Terms and Conditions: Data Maturity Matters Consortium

Terms and Conditions of Membership

Effective Date: 1st October 2025

1. Introduction and Sign-Up Conditions

Welcome to the Data Maturity Matters Consortium. These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") are binding sign-up conditions that govern your participation as a member of our collaborative community.

By subscribing to membership via our website and clicking "I Accept" or "Subscribe," you explicitly agree to be bound by these Terms in full. Membership is contingent upon your acceptance of and ongoing compliance with these Terms and Conditions.

Data Maturity Matters is a collaborative initiative between Lumenai LABS and The Talent Intelligence Community, dedicated to establishing academically rigorous standards in people data maturity.

No individual or organisation may join or maintain membership in the Consortium without accepting these Terms and Conditions.

1.1 Email Address Requirements

All membership applications must be submitted using an organisational domain-based email address. Personal email addresses (such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or similar free email services) are not accepted for Consortium membership.

Your organisational email address:

  • Verifies your affiliation with a legitimate organisation

  • Ensures accountability and professional standing

  • Facilitates communication within your organisation regarding Consortium activities

  • Demonstrates commitment to the Consortium's professional standards

Applications submitted with personal email addresses will be rejected. If your organisational circumstances change, you must update your email address to reflect your current organisational affiliation or notify the Committee of your situation.

2. Membership Categories

The Consortium welcomes participation from five key stakeholder groups:

  • Academics – Contributing research rigour, theoretical foundations, and scholarly perspectives

  • Business Leaders – Sharing practical implementation experience and organisational insights

  • Policy Makers – Providing regulatory, ethical, and governance expertise

  • Developers – Offering technical knowledge, tool development, and platform innovation

  • Vendors – Contributing to the evolution of standards and participating in the transparent development and implementation of frameworks for the benefit of the Consortium and the broader people data maturity initiative

3. Active Contribution Requirements

3.1 Minimum Contribution Frequency

All Consortium members are required to make at least one substantive contribution every six (6) months to maintain active membership status. This requirement ensures the vitality and ongoing development of our collaborative community.

3.2 Acceptable Forms of Contribution

Contributions may take any of the following forms:

  • Hosting or presenting a talk at a Consortium event, webinar, or conference

  • Participating in a podcast or recorded discussion on topics related to people data maturity

  • Sharing use case results demonstrating the application of Consortium frameworks or standards

  • Documenting implementation experiences detailing how you have successfully implemented any part of the Consortium toolbox within your organisation

  • Contributing to research papers or white papers published by the Consortium

  • Participating in working groups that develop or refine standards and frameworks

  • Providing peer review of tools, frameworks, or research produced by the Consortium

  • Other contributions as approved by the Consortium Committee that advance our mission

3.3 Documentation of Contributions

Members are responsible for notifying the Consortium Committee of their contributions. The Committee maintains a record of member contributions to ensure compliance with these Terms.

3.4 Vendor-Specific Obligations

Vendors, in addition to the general contribution requirements, agree to:

  • Actively participate in the evolution and refinement of Consortium standards and frameworks

  • Contribute transparently to the development process, sharing insights, data, and learnings that advance the collective knowledge

  • Implement standards in a manner that demonstrates commitment to the Consortium's mission of transparency and rigorous methodology

  • Share implementation feedback that helps improve the practical application of standards across the industry

  • Collaborate openly with other members to ensure vendor solutions align with and advance Consortium objectives rather than narrow commercial interests

Vendors acknowledge that their participation serves the greater good of the people data maturity initiative and the Consortium community, not solely their individual commercial objectives.

4. Intellectual Property and Usage Rights

4.1 Consortium Materials

All frameworks, standards, toolboxes, research, and materials developed by the Consortium remain the intellectual property of Data Maturity Matters and its founding organisations, Lumenai LABS and The Talent Intelligence Community.

