Electronic Participation Policy

Introduction

In its commitment to enhancing transparency, engaging with the community, and ensuring the voices of beneficiaries and those interested in environmental matters are heard, the Environment Fund establishes this policy as a regulatory framework for electronic participation through its various digital channels.

Objectives

• Enhancing the role of beneficiaries in improving the quality of government services.
• Empowering community members and stakeholders to actively contribute to environmental decisions and initiatives.
• Supporting innovation in environmental solutions by leveraging beneficiary opinions and suggestions.
• Strengthening integration between the Fund and the community to achieve national environmental goals.

Participation Channels

• The official website of the Fund
• The Fund’s Incentives and Grants Platform
• The official email address
• Social media platforms

Scope of Application:

This policy applies to all initiatives, platforms, and channels that allow beneficiaries to engage with the Environment Fund electronically, whether through surveys, digital platforms, or social media.

Core Principles of Data Sharing:

• Principle 1: Promoting a Culture of Participation: The Environment Fund shares primary data it produces or processes after ensuring compliance with the policies of the National Data Management Office, aiming to promote integration with other entities in the Kingdom. The Fund adopts the “Once-Only Principle” to obtain data from its correct sources and minimize duplication and inconsistency. If data is requested from a non-primary source, that entity must obtain permission from the original source before sharing the data.
• Principle 2: Legitimate Purpose: Data must be shared for legitimate purposes based on legal justification or a justified practical need that serves the public interest, without harming national interests, the Fund's operations, or individual privacy — excluding cases where data or entities are exempt by royal decree.
• Principle 3: Authorized Access: All parties involved in data sharing must have authorized access to view, obtain, and use the data (which may require security clearance depending on the nature and sensitivity of the data), and must have the necessary knowledge, skills, and properly trained personnel to handle the shared data.
• Principle 4: Transparency: All parties participating in data sharing must provide the necessary information for data exchange, including the required data, purpose of collection, transmission methods, storage mechanisms, protection controls, and disposal procedures.
• Principle 5: Shared Responsibility: All parties involved in data sharing bear joint responsibility for decisions regarding data sharing and processing according to the defined purposes, and must take necessary steps to verify data quality and apply the security measures stated in the Data Sharing Agreement and related laws, regulations, and policies.
• Principle 6: Data Security: All parties involved must apply appropriate security controls to protect data and share it in a secure and trusted environment, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and the directives of the National Cybersecurity Authority.
• Principle 7: Ethical Use: All parties involved must apply ethical practices when integrating and sharing data to ensure it is used with fairness, integrity, honesty, and respect — not merely by adhering to information security policies or regulatory requirements.

Participation Guidelines:

• Submissions must be constructive and serve the public environmental interes
• Respect for public regulations and morals is required.
• Submissions must not include misleading or offensive content.
• The Fund is not obligated to implement every proposal but commits to considering all inputs.

Participation Mechanisms:

• Submissions and proposals are received through approved digital channels and evaluated by the relevant departments within the Fund within 30 working days from the date of receipt.
• If a proposal is not approved, the submitter has the right to complete the regulatory requirements and submit an appeal for reconsideration by the concerned department. The appeal will be reviewed within 14 working days from the date of receipt.
• If a proposal is approved by the relevant departments, an implementation or appropriate handling plan will be developed within 60 working days from the approval date, and the participant will be notified of the actions taken.
• The concerned department will implement the approved actions or recommendations within 7 working days from the date of approval.

Fund Responsibilities

• Managing and monitoring digital participation channels.
• Analyzing data received from beneficiaries.
• Incorporating participation outcomes in policy and service development.

Evaluation and Review

The electronic participation policy respects participant privacy, and data is processed in accordance with the approved privacy policy.

Disclaimer:

The Environment Fund, its employees, or representatives bear no legal responsibility for the content shared by the public through its electronic channels. The Fund is also not responsible for any negative or offensive comments or opinions published and reserves the right not to publish or to delete any content that does not comply with the electronic participation policy and its guidelines.