Policies & Guidelines
These policies describe the standards MFRS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED expects in its research, field operations, handling of information, business conduct and working relationships. They are intended to be used in practice — not kept on the website as statements that have no connection with how assignments are actually carried out.
How to read this page: these are MFRS’s public baseline policies. A particular client, contract, research protocol, ethics requirement or applicable law may impose a stricter standard for a specific assignment. Where that happens, the stricter applicable requirement is followed for that work. These policies do not replace project-specific agreements, statutory obligations or approved research protocols.
Ten areas that guide how we work.
The sections below cover both our public website and the operating standards relevant to research, fieldwork, people and information.
Privacy Policy
This section explains how MFRS handles personal information received through this website and ordinary business communication. Research respondent data is subject to the separate Data Protection & Confidentiality and Participant Protection sections below.
Information we may receive
When a person contacts MFRS through a website form, email, telephone, recruitment enquiry or other communication channel, the information provided may include a name, organisation, designation, email address, phone number and the contents of the enquiry.
If website analytics, security logging or similar technical tools are enabled, limited technical information may also be processed, such as browser or device type, pages visited, approximate geographic region, referral source, timestamps and IP-related security information.
Why we use this information
- To respond to enquiries, requests and potential project discussions.
- To communicate with clients, partners, applicants, vendors and other professional contacts.
- To maintain reasonable business and correspondence records.
- To process applications or expressions of interest submitted through recruitment channels.
- To maintain website security and investigate suspected misuse.
- To understand, where analytics are enabled, how the website is being used and how it may be improved.
- To meet contractual, regulatory or legal obligations where applicable.
We do not treat enquiries as marketing consent
Sending MFRS an enquiry does not by itself mean that a person has agreed to receive unrelated promotional communication. We do not sell or rent personal information collected through this website.
Sharing
Information may be shared internally with the people who need it to respond to the matter concerned. Where service providers are used for website hosting, email, forms, storage or related technical services, they may process limited information necessary to provide that service. MFRS does not authorise such information to be used for unrelated purposes.
Retention
Information is not intended to be kept indefinitely without a business, contractual, legal or operational reason. Retention periods may differ depending on whether the information relates to a simple enquiry, a client relationship, recruitment, a contract, an invoice, a project record or a legal requirement.
Privacy requests
A person may contact MFRS regarding personal information provided to us and request information, correction or other action available under applicable law. A request may require reasonable identity verification before information is disclosed, changed or deleted.
Some information may need to be retained where required for legal, contractual, accounting, security, dispute-resolution or other legitimate purposes.
Data protection law
MFRS intends to handle digital personal data in accordance with applicable Indian data-protection requirements, including provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and associated rules as and when those provisions apply to the relevant processing activity.
Privacy contact: questions or requests concerning website privacy may be sent to info@mfrsgroup.org.
Terms of Use
These terms apply to the use of this website and the information made available through it.
Permitted use
Visitors may use this website to learn about MFRS, review publicly available information, make legitimate enquiries and access material intentionally made available for public use.
Prohibited use
- Attempting unauthorised access to website administration, servers, accounts or restricted systems.
- Introducing malicious code or intentionally interfering with website operation.
- Submitting false identity, organisation or affiliation information for fraudulent purposes.
- Using website content to falsely represent an association, approval or partnership with MFRS.
- Republishing protected material in a misleading way or presenting it as another organisation’s original content.
Intellectual property
Unless another owner is identified, original website text, MFRS branding, graphics, reports and other proprietary material published by MFRS are owned by or licensed for use by MFRS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED. No ownership is transferred simply because material can be viewed online.
Reasonable quotation or reference may be permissible where allowed by law, but substantial reproduction, commercial reuse, alteration or misleading republication requires appropriate permission.
External links
This website may link to government portals, research organisations, client websites or other third-party resources. A link is provided for convenience or reference and does not automatically mean MFRS controls, endorses or accepts responsibility for all content available on the external site.
Website changes
MFRS may revise, move, add or remove website content as the organisation, its services and its public information develop. Where an important policy is materially revised, the review date on this page should be updated.
Applicable rights
Nothing in these terms is intended to exclude a right, duty or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under applicable law.
↑ Back to topWebsite Disclaimer
This website is intended to provide general information about MFRS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, its people, services, experience and operating approach.
Website content is not a project commitment
Information published on the website does not by itself constitute a quotation, proposal, contract, guarantee of capacity or commitment to undertake a particular assignment.
Geography, manpower, timelines, methodology, deliverables, pricing and other project requirements are evaluated for each assignment and are confirmed only through the relevant written engagement.
Professional experience and company experience are kept separate
Profiles of MFRS team members may describe professional experience accumulated before joining or establishing MFRS. Such experience is presented to explain the capability that an individual brings to the organisation. It is not represented as an MFRS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED assignment unless the company itself carried out that work.
