Data Governance at UNSW

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The Data & Information Governance Office at UNSW has been established because institutional data and information are a strategic asset of UNSW Sydney and the appropriate governance for the management and use of data are critical to the University’s operations. Lack of governance can lead to operational inefficiencies and could expose the University to unwanted risks.

Data & Information Governance at UNSW is supported by policies, standards, procedures, guidelines and frameworks, and information about these for staff can be found on the Data & Information Governance intranet.

The Data & Information Governance Office is part of the UNSW Planning & Performance (UPP) business unit within the Office of the Provost.

At UNSW the following definition of data governance has framed our thinking:

"Data governance is the organization and implementation of policies, procedures, structure, roles, and responsibilities which outline and enforce rules of engagement, decision rights, and accountabilities for the effective management of information assets."

Source: John Ladley, Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy and Sustain an Effective Data Governance Program, 2012.

Key factors in data and information governance success

  • Data and Information Governance needs to be a good fit for each specific UNSW Data Domain and the University operations it supports
  • Data and Information Governance for each UNSW Data Domain needs to be developed collaboratively with the stakeholders
  • There is no single ‘right’ answer for every part of the organisation
  • Data and information governance is a stakeholder-driven activity
  • Data and information governance is a framework to enable the business to better manage information and data quality
  • No data and information governance activities will be undertaken without stakeholder buy-in and leadership