4.2 Permitted Use

Members may use Consortium materials for:

  • Implementation within their own organisations

  • Educational and research purposes

  • Non-commercial knowledge sharing

  • Professional development activities

4.3 Prohibited Use

Members expressly agree NOT to:

  • Use Consortium materials as the primary basis for commercial products or services offered to third parties for financial gain

  • Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract proprietary methodologies from Consortium tools or frameworks for commercial exploitation

  • Rebrand or repackage Consortium materials as their own proprietary offerings

  • Share Consortium materials with non-members in ways that circumvent membership requirements

  • Remove attribution or misrepresent the source of Consortium materials

4.4 Commercial Licensing

Members interested in commercial applications of Consortium materials beyond the permitted use outlined above must contact the Consortium Committee to arrange appropriate licensing agreements.

5. Removal and Termination

5.1 Grounds for Removal

The Consortium Committee reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership for any of the following reasons:

  • Failure to contribute as required under Section 3.1 for two consecutive six-month periods

  • Failure to meet vendor-specific obligations as outlined in Section 3.4 (applicable to vendors)

  • Violation of intellectual property terms as outlined in Section 4

  • Use of Consortium materials for primary financial gain without appropriate licensing

  • Reverse engineering of Consortium tools, frameworks, or methodologies for commercial purposes

  • Misrepresentation of Consortium affiliation or materials

  • Behaviour inconsistent with the collaborative, transparent, and academically rigorous values of the Consortium

  • Breach of confidentiality regarding materials designated as confidential or pre-publication

  • Lack of transparency in development or implementation activities (particularly applicable to vendors)

5.2 Removal Process

Before termination, the Committee will:

  1. Provide written notice of the concern or violation

  2. Allow the member thirty (30) days to respond or rectify the situation

  3. Make a final determination based on the member's response

In cases of egregious violations (such as intellectual property theft or commercial exploitation), the Committee may implement immediate suspension pending investigation.

5.3 Voluntary Withdrawal

Members may voluntarily withdraw from the Consortium at any time by deleting their membership account. In this instance all rights to access Consortium materials and use the Consortium affiliation cease immediately.

6. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Members agree to:

  • Maintain confidentiality of any materials designated as confidential or pre-publication

  • Respect the privacy and data protection requirements of all Consortium members

  • Comply with applicable data protection regulations (including GDPR where applicable) when handling any personal or organisational data shared within the Consortium

7. Amendments to Terms

The Consortium Committee reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Members will be notified of material changes via email and will have thirty (30) days to accept the revised Terms or withdraw their membership.

All new members must accept the current version of these Terms and Conditions as part of their sign-up process. Historical versions do not apply to new memberships.

8. Dispute Resolution

Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be resolved through:

  1. Good faith negotiation between the parties

  2. Mediation, if negotiation is unsuccessful

  3. Arbitration or legal proceedings as a final resort, governed by the laws of [Specify Jurisdiction]

9. Limitation of Liability

The Consortium, its founding organisations, and Committee members provide all materials, frameworks, and standards "as is" without warranties of any kind. Members use Consortium materials at their own risk. The Consortium is not liable for any damages arising from the use or implementation of its materials.

10. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

11. Contact Information

For questions regarding these Terms or your membership, please contact:

Data Maturity Matters Consortium Committee
Email: antonia@lumenai.tech

Mandatory Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

IMPORTANT: Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions is a mandatory requirement for membership in the Data Maturity Matters Consortium.

By clicking "I Accept" or "Subscribe" on our website, you confirm that you:

  1. Have read and fully understood these Terms and Conditions

  2. Agree to be legally bound by all provisions contained herein

  3. Commit to fulfilling the contribution requirements outlined in Section 3

  4. Acknowledge the intellectual property restrictions in Section 4

  5. Understand the grounds for removal outlined in Section 5

  6. Accept that failure to comply with these Terms may result in suspension or termination of membership

  7. Are using a valid organisational domain-based email address as required in Section 1.1

Your membership application will not be processed without your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions via our website subscription process.

Website Subscription Process

To complete your membership application:

  1. Visit the Data Maturity Matters Consortium website @ www.datamaturitymatters.tech

  2. Complete the membership application form using your organisational email address

  3. Select your membership category (Academic, Business Leader, Policy Maker, Developer, or Vendor)

  4. Review these Terms and Conditions in full

  5. Click "I Accept These Terms and Conditions"

  6. Submit your application

Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email at your organisational email address. The Consortium Committee will review your application and notify you of approval status within 5 business days.

Your acceptance is recorded electronically and constitutes a legally binding agreement.