Data governance is a cornerstone of the Next Frontier program. Data governance is an enabling framework of decision rights, responsibilities, and accountabilities for data domains across the university. It establishes clear roles (such as data owner, data steward, etc.) and supports the identification, training, and reinforcement of best practices.
Data governance committee
2024-2025 academic year
During the 2024-2025 academic year, the Next Frontier program led the following efforts:
- Cultivating organizational alignment around a new data governance framework; and
- Developing role guidelines to support data ownership and stewardship.
2025-2026 academic year
For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Next Frontier program aims to:
- Revitalize the data governance committee with clear direction and membership (Sept 2025);
- Identify and provide initial training for owners and stewards (by Dec 2025);
- Finalize plans for ongoing support for owners and stewards; and
- Leverage the revitalized framework to advance and sustain strategic objectives more effectively.
Policy updates
We are also engaging in the process of updating relevant university policy and aligning it with the new framework. Current policies related to data governance include:
- Policy 8160, Data Governance Committee (DGC), identifies members of the university’s DGC and specifies that DGC is accountable to ITGC (which is functionally defined as the vice presidents of the university).
- Policy 8160 also specifies that DGC is responsible for “…establishing operating principles and values to promote and guide data governance at the University,” and that “the pillars of data governance will include access, use, and quality, and the promotion of best practices in record retention.”
- Policy 8060, Information Privacy and Data Security, defines the roles of data owner, data custodian, and data steward.