Data Governance Framework
Data have been collected in various forms over long periods of time, largely residing in on premise or cloud-based repositories. As such, data governance has been informally adopted over the same time period, inviting disparate processes and policies regarding the use and management of data.
Coordinated understanding and management of these repositories are required to better equip the university in its pursuit to ensure data are effectively protected and to harness information for the purposes of data-driven decision-making.
It is important that Western be deliberate in its approach and attune its data resources towards the vision, mission, principles, success pillars, and programs associated with its institutional data.
Paying attention to our institutional data ecosystem through this framework allows us to be conscientious about why and how we engage with data, including attendant processes that relate to quality and reliability.
Using Seiner's (2014) conceptual framework, the pyramid above is a representation of the approach Western has adopted towards data governance. Within this context, it is recognized that virtually all of the data governance roles found within this model are already being performed throughout the university, even if on informal bases. This framework is designed to formalize and strengthen the accountabilities and responsibilities within each level.
