# Data ownership & handoff

A workspace is either "For internal use" or "For an external organisation". The second one names
the organisation that owns the data and one person there: the data owner. You choose this when
you [create the workspace](./external-client-workspaces.md), and you can change it in workspace
settings.

## What the data owner gets

- An email invite to the workspace as a free
  [observer](./observer-and-external-collaborators.md).
- After they accept: read access to the projects, conversations and reports, and a badge in the
  workspace sidebar that reads "You are the data owner".
- Their own copy of the transcripts when they want one: a project's "Export" tab has "Download all
  transcripts".

The name you enter as "Owning organisation" also reaches participants. When a project uses the
legal basis "Consent", the portal's privacy card names that organisation as responsible for the
data, in place of "The organiser".

## Change the data owner or the ownership

Open workspace settings, "General", "Data ownership". You need to be an admin of the
organisation: "Only an organisation admin can change who owns this workspace's data."

To name a new data owner, change "Data owner email" and choose "Save". The new person is invited
as a free observer. The previous data owner keeps their access until you remove them on the
"Members" page.

To switch between "For internal use" and "For an external organisation", pick the other option
and choose "Save". The screen tells you what the switch does:

| Switch to | The screen says |
|---|---|
| "For an external organisation" | "This moves the workspace into its own billing and data context. Its projects will no longer move freely with the rest of your organisation." |
| "For internal use" | "This returns the workspace to your organisation's shared billing and removes its external data owner." |

The switch is refused when a paid plan is involved: "This workspace has paid billing, so we
cannot switch it between internal and external for you. Contact support to move the billing
first." It is simpler to choose the ownership when you create the workspace.

## Projects stay in their workspace

A project moves only between workspaces with the same billing and the same data owner. Your
organisation's internal workspaces form one group. Each client workspace is a group of its own.

So you cannot move a project from one of your own workspaces into a client's workspace, out of
it, or between two clients. The same rule applies when you move a conversation to another
project. The message reads: "Projects can only move between workspaces with the same billing and
data owner. Pick another workspace."

Create a client's projects in the client's workspace from the start.

## Handing work over

The create screen says a workspace for an external organisation "can be handed off to that
organisation later with no data movement." The dashboard has no control for that handoff today.

What you can do now:

- Give the client their data. The data owner can download the transcripts themselves, and you
  can share a report with its "Public page" switch.
- Give the client hands-on access. Remove them as observer and invite them again as "External".
- For anything beyond that, write to support@dembrane.com.

## Related

- [External-client workspaces](./external-client-workspaces.md)
- [Observer & external collaborators](./observer-and-external-collaborators.md)
- [Data ownership & compliance](../../features/data-ownership-and-compliance.md)
- [Export & data portability](../../features/export-and-data-portability.md)
- [Projects](../../features/projects.md)