Client and institutional references
Where a public profile refers to an institution, programme or study from an individual’s earlier professional career, that reference describes the context of that person’s experience. It does not by itself imply a current client relationship, endorsement, partnership or continuing association between that institution and MFRS.
Accuracy
MFRS takes reasonable care when publishing factual information. If an error is identified, it may be corrected. Visitors should obtain direct written confirmation where information is material to a tender, contract, procurement decision or other formal engagement.
↑ Back to topResearch Ethics & Integrity Policy
MFRS expects the integrity of an assignment to survive every stage of the work: planning, training, data collection, supervision, cleaning, analysis, interpretation and reporting.
No fabrication
Interviews, observations, back-checks and other evidence must not be invented.
No falsification
Data must not be altered to create a preferred result or hide an operational problem.
Method before convenience
Sampling, respondent selection and approved protocols should not be quietly changed simply to make fieldwork easier.
Limitations are reported
Missing data, access constraints or material deviations should be made visible rather than disguised.
Evidence before assumption
Findings should reflect collected evidence and appropriate analysis, not what a team expected to find.
Respect for participants
Good research cannot be separated from respectful treatment of the people who provide the information.
Research misconduct
Examples include fabricated interviews, intentional duplicate submissions represented as genuine responses, falsified GPS or time records, deliberate substitution of respondents contrary to protocol, concealed non-response, manipulated back-checks, unauthorised changes to data or knowingly inaccurate reporting.
Suspected misconduct should be raised promptly through the project reporting structure. Depending on seriousness, the matter may be reviewed by senior project personnel and the company’s Directors, and relevant client representatives may be informed where required.
Corrections
Where an error is discovered, the aim is not to protect the appearance of a clean dataset. The aim is to understand the error, identify its extent, correct what can responsibly be corrected and document any material effect on the work.
Client pressure and independence
Research findings are not to be knowingly manipulated to produce a result preferred by a client, field partner, respondent group or internal team member. Legitimate client review, factual correction and methodological discussion are different from altering evidence to reach a predetermined conclusion.
When something goes wrong
MFRS expects field and project personnel to report a material quality problem early. An issue reported while a team is still deployed can often be investigated and corrected; the same issue concealed until closure may damage the reliability of an entire assignment.
Data Protection & Confidentiality Policy
Research assignments may involve respondent data, household information, contact details, field records, client documents, questionnaires, recordings, photographs, location information, administrative records or other information that requires careful handling.
Our baseline principles
- Purpose limitation. Information should be collected and used for the legitimate purpose of the assignment and not casually reused for unrelated activity.
- Data minimisation. Teams should collect information that the study actually requires, rather than adding personal details simply because they may be useful later.
- Need-to-know access. Access should be limited according to role and project responsibility.
- Confidentiality. Respondent and client information should not be discussed, displayed or forwarded casually outside the authorised work environment.
- Secure transfer. Project information should be transferred through approved channels appropriate to the sensitivity of the assignment.
- Controlled retention. Records should not remain indefinitely on personal devices or temporary project systems after they are no longer required.
Personal devices and fieldwork
Where a project permits authorised mobile devices, tablets or laptops for data collection, personnel are expected to protect the device with appropriate access controls and avoid unnecessary copying of project data into personal galleries, messaging applications, personal drives or unrelated accounts.
Photographs, audio, video and location information
Images, recordings and precise location information can be particularly sensitive. They should be collected only where required by the approved study process and handled according to the project’s consent, confidentiality and storage requirements.
Sharing with clients and authorised third parties
Data may be provided to the commissioning client or another authorised party where this forms part of the agreed project process. MFRS does not treat project information as available for unrestricted internal or external use merely because the company helped collect it.
Retention and disposal
The appropriate retention period depends on the contract, project, client requirements, applicable law and nature of the records. When information is due for disposal, reasonable steps should be taken to delete, destroy, anonymise or return it as appropriate rather than leaving uncontrolled copies behind.
Confidentiality after an assignment
Leaving a project or completing fieldwork does not automatically end confidentiality responsibilities. Information learned through a confidential assignment should not later be published, circulated or used for personal benefit without proper authority.
Data incidents
Suspected loss, accidental disclosure, unauthorised access, compromised credentials, lost devices or unintended sharing of project information should be reported promptly. The response may include restricting access, changing credentials, preserving relevant logs, identifying affected information and informing the appropriate client or authority where required.
↑ Back to topField Research & Participant Protection Guidelines
Respondents are not simply units required to complete a sample. They are people giving their time, information and, in some studies, information about sensitive parts of their lives.
Before an interview or interaction
- Identify yourself and the organisation or study affiliation in the manner required by the approved field protocol.
