In order to help privacy professionals fulfil their responsibilities effectively, they should, ideally, have access to: 

• a shared understanding of privacy best practices supported by recognised interoperable standards that are themselves derived from quantitative and qualitative data;
• trusted deliverables that help them to comply with the standards and rapidly respond to emerging issues;
• timely intelligence that provides clear insights into a broad range of emerging privacy issues;
• expert opinion to interpret developments in legislation and regulations;
• professional support that adds credence to privacy policy decisions, supports the strength of communications with executive management, and provides privacy professionals with assurance that their initiatives conform with thinking in other similar organisations;
• peer support from other privacy professionals who can share their experiences and ideas.

How the Enterprise Privacy Group Provides a Privacy Centre of Excellence

The Enterprise Privacy Group brings together private corporations and public-sector bodies to discuss their privacy concerns and collaborate on solutions. Each participating organisation will pay a single annual fee for access to all Group activities, which will include:

• Workshops: interactive sessions where participants co-operate to resolve privacy problems, explore emerging issues, or learn more about core privacy topics. The workshop activity is crucial, not only in the conclusions reached but particularly in the debate and information sharing that characterise the process. Workshop sessions will often result in reports;
• Reports: documents to brief participants on privacy issues, help them to resolve problems or direct them in the implementation of deliverables such as the Standard of Good Privacy Practice;
• Privacy Diagnostic Benchmark: a self-assessment survey tool that provides participating organisations with a detailed picture of their own privacy practice, an indication of compliance against legal requirements, and the ability to compare key privacy performance indicators with those of other participating organisations; Standard of Good Privacy Practice: a practical standard for privacy management that is derived from the Privacy Diagnostic Benchmark;
• Training Courses: training in Group deliverables and other topics;
• Annual Conference: a gathering of all participants in The Enterprise Privacy Group, featuring leading guest speakers as well as a range of break-out sessions;
• Quarterly Meetings: at which participating organisations and invited guests can discuss key privacy issues;
• Secure Online Forum: a private Internet site that provides collaborative tools including message boards, news, a diary of events and access to archived information.