overview
At DPAS, we understand the challenges organisations face when managing Subject Access Requests (SARs) and navigating the complexities of data protection regulations. As part of our Subject Access Request Support Services, our SAR Consultancy Service is designed to help you streamline your SAR processes, providing expert advice and support to improve your capacity and capability for handling SARs effectively.
Rather than simply handling the request, our SAR consulting focuses on equipping your organisation with the tools, processes, and knowledge required to manage SARs in-house. This includes providing expert advice on the verification of requests, data discovery, redaction and use of exemptions, drafting responses to data subjects, and optimisation of SAR procedures to help your team manage even the most complex SARs with confidence and compliance.
Our team of highly skilled data protection consultants are dedicated to assisting organisations in effectively managing SARs and ensuring compliance with the requirements of data protection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We offer a flexible solution to be able to ensure you have access to the ad-hoc support you need. Our SAR Consultancy Service works how you want it to, invest in small amounts of time that you can use as and when required, or scale up for a monthly retainer that can support even the most demanding, and complex SARs efficiently. Get in touch with us for a free consultation to see how we can help.
Our experienced data protection consultants provide expert advice on all aspects of SAR handling, including:
Our SAR Consultancy focuses on helping organisations develop efficient, scalable SAR handling procedures. We work closely with your team to:
We believe in empowering organisations to handle SARs independently by:
Our SAR Consultancy Service offers a flexible monthly allowance of SAR hours tailored to your organisation’s needs. This allocation enables you to utilise our expert resources for SAR-related matters throughout the month, giving you the freedom to focus on other core activities while ensuring compliance and efficiency.
Museum Wales approached DPAS, looking for Subject Access Redaction support.
DPAS carried out the conversion and redaction for Museum Wales ensuring they were provided with full explanations regarding the decisions made when choosing which data to redact.
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When faced with a complex Subject Access Request we went out to the market to look for a provider that had the knowledge and experience to complete the data conversion and redaction on our behalf.
We were impressed with the team at DPAS from the offset and entrusted them to deliver the required redacted documents within the legal timeframes and had every confidence in their advice. We wouldn’t hesitate using the team at DPAS again
We start with a detailed consultation to understand the scope of your SAR challenges, providing clarity on the specific requests and how best to approach them. This helps reduce unnecessary data retrieval and ensures an efficient process.
We assist in optimising search queries across tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, ensuring your team retrieves only the necessary data. We also advise on how to structure your technical processes that remove irrelevant data, reducing the burden of manual searches.
Our consultants guide you in drafting accurate and compliant responses to data subjects, ensuring that the information provided is relevant, complete, and within the legal framework.
We help organisations develop customised SAR processes and workflows, ensuring that each request is handled in a timely and compliant manner. Our recommendations focus on improving efficiency, from request verification to data delivery.
Our consultancy includes tailored collaboration sessions to upskill your internal team, ensuring they are well-prepared to handle SARs independently in the future.
Our SAR Consultancy Service not only provides expert advice on individual SARs but also extends to encompass the strategic and operational aspects of SAR management. By helping you improve internal processes, develop staff capabilities, build resilience within the team, and streamline SAR handling procedures, we enable your team to handle requests efficiently while staying compliant with data protection legislation.
We begin with an initial consultation to assess your organisation’s SAR needs and develop a tailored advisory plan. Our consultancy covers areas such as request verification, data discovery, redaction and exemption advice, drafting responses to data subjects, and optimising workflows for ongoing SAR management. Importantly, we work with you to develop and implement robust processes and procedures, ensuring you are well equipped to handle SARs in the long term.
A dedicated account manager to ensure a smooth and efficient process.
Development and streamlining of scalable SAR processes and procedures to increase capacity and efficiency.
Quality control checks on redactions, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
Legal and compliance support, ensuring your SAR processes align with GDPR and other relevant laws.
Comprehensive SAR advice covering verification, data discovery, redactions, responses to data subjects, and communications with the ICO.
Flexible monthly hour allowance tailored to your organisation’s needs.
Collaborative sessions and training to enhance your team’s SAR handling capabilities.
While our SAR Consultancy focuses on advisory and process optimisation, we also offer a full SAR Redaction Service as a separate service. When needed, we can refer you to our specialised team for secure and compliant SAR redaction. Our dedicated Subject Access Request Officers handle this service, ensuring all redactions meet data protection laws and undergo rigorous quality assurance before delivery. Visit our SAR Redaction Service page for more information.
In addition, we provide data conversion and deduplication services, converting the raw data collected during your data discovery into a redactable format, such as PDF, while eliminating any duplicate files. If you’re interested in this service, please get in touch with us.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
Easy to understand data privacy and information security services that are always accessable, consistenty pragmatic and continually exceeding expectations.
Keeping up to date with changes in data protection regulations, and best practices, can often be challenging for organisations. By outsourcing to an expert consultancy like us, organisations can access data protection professionals and lawyers who stay current with the latest developments, case law, and have the subject matter expertise to support your organisation.
Outsourcing allows your organisation to scale up requirements as needed, without the commitment of a full-time, or part-time, employee. We have the capacity and capability to hit the ground running and support your organisation whenever you need it, so you can focus on your core business activities — whilst we ensure that your data protection requirements are being met.
We have a wealth of experience delivering data protection and information security projects and training, to public, private, and third sectors. We understand that each organisation faces its own challenges, and always provide tailored solutions to meet your specific requirements.
We are extremely competitive, and our work consistently exceeds our customers’ expectations. Instead of hiring and maintaining an in-house team or seeking external legal advice, we’ll work closely with you to develop a customised plan that meets your specific needs, and budget.
We work with you to identify any potential threats and take steps to mitigate them, reducing the risk of reputational damage and compliance fines. With our up-to-date knowledge on current issues facing data protection and information security we can take proactive measures to safeguard your data.
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Helping organisations access the value of their data, create a vision, embed the change and build the future.
Please note all information on this website is for your help and guidance. It should not be regarded as an authoritative or definitive statement of the law.
