City Data Steward
The City Data Governance Committee has voted to approve the role of a City Data Steward!
What is a City Data Steward?
As defined by the City Data Governance Committee, City Data Stewards are responsible for performing, coordinating, or providing oversight to many aspects of the management of data. Their responsibilities include a mixture of activities that they themselves will perform or they act as a connector to others that will complete the activity. For example, being a subject matter expert in their data and acting as the contact person for the data; following rules and best practices from City Data Governance; identifying and documenting applicable uses and context for data collection; and more. With this set of responsibilities, we can identify an important point of contact for all the activities that data stewardship requires.
Why is a Data Steward needed?
All data needs a steward. Having data stewards within the City helps formalize our behavior and data culture as an enterprise, and have a broader understanding of what data exists in the ecosystem and who the contact for data is regardless of the originating bureau. It’s important to note that most data will already have an individual (or individuals) performing these responsibilities; the intent is not to create additional, new work. This process ensures that someone is responsible and there is broad awareness of who is responsible.
Where can we learn more?
Right now, the City Data Governance Committee will be working on implementation and further identification of the Data Stewards.
Demographic Data Standards
The demographic data standards on housing status, household size, income, age, education, employment, location, place of birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation have been set and the final guidance and administrative rule text has been drafted. These standards are under current review by the Committee, set for a vote in October. If approved by the Committee, it will move into the administrative rule amendment process, to amend the existing Administrative Rule for demographic data standards, 18.03.
Future Directions
The Data Governance Analyst spent time this summer having one on one and small group conversations with Committee members and their colleagues about current governance priorities and challenges. This was especially helpful in light of the City transition changes that started July 1, 2024. We plan to share out findings and an updated City Data Governance roadmap next quarter. Stay tuned for those updates when they come!