Establishing Data Governance for a Public Sector Organization
Challenge
A government entity responsible for managing utilities in one of the nation’s largest states faced significant challenges regarding data management and governance. Furthermore, a recent internal audit had flagged several areas for improvement, prompting the need for action. The organization faced a number of challenges, including multiple, disparate source systems with data inconsistencies; no established process or framework for data governance; issues with poor data quality; and an inability to run crucial analytics.
Key issues:
- Data lacked standardization and there were issues with quality.
- There was no established process or framework for data governance.
- There were inadequate security measures to manage access control.
- The organization lacked visibility into the data because they could not run analytics.
- The existing systems made it difficult to plan for future projects or consider scalability.
Solution
The organization had an existing relationship with INSPYR Solutions after working with our Talent Solutions division in the past, so they turned to us again for trustworthy data governance expertise. Once engaged, our Professional Services division worked with the CIO to assess and address the organization’s challenges. Our team of experts overseeing the initiative included a leading data governance subject matter expert and data analysts who examined the client’s data and systems to determine the best course of action.
INSPYR Solutions delivered the following:
- Comprehensive Data Governance Framework: Identified key system and data owners or stewards responsible for data integrity; defined security and access control measures to minimize unauthorized changes; documented processes and role definitions to establish how the organization would maintain data quality going forward by aligning people, processes, and technology.
- Data Governance Tools: Recommended and integrated industry-leading data governance tools with the purpose of enhancing data quality through automated data profiling, validation, and cleansing; improved data visibility and standardization across the organization; supported ongoing data governance initiative through continuous monitoring and compliance management.
- Improved Data Quality: Corrected, cleansed, and updated various data sources to prepare the organization for the next steps.
- Roadmap for Future Initiatives: Provided a detailed roadmap indicating the steps needed to refine and implement additional data governance practices over the next 6-12 months; recommended steps to set up a governance council to oversee data governance practices.
Outcome
The government entity now has improved data quality, standardization, and visibility, and can perform analytics that were previously impossible due to inconsistent data. This initiative served as a strategic investment in long-term efficiency and analytics readiness, laying the foundation for future data analytics initiatives.
The data governance initiative resulted in significant improvements, including:
- Enhanced Data Quality and Readiness: This initiative resulted in clear, standardized data primed for accurate analytics. By establishing a system of data stewards and rigorous data quality checks, INSPYR Solutions resolved critical inconsistencies and ensured the data would be handled correctly going forward.
- Improved Data Visibility and Security: The new framework illuminated previously hidden issues in the organization’s data systems. With a structured approach to data security and role-based access, the team now faces a reduced risk of unauthorized data changes and has enhanced oversight across multiple systems.
- Foundation for Future Data Analytics: The robust data governance framework not only resolved existing data quality problems but also laid the groundwork for a future data analytics platform. This positioned the organization to transition to advanced data-driven decision making now that they have new insight into the data.
- Long-Term Strategic Investment: The investment in data governance was crucial to future operational efficiency and analytics capabilities as well as the ability to scale. This foundational work ensures that future data analytics will draw information from reliable and standardized data sources.
Robust data governance is essential to any data analytics strategy. By addressing critical issues such as data quality, standardization, and security issues at the root, INSPYR Solutions not only addressed immediate data governance concerns but also paved the way for future technology investments. This foundational initiative demonstrates the strategic importance of integrating people, process, and technology to secure data readiness in a complex public sector environment.
Client Profile
The client is a municipal government that serves a diverse population and oversees a wide range of public services, including utilities, transportation, public safety, and more. With a strong focus on environmental stewardship and community engagement, this government entity maintains a central role in shaping initiatives in the area and leveraging data to improve community services.
Technologies Supported
Alation, Ataccama, Collibra, Visio
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