policy sets out the information that Restless Development (Registered Charity no. ​1127488) will make publically available, both through our website and on request. It also sets out information that is excluded from this policy and how to appeal decisions relating to some types of exclusions. It is informed by best practice within the UK international development sector and existing legislation in the UK, where Restless Development is a registered charity. This includes:

  • The Freedom of Information Act
  • Charities Regulation Act 2008
  • Data Protection Act
  • UK Aid Transparency Guarantee (for funding from DFID)
  • International Aid Transparency Initiative
  • EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Overall accountability for the implementation of this policy will lie with the Operations Director or with a staff member whom the Operations Director may appoint for this matter. Compliance with this policy is the responsibility of all staff within Restless Development. Specific accountabilities are as follows:

  • Publishing of information, responding to information requests, complaints procedure: Compliance Manager.
  • Provision of information for publication and information in response to requests: Operations Team.
  • Review and update of this policy: Compliance Manager, to be approved by the Operations Director following the Annual Review.

This document was created: May 1, 2015.
This policy was discussed and approved by the Senior Management Team on May 1, 2015.
It is owned by: Operations Director.

It was last reviewed: September, 2019
It is due for review: September, 2020

IATI compliance.

We take part in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to improve the transparency of aid, development, and humanitarian resources in order to increase their effectiveness in tackling poverty.

Our financial and programmatic data is published in a format that is compliant with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. IATI has developed and agreed a common, open, international standard – the IATI standard. This standard is designed to make aid-related information simpler and easier to understand, to compare and to use, so that aid information will be useful to all stakeholders.

Restless Development’s financial and programmatic data is also published in the IATI Registry. For those who wish to analyse data across programmes, you can download our agency-wide data in XML format from this link. This data, in XML format, can also be reviewed alongside the data of other organisations.

Accountable Now

Restless Development is a Member of Accountable Now, a cross-sectoral platform of 25 international civil society organisations. Together, we strive to be transparent, responsive to stakeholders and focused on delivering impact. Restless Development has signed the 10 Accountability Commitments and applies them throughout the organisation. We report annually according to the Accountable Now Reporting Guidelines to an Independent Review Panel. Learn more in Restless Developments’ Accountability Reports.

What information do we publish?

We publish detailed information on our website, including overviews of our Global Strategy, Senior Management Team and Trustee Board, reports and organisational structure, and programming, fundraising and advocacy activities.

Included on our website is a comprehensive Annual Report. Please consult this document for more detailed information on the following topics:

  • Our leadership and governance;
  • Our vision;
  • Our goals and related activities;
  • Our partners; and
  • Our financial report and detailed income and expenditure statements.

On our website you will also find resources including but not limited to:

  • Reports on our key areas of strategic, programming, policy, and advocacy focus;
  • Toolkits for use by youth-led organisations in advocacy and research,
  • Annual Reports
  • Research and Evaluations of our work

Our resources are primarily published in the English langauge. If you would like a resource in another langauge or other accessible format, please contact us using the details below. 

How to make a request for information and how we will respond.

If you are based in the UK, you can make your request by phone on +44 207 633 3350 from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm (UK time), or via email to data@restlessdevelopment.org, or in writing to the following address:

Restless Development, 4th Floor, 35-41 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RL

If you are based in another country, please submit your request via the contact details on our website here.

We will reply to requests as soon as possible. Normally, within 5 working days either with the requested information or an explanation as to why it cannot be provided. Response will take no longer than 30 working days. We reserve the right to ask the reason for the information request.

Data protection and privacy

Restless Development is subject to the Data Protection Act. We are unable to disclose personal private data covered by this legislation without consent, unless we are obliged or permitted by law to do so.

For more information, please see our Data Protection Policy here.

Freedom of information.

As a charity, Restless Development is not a public body and therefore is not subject to the UK’s Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, Restless Development is committed to working to increase the openness and availability of the information listed in this policy.

Progressive publication.

Restless Development is committed to supporting trustees, staff and volunteers to value transparency and open information and to ensuring that we have cost-efficient systems in place to make information available, including our website. Restless Development will regularly review the information we provide as well as the requests we receive for information, using learning to guide a process of continuous improvement.

Circumstances under which we may be unable to provide information.

If you request information from us, we may not be able to provide you will all the information you require. If all or part of the information you have requested falls under one of the following categories, we will write and let you know the reason we will not share it. You will have the opportunity to appeal this decision through our complaints procedure for some categories (indicated).

  • Ownership of the data: you may ask us to disclose information about a partner that is not our right to disclose. This is outside of the scope of this policy and we will ask you to contact the partner organisation directly. This decision is not subject to appeal.
  • Privacy: where disclosure would breach data protection legislation or an individuals’ right to privacy. For example, we will not share the personal details of our staff, volunteers or individual supporters. This decision is not subject to appeal.
  • Confidentiality: the information is confidential on legal, business or contractual grounds. This decision is not subject to appeal. Where Restless Development has grants that fall within this exclusion category, we are committed to working with our funders to move towards allowing us to share information with our stakeholders.
  • Intellectual Property Rights: The Intellectual Property Rights for a piece of work belongs to someone else and we cannot give permission for its use. This decision is not subject to appeal.
  • Security: the disclosure of information may present a risk to the safety and security of staff and operations, either for Restless Development or other organisations.
  • Cost: the financial or time cost of disclosing the information would be unreasonably high. Restless Development is a medium-sized organisation, and we need to balance our commitment to transparency with our delivery of results, especially where it involves public or member funds. Appeal via complaints procedure.
  • Status: The information is in draft state for staff review only, is an internal communication or an internal administrative or management document. Appeal via complaints procedure.
  • Vexatious, offensive or unreasonable requests: we may decline to correspond if a person deliberately behaves in an offensive or abusive manner, aims to obtain information by deceit (for example by using false contact details or other misrepresentation) or otherwise engages in unreasonable conduct. Appeal via complaints procedure.
  • Historical information: if the information requested is historical, it may be difficult and costly for Restless Development to obtain archived material. Appeal via complaints procedure.

Copyright and legal information about this policy.

This policy is for information only, and therefore is not a binding contract and does not confer legal rights on any person. Restless Development reserves intellectual property rights for information and materials provided under this policy, including those materials distributed under an open license.
Any request to reproduce copyrighted material should be referred to info@restlessdevelopment.org.

What if I am unhappy with the way my request has been handled?

You can request a review of any decision under this policy to withhold information by Restless Development to the head of programme management.

As Restless Development is not a public body, there is no right of appeal to the Information Commissioner. If you consider Restless Development is acting illegally, you may complain to the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

Complaints procedure.

All Restless Development members, service users and the general public have the right of complaint in respect of Restless Development’s services and activities, members, some categories of exclusions within Restless Development’s open information policy or specific conditions of membership

Dealing with complaints.

Listening and responding to feedback is very important to Restless Development. If you are dissatisfied with our response to your information request, the person making the request may ask for a review of this determination by writing to the same email address (info@restlessdevelopment.org). The request for review will be considered by at least one member of the Senior Management Team and one member of the Board of Trustees, whose decision will be final. Every request for reviews will be acknowledged, and a final determination will be provided within 28 calendar days of receipt of the appeal.