- Explain the purpose of the interaction in language the participant can reasonably understand.
- Do not falsely imply that participation is compulsory when it is voluntary.
- Do not promise government benefits, money, services, employment or programme eligibility unless the approved study process genuinely provides them.
- Where formal consent wording has been approved for the study, use it as instructed rather than replacing it with an improvised version.
Voluntary participation
Where participation is voluntary, refusal should be respected. Investigators must not intimidate, repeatedly pressure or mislead a person into participating. If the applicable protocol allows a respondent to stop an interview, that decision should be respected.
Privacy during interviews
For sensitive questions, reasonable efforts should be made to conduct the interaction in an environment appropriate to the approved methodology and participant’s privacy, subject to safety and practical field conditions.
Children and vulnerable participants
Studies involving children, persons with disabilities, people in distress or other potentially vulnerable groups may require additional safeguards. Field teams must follow the consent, assent, guardian, privacy and safeguarding procedures approved for that particular study.
A general MFRS field rule must never be used to bypass a stricter client, ethics-committee or study-specific safeguarding requirement.
Sensitive topics
Research involving health, violence, disability, reproductive health, finances, personal identity, children or other sensitive subjects should be handled with particular care. Investigators should avoid judgemental language, unnecessary probing outside the instrument and discussion of a respondent’s answers with unrelated people.
Incentives
Investigators must not independently offer money, gifts or benefits to secure participation. Where an incentive or reimbursement forms part of an approved study, it should be provided only in accordance with that approved process.
Safety
No sample target is more important than immediate safety. A field visit may be paused, relocated or escalated where there is a credible safety concern affecting participants or team members.
Field identification
Where project identification cards, authorisation letters or official introductions are required, they should be used honestly. A team member must not falsely represent themselves as a government officer, beneficiary-selection authority or employee of another institution.
Practical rule: completion of a questionnaire does not justify compromising consent, dignity, privacy, safety or an approved research protocol.
Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy
Research and field assignments may require interaction with clients, government offices, institutions, local authorities, vendors and community representatives. MFRS does not treat improper payments as a normal cost of getting work done.
Prohibited conduct
- Offering, giving, requesting or accepting a bribe or kickback.
- Making an unofficial payment to improperly influence a tender, approval, inspection, selection, invoice, contract or project decision.
- Using an agent, consultant, employee, field worker or vendor to make an improper payment on MFRS’s behalf.
- Creating false invoices, expense records or reimbursement claims to conceal an improper payment.
- Offering personal benefits in return for confidential tender information or unfair procurement advantage.
Facilitation payments
Informal payments made to obtain improper preferential treatment or speed up routine official action are not authorised simply because they may be described locally as customary or convenient.
Gifts and hospitality
Ordinary professional courtesy should never become a method for influencing judgement. Gifts, entertainment or hospitality that could reasonably appear intended to influence a live tender, contract, approval, payment or evaluation decision should not be offered or accepted.
Project expenses
Legitimate project costs — such as approved travel, venue, logistics, printing, communication or field expenses — should be documented honestly and not used as labels for unrelated payments.
Third parties
MFRS personnel should not deliberately use a broker, subcontractor, local coordinator or other third party to perform an action that would be unacceptable if performed directly by MFRS.
If an improper payment is requested
The person should avoid making an unauthorised commitment and escalate the matter through MFRS leadership. Serious matters may require documentation, client notification or other action depending on the circumstances and applicable obligations.
Conflict of Interest Policy
A conflict of interest can arise when a personal, family, financial, professional or other interest may influence — or reasonably appear to influence — a person’s judgement in connection with MFRS work.
Examples
- A team member has a financial interest in a vendor being considered for a project.
- A person involved in procurement has a close relationship with a competing bidder.
- A researcher is asked to independently evaluate an activity in which they had direct decision-making responsibility.
- A field worker is assigned to collect sensitive evaluation data from an organisation with which they have a material undisclosed connection.
- A Director, employee or key project person has an outside business interest that may materially compete with or influence the assignment.
Disclosure
A person who becomes aware of a material actual or potential conflict should disclose it before participating in the relevant decision or assignment wherever reasonably possible.
How a conflict may be managed
A disclosed conflict does not automatically mean misconduct has occurred. Depending on the situation, MFRS may record the disclosure, obtain informed client acknowledgement where appropriate, remove the person from a decision, change responsibilities, introduce independent review or decline the activity.
Confidential opportunities
Confidential project information, procurement intelligence, client data or opportunities learned through an MFRS role should not be diverted for undisclosed personal benefit.
↑ Back to topEqual Opportunity & Non-Discrimination Policy
MFRS aims to make recruitment, engagement, field deployment and professional treatment depend on capability, conduct and legitimate assignment requirements rather than irrelevant personal prejudice.
