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Frequently Asked Questions

What is this platform for?

This platform is a central hub to share information and hear your views and feedback. Active projects are shown on the homepage. Each project may have a different method of engagement, including:

  • Adding an idea.
  • Commenting on a proposal.
  • Voting on ideas or projects.
  • Taking part in a survey.


Who manages this platform?

  • Calderdale Council manages the content on this platform.
  • Go Vocal hosts the platform, providing tools, software and support.


Can I use the platform without creating an account?

Yes, some projects and activities are open to everyone and you do not need to register an account to take part.

If you do not create an account or log in, you can:

  • View public projects.
  • Take part in some anonymous surveys.


When would I need to create an account or provide an email address?

  • The platform has in-built settings that might ask you to create an account or log in before you can take part in some activities.
  • An example is a project where you share comments or images that are visible to others.
  • In these kinds of projects, it is important we can monitor the content and ensure it follows our guidelines (outlined further down this page).
  • This helps us provide the best experience and support to everyone.


What information can people see about me?

  • Your name, photo and bio, if you’ve added one.
  • You can always change these in your Settings.


Why can’t I post my input or submit a comment?

  • Posting, commenting and voting may only be available for certain times or phases of a project.
  • And some projects may only be open for feedback from a certain target or focus group.
  • If posting is turned on for a project, you’ll see a button that prompts you to submit a post.


How do I edit or delete my comments or ideas?

  • Choose the three small dots on the top right of the post to change or delete your comment or idea.


What are the community guidelines and moderation policies?

Our community guidelines help us make sure that the platform is a safe space for everyone. Please ensure your posts are free of offensive or extreme views.

This includes content that attacks, criticises or is negative about an individual or a group because of nine protected characteristics:

  • age
  • gender reassignment
  • being married or in a civil partnership
  • being pregnant or on maternity leave
  • disability
  • race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
  • religion or belief
  • sex
  • sexual orientation

Please ensure your comments or posts follow our Community Guidelines.

Any posts or comments that do not follow our guidelines may be edited or deleted.

You can also review our Terms & Conditions for more information.


Why do you ask demographic or monitoring questions?

When registering an account on the Engage Calderdale platform:

  • The platform is for people aged over 13 years, living in or connected to Calderdale.
  • So, we ask you to confirm your age and ward area when you sign up.
  • Other demographic questions when you sign up are optional.
  • The demographic questions help us to understand more about who is using the platform.

When taking part in some consultations or activities:

  • Some surveys might include monitoring questions, such as sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and location.
  • These questions help us find out if we are hearing from all the protected characteristics and all the different people living in Calderdale.
  • It also helps us find out who we are not be hearing from, so we can look for different ways to include people.
  • Usually, demographic or monitoring questions in surveys are optional or include a "Prefer not to say option".


I completed demographic or monitoring questions when I registered my account. Why are you asking them again in a survey?

Reasons include:

  • When we have surveys that are open to everyone, including people who have not created an account.
  • When we need to ask different or extra monitoring questions, for example different age categories.
  • When we share surveys made by partner organisations, such as NHS or West Yorkshire Combined Authority.


How do I report an offensive post?

  • Choose the three small dots on the top right corner of the post to report it.
  • Please include the reason for reporting it, to ensure we get the notification.


Why am I having difficulty signing up or logging in?

Reasons include:

  • You might have already registered with the same email address.
  • You might have previously received an invitation to join the platform.

Solutions:

  • Check your email inbox or spam folder for a message saying you have an invitation to join the platform.
  • If you find the email, follow the link to register your account.
  • If you can't find the email, request a new invitation.
  • If you've already registered with the same email address, enter your password or reset it.


How do I reset my password?

  • You can always request to reset your password from the log in page.
  • If you reset your password, a link will be sent to your email address.
  • Follow the instructions to change your password.
  • For security reasons, the link is valid for one hour.
  • If the link has expired, click on ‘Forgot password?’ in the log in page to get a new reset link.
  • If you didn’t get the email, check your spam folder and check you sent it to the same email address you signed up with.


What will you do with my data?

  • View our privacy policy (at the bottom of the platform home page) for more information on data collection and usage.
  • We will never use your data for advertising, marketing or other types of spam.
  • Most consultations and projects on this platform include their own privacy notices setting out how we manage your data.


What if I change my mind and want to delete my online survey response after I have submitted it?

  • Save or screenshot the unique reference number you see on your screen when you submit a survey.
  • Send the reference number, along with the name of the project, to support@govocal.com and ask them to delete your response.


What emails will I receive?

If you have created an account or signed in to a project with an email, you might receive emails related to your account and your activity on the platform.

  • An example is when someone responds to one of your posts.
  • Another example is if you follow a project and something changes.
  • You can control which emails you receive in your Settings.
  • There is a section called “Notifications” where you can turn email notifications on and off.


How do I delete my account?

  • There is the option to delete your account in your Settings.
  • Input that you’ve posted will remain published, but your name will be removed and replaced with ‘unknown author.’
  • If you’d like to delete all of your input, please do so before deleting your account.


Do you use Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

The Engage Calderdale platform has some in-built AI tools provided by Go Vocal to help us analyse and interpret your written comments. We will use it in the following ways:

  • We may use the AI tools in the platform to analyse comments and written feedback.
  • We may also use Microsoft Co-Pilot AI as part of Calderdale Council's Microsoft software licence (restricted for use by Calderdale Council employees).
  • We will indicate when and where AI has been used within official outcome reports.
  • No personal information will be processed using AI and there is no automated decision-making.
  • Machine (AI) summaries will be checked and cross-referenced by a human to maintain accuracy and reduce bias.


Can you detect AI or machine responses?

  • If you use AI or bots to create comments or views, we may be able to detect this using in-built monitors.
  • We reserve the right to classify these as machine responses which are ineligible for further consideration.


Got more questions?