Chief Data Officers Promote Data Governance, Awareness, and Transparency
Transparency – Transparency is increasingly important, particularly within public services. The ability to present evidence for the good that government brings to its constituents, as well as providing the tools to evaluate those services, can be a very effective use of data. Open data, surveys, and dashboards can provide concise metrics of government performance while allowing input from the public to better service and improve allocation of resources.
With an established position at the agency level, a Chief Data Officer performs a vital role in being an advocate for developing Government data as a strategic asset. Through the promotion of governance, transparency, and awareness, both within the agency and to the public, a CDO can help their audience use data to affect outcomes. This role is paramount in developing policy, informing the public, and fulfilling the mission.
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The formal role of Chief Data Officer (CDO) is a relatively new position in the federal government. Though popular in the private sector, the role of CDO is just recently becoming more common as the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act requires it of cabinet agencies. There has long been a realization that the data that the Government collects is valuable, but now they are increasingly looking to use it to improve services and gain insight to implement effective policy. The establishment of an agency level CDO provides an opportunity to promote governance, transparency, and awareness to inform policy and better serve the public, Congress, and other stakeholders.
Governance – An agency-level CDO provides understanding and guidance to programs in effectively accessing data and managing it as an enterprise asset. It is important for programs to have an advocate at the agency-level with an overarching understanding of how their data fits into the agency mission, but also holds the stature needed to help maximize the value of the data through policy. Having a CDO oversee the flow of data promotes sharing and reuse of data throughout the agency. This is relevant in areas such as data standards and sharing agreements that allow information to easily flow through the enterprise.
Awareness – Data awareness and literacy are important both within an agency to empower mission leaders to use the data they produce, and externally, to develop an awareness in the public of the data accessible to them that can enrich their lives. A coordinated effort at a high-level is needed to make an impact, especially on a program level where the data often originates. Literacy is an act of governance, and data governance works best with buy-in from the top down, which a CDO is well-positioned to create.
