The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has developed an extensive set of policies and procedures covering human resources (including hiring, orientation assessment and exit), financial control (including due diligence, procurement, fraud and corruption and travel), technology (security and protection of data, systems and people), governance and management (including conflict of interest, sexual harassment, anti-discrimination), environmental impact and social responsibility and events (including principles of participation and events management). All policies are maintained in an online password protected space which all staff and the board of directors, have access to.
Following are some of APC’s key policies:
Human resources
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has developed an extensive set of policies and procedures covering human resources (including hiring, orientation assessment and exit), financial control (including due diligence, procurement, fraud and corruption and travel), technology (security and protection of data, systems and people), governance and management (including conflict of interest, sexual harassment, anti-discrimination), environmental impact and social responsibility and events (including principles of participation and events management). All policies are maintained in an online password protected space which all staff and the board of directors, have access to.
Sexual harassment and code of conduct
APC is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for discussing issues related to its community. The APC community comprises members of the network, all APC staff and team and its larger network of partners, friends and allies.
The code of conduct and ground rules apply to member meetings, all APC hosted events, conference-related social events, such as parties or gatherings at restaurants or bars and spaces, and includes our mailing lists, wikis, platforms, websites and any other spaces that APC hosts, both online and off. In addition to the code of conduct, APC also has a Sexual Harrassment Policy. Both the Code of Conduct and APC’s Sexual Harassment Policy clearly lay out the sanctions and disciplinary actions in the case of harassment and/or inappropriate behaviour.
APC also has a Disciplinary Code and Procedure (Section 19 of the HR Manual) and a Grievance Procedure (Section 20 of the HR Manual) which lay out detailed procedures to ensure to ensure that acceptable standards of behaviour are maintained in the organisation and that all employees receive fair and consistent treatment in situations in which these standards are violated.
Whistleblower protection
APC is committed to high standards of ethical, moral and legal conduct and requires its directors, management and staff to observe the same standards in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. As employees and representatives of APC, we must practise honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and comply with all applicable policies, laws and regulations. In line with this commitment, and APC’s commitment to transparency, the whistleblower protection policy aims to provide an avenue for employees to raise concerns and reassurance that they will be protected from reprisals or victimisation for whistleblowing. (To be published soon)
Environmental impact and social responsibility
APC is committed to being environmentally sustainable as an organisation and limit its carbon footprint. We have created this policy to ensure that we are socially and environmentally aware and ethical in all our decisions related to making hotel bookings, travel, in our choice of technology and communications we use. This policy also ensured that we are not supporting or promoting practices that undermine labor rights, housing affordability, weakening of local economies by buying services from global investors, etc. as much as possible.
Free/libre open source software
APC is commited to the promotion of free/libre and open source software (FLOSS), open standards and the promotion of open sharing of knowledge. We are committed to creating and experimenting with technology using free/libre and open source software, tools and platforms. Promoting, disseminating and sharing knowledge about the use of FLOSS is central to our praxis. We consider FLOSS to be the only truly safe and sustainable digital tools choice that respects the needs of communities and reflects the culture of sharing, participation and collaboration that APC promotes on all levels.
Privacy
APC takes privacy very seriously. APC’s privacy policy outlines the methods that we use to collect, share and protect any personally identifiable information in offline and online settings. Our supervisory authority on data privacy is the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). If you want more information about how we protect your privacy, please write to privacy@apc.org.
Editorial policy
The APC editorial policy establishes the focus, values, and language and other standards that APC follows to produce and publish information. As an organisation that encourages contributions from people who have no professional training as writers, APC has decided to be explicit regarding its expectations for any type of published content.