Services desk policy

1. Purpose and scope

This policy governs the TIPCS services desk: the channel through which adults ask TIPCS for information, orientation, documents support and organisation help linked to its mission, including support for people who wish to study in Italy.

It covers every request made through a TIPCS account on www.tipcs.org, and everyone at TIPCS who handles requests. It sits beside the ratified policies on Safeguarding, Whistleblowing and complaints and Anti-fraud and integrity.

2. Definitions

• Request: a written demand for a service made through a TIPCS account.
• Requester: an adult, aged 18 or over, who holds a visitor account or a membership.
• Service charge: whether a service carries a charge is stated to the requester in their private account before they commit; no amount is shown on public pages.
• Study-in-Italy support: information and organisation services (for example explaining steps, checklists, document preparation guidance, scheduling); never representation before authorities or institutions.
• Services desk officer: a member of the executive administration or a trained volunteer assigned to a request.

3. Principles

• Adults only: requesters must be 18 or over; TIPCS does not accept requests from minors.
• No outcome promised: TIPCS does not promise a visa, admission to any institution, a job, a diploma, a recognised qualification or a language level.
• Information and organisation only: no legal advice and no representation.
• Fairness: requests are reviewed on the same criteria for everyone, without discrimination.
• Honesty about cost: whether a service carries a charge is stated to the requester in their private account before they commit; no amount is shown on public pages.

4. Rules and procedure

The Board supervises; the executive administration manages and signs. Steps:

• Account: the requester creates or opens a TIPCS account and confirms being 18 or over.
• Submission: the requester chooses a service and describes the need in writing.
• Eligibility check: the desk checks the account type against the service (see the table below).
• Review: an officer reviews the request, may ask for more information, and accepts, redirects or declines it with a short reason.
• Charge and payment: whether a service carries a charge is stated to the requester in their private account before they commit; no amount is shown on public pages. This policy never states amounts. Nothing is charged before the requester confirms.
• Delivery and closure: the service is delivered, recorded and closed; the requester may give feedback.
• Spending or refunds need three different signatures: the requester of the spend, the budget holder and the Board-designated signatory.

5. Response targets

Acknowledgement time: [targets to be set by the executive administration]. Review time: [targets to be set by the executive administration]. Delivery time: [targets to be set by the executive administration]. Targets are aims, not guarantees, and may be longer in busy periods.

6. Roles and responsibilities

• Board: approves this policy and decides which services carry a charge and in what amount.
• Executive administration: runs the desk, assigns officers, signs, reports yearly to the Board.
• Services desk officers: review requests, keep honest records, never promise outcomes.
• Legal counsel: advises TIPCS on the policy, not individual requesters.
• Requesters: give accurate information and original, lawful documents.

7. Rights and obligations of the requester

The requester has the right to know how the request will be handled, to be told whether a service carries a charge before committing, to correct their data, to withdraw a request and to complain. The requester must be an adult, must not give false documents, must not share account access, and must understand that TIPCS gives information and organisation support only. TIPCS may decline or end a service if rules are broken or if a request is unlawful. For legal questions, TIPCS gives no legal advice and refers the requester to a lawyer registered in Tunisia or in the relevant country.

8. Legal framework

• Organic Law 2004-63 of 27 July 2004 on personal data: requests contain personal data and must be handled with consent, purpose limits and rights of access and objection.
• Code of Obligations and Contracts: a service that carries a charge is a contract and its terms must be clear.
• Law 2000-83 of 9 August 2000 on electronic exchanges: online requests, electronic records and signatures.
• Decree-Law 2011-88 on associations: any income must be accounted for transparently.
• Constitution of 27 January 2014: protection of private life and personal data, and the right to education.
• Law 2017-10 of 7 March 2017 on reporting corruption and protecting whistleblowers.

9. Data protection

TIPCS collects only the data needed to treat the request, uses it for that purpose, shares it with third parties only with the requester’s consent or a lawful need, and respects Organic Law 2004-63. The TIPCS declaration to the INPDP is in progress. Retention: [period to be fixed by the Board after the INPDP declaration]. Requesters may ask for access, correction or deletion at Contact@tipcs.org.

Controller: Tunisian Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (TIPCS), registered office Avenue Mahmoud Bourguiba, Monastir 5000, Tunisia; contact Contact@tipcs.org. Under Organic Law 2004-63 you may ask to be informed about how your data is used, to access it, to have it corrected, to object to its processing and to have it deleted, within the limits of that law, by writing to Contact@tipcs.org. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you may complain to the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (INPDP), www.inpdp.nat.tn.

10. Safeguarding, non-discrimination, conflicts of interest, complaints

Officers treat every requester with respect, without discrimination, and report any sign of exploitation, coercion or trafficking concern under the Safeguarding policy. An officer with a personal interest in a request declares it and hands it over. Complaints about a decision or about conduct go to Contact@tipcs.org; confidential concerns use the subject “CONFIDENTIAL – Concern”. Whistleblowers are protected as Law 2017-10 provides.

11. Review of the policy and version control

The Board reviews this policy at least annually. Each version has a number and date and old versions are archived.