Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the STAR II Consortium let me share the guidance for DPAs on good practices in raising awareness, especially for SMEs about GDPR issues.

The STAR II (SupporT small And medium enterprises on the data protection Reform II) project, running in the partnership of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH), the Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and the Trilateral Research Limited (TRI IE) between 2018 and 2020, has the aim of enhancing compliance with the GDPR by assisting DPAs and SMEs.

The Consortium reviewed the state of the art in DPA’s awareness-raising activities, analysed SMEs’ experience within first months of the functioning of the GDPR, ran an awareness raising campaign for SMEs and also operated a trial hotline (12 months) to respond to SMEs’ questions, measuring its performance and the most frequently asked questions.

At the recent phase of the STAR II project the Partners had prepared the draft version of the digital guidance for DPAs on good practices in running a hotline and raising SME awareness. The guidance, after situating awareness raising task within the redefined role of DPAs, builds on the experience of NAIH obtained during the timespan of a hotline for SMEs. The guidance provides recommendations on how to set up and run a hotline. It pays special attention to the required infrastructure, resources required, engaged personnel, internal policies, legal implications and ethical considerations.

Please share with us your comments or suggestions concerning the guidance for DPAs. Your kind contribution to the finalization of the draft guidance for DPAs is a vital factor of the validation of the document.

An innovative, FAQ-based handbook (digital and printed) for SMEs on EU personal data protection law was also drafted. The draft version of the handbook is also enclosed to this e-mail. We would be grateful if you could share your thoughts on the handbook as well.

Please, send your feedback to Ms. Alessandra Calvi, LL.M. (e-mail: Alessandra.Calvi@vub.be). We would highly appreciate if you would be so kind as to send your response until 12 June 2020.

We are looking forward for your valuable co-operation.

Yours sincerely,

On behalf of the STAR II Consortium

Renáta Nagy project assistant

National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information H-1125 Budapest, Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor 22/C.