Recruitment and engagement
Candidates and project personnel should be assessed against relevant factors such as experience, qualifications, language, geography, technical skill, availability, conduct and the requirements of the assignment.
Non-discrimination
Unfair discrimination on grounds such as sex, gender, religion, caste, disability, marital status or another personal characteristic unrelated to legitimate job requirements is not acceptable.
Field deployment
Some assignments may have genuine operational or research reasons for particular language ability, local knowledge, travel availability or appropriately matched interviewing personnel. Such requirements should relate to the work and should not be used as an excuse for unrelated discriminatory treatment.
Dignity at work
Bullying, harassment, humiliating treatment, discriminatory abuse or retaliation against a person for raising a genuine workplace concern is inconsistent with MFRS’s expected conduct.
Reasonable workplace concerns
Personnel are encouraged to raise genuine concerns with the appropriate supervisor or leadership contact. Where a separate statutory grievance or workplace mechanism applies, that mechanism should be followed as required.
Performance standards still apply
Equal opportunity does not mean that every applicant must be selected or every individual must receive the same field role. Recruitment, continued engagement and deployment may legitimately depend on performance, qualifications, conduct, client requirements, geography, language, safety, availability and other genuine work-related factors.
↑ Back to topInformation Security Policy
Information security is part of research quality. A well-collected dataset can still be compromised if accounts are shared, devices are left exposed or project files are circulated without control.
Access according to role
Access to project folders, data systems, administrative accounts, email, website management and other restricted systems should be provided only where the person’s role requires it.
Seniority alone does not automatically require access to every system.
Passwords and authentication
- Passwords for important systems should not be casually shared between team members.
- Different critical accounts should not depend on one common shared password.
- Multi-factor or two-factor authentication should be enabled where available and appropriate for important accounts.
- Credentials belonging to a departing or reassigned user should be reviewed and access removed where no longer required.
Website administration
Website administrator access should be limited to authorised personnel. Content-management, recruitment, technical and other administrative permissions should be separated where practical rather than giving every user full administrator privileges.
Devices
- Devices used for project or company information should use appropriate screen locks and passwords.
- Unattended devices should not remain openly accessible where sensitive information can be viewed or copied.
- Software and operating systems should be kept reasonably updated where technically possible.
- Lost or stolen devices containing or accessing project information should be reported promptly.
Email and messaging
Personnel should check recipients before sending sensitive documents, avoid unnecessary forwarding of confidential attachments and use approved channels where the project requires a particular transfer method.
Project platforms
Where projects use digital data-collection or project-management platforms, access permissions should be configured according to the person’s role. Accounts should not be created with broader access than necessary simply for convenience.
Backups
Important business and project information should be backed up in a manner proportionate to the importance and sensitivity of the records, subject to client requirements and restrictions on copying project data.
Suspicious messages and files
Unexpected links, credential requests, unusual invoices, unknown attachments and messages requesting urgent account changes should be treated cautiously. Sensitive credentials should not be supplied merely because a message appears to come from a senior person.
Security incidents
Suspected unauthorised access, compromised accounts, malware, lost devices, accidental disclosure or other security incidents should be escalated promptly. Delaying a report in the hope that the issue will disappear can increase the damage.
Administrative principle: access should follow responsibility. A Director, advisor, field investigator, HR user, project manager and website developer do not automatically require the same systems or permissions.
Review, responsibility and project-specific requirements
Policies become useful only when they are translated into decisions, training, permissions, field instructions and records.
Review
MFRS may review these policies when the company’s operations, technology, workforce, legal obligations, client requirements or research activities materially change.
Project-specific standards
A project may require additional confidentiality terms, safeguarding procedures, ethics approvals, information-security controls, data retention rules, respondent scripts, incident-reporting procedures or other requirements. Relevant project personnel are expected to follow those requirements in addition to the applicable MFRS baseline.
Contractors, associates and project-based field personnel
Where appropriate to their role, project-based personnel, subcontractors and other associates may be required to follow relevant portions of these policies, client requirements and project-specific instructions as a condition of their engagement.
Questions and reporting concerns
General questions about these policies may be sent to info@mfrsgroup.org. Project-specific concerns should normally be raised through the applicable project or supervisory structure unless the circumstances require escalation to company leadership.
Important: publication of a policy is not presented as evidence of a certification, accreditation or external compliance approval that MFRS does not hold. These are the company’s stated operating standards and are intended to be supported by actual practice, project documentation and internal controls as the organisation grows.
A policy matters only if it still applies when following it is inconvenient.
MFRS expects its standards on research integrity, participant protection, confidentiality, business conduct and information security to remain relevant when timelines are tight and field conditions are difficult — not only when a policy page is being read.
Questions about these policies can be sent to info@mfrsgroup.org .