Data Governance – Changing Culture, Breaking
Down Silos, and Deciding Who is in Control
The Data Quality Campaign presents:
• Kelli Parmley, Virginia Commonwealth University
• The Honorable Frank Rasche, Kentucky House of
Representatives (3rd District)
• Tom Foster, Ted Carter and Charlotte Bogner, Kansas
State Department of Education
• Corey Chatis, Tennessee Department of Education
This Quarterly Issue Meeting is made possible through generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Plural of “anecdote” is
“Policy”
or
The view from 30,000 feet
Educational System
Educational
System
There is always a
well-known solution to every
human problem--neat,
plausible, and wrong.
Year H. Start State Total Population % Served 1993 2345 3456 5801 15897 36% 1994 2245 3564 5809 15796 37% 1995 2376 3625 6001 16025 37% 1996 2357 3713 6070 15975 38% 1997 2403 3878 6281 16107 39% Calculator 36.49% 36.78% 37.45% 38.00% 39.00%
Research:
The single best predictor of success in college is completion of Algebra II in high school.
Ergo…
Phineas T. Bluster H.S. has the following demographics: 42% minority
48% free/reduced lunch
14% limited English proficiency 33% none of the above
PTBHS
33% 15%
48% 42%
Data Governance and
Leadership Support
Tom Foster
Charlotte Bogner
Ted Carter
Before Governance
• Independent “silo’s” each collecting and reporting data independently
• Quality of data collected was unknown and “questionable”
• Minimal link or consistency in reports • No agreement on “authoritative source” • No agreement on definitions or policies • Inconsistent technologies
• Work often redundant
Challenges
• Challenges in meeting the hundreds of data requests KSDE receives;
• Challenges in explaining inconsistencies; • Difficulty in submitting federal reports;
• Confusion from schools regarding
policies/definitions/what was expected of them; • Resource constraints – essential agency-wide
information in the head(s) of a few individuals; and
• Minimal ability to make data available to data users.
The Road to Governance
• Gained executive buy-in.
– Commissioner
– Program Directors
• Learned what we could from business.
• Made Data Governance part of our
Information Security Master Data Management Policy Management Enterprise Data System - Metadata Data Requests Data Quality DATA GOVERNANCE EDEN – Federal Reporting
Governance Development
• Began with EDEN
– EDEN Coordinator – Data Stewards
– Metadata Repository
• Expanded to the entire agency
– Data Governance Board – Data Steward Workgroup
Governance Structure
Data Stewards and Programmers Data Manager / Coordinator
Data Owner Data Governance Board Executive Leadership Data Request Review Board Data Governance Board Executive Leadership Data Stewards & Programmers
The Role of Leadership
• Establish governance as an Agency
initiative, not an IT initiative.
• Establish buy-in rather than mandates.
• Advocate for data quality.
• Establish governance as a process rather
than a finite project.
• Resolve issues escalated from the Data
Governance Board.
Successes
• EDEN
• Student-Level Data Collection (KIDS) • Master Data Management
• Data Quality Curriculum
• Statewide Longitudinal Data System • Interagency Collaborations
• Accountability Governance Board • Transparency
Data Governance at the
Tennessee Dept. of Education
TN Data Governance Background
• Data Management Committee (DMC) formed in 2005 as first phase of longitudinal data
system IES grant
• 20+ data managers representing program areas in the Department, higher education, districts
• Each data element has one responsible data manager, regardless of location
• Attendance at monthly DMC meetings is
Data Management Committee
Goals
• Improve data quality
• Increase accountability for data accuracy
• Eliminate redundancy in data collection
• Improve understanding of data within the
Department and among districts
• Increase use of data to make program and
policy decisions
• Improve data reporting capacity and
timeliness of reporting
Culture Change Required to
Successfully Implement Data
Governance
Shift from:
• Programmatic focus Æ programmatic and data focus (requires new skill set, professional
development)
• Working in isolation Æ coordination Æ collaboration
• Reactive Æ proactive approach
– Advanced planning for change – Continuous monitoring of data – Outreach to districts
Successful Strategies
• Make one person responsible for overseeing the data governance group
• Frame data governance as a mechanism for issue identification and resolution
• Implement a log of critical data issues • Publish a data collection calendar
• Foster cross-program area responses to data issues • Include district representatives in the governance
structure
• Communicate tangible benefits to DOE and districts as result of data management
The Catalyst’s Role
• Ensure issues and suggestions for
improvement aren’t just discussed, but acted
upon
– Project plans with assigned roles and
deadlines
• Ensure the right people (across program
areas) are talking, coordinating, collaborating
• Provide support/assistance to data managers
• Follow up, follow up, follow up
Lessons Learned
• Assess the skill set and mindset of each data manager to determine the level and type of support they will require to be successful
• Ensure each data manager receives some value back from participating in the governance
structure – make it a resource instead of a burden
• Celebrate successes of all sizes – don’t
underestimate the power of acknowledgment • Prioritize identified data issues and ensure a
data manager is accountable for resolving each one
Benefits of Data Governance
Bottom Line: Higher Quality Data
• More aligned data processes Department-wide • More consistent, frequent communication with
the districts regarding data
• Reduction in redundant collections
– Closer to one version of the truth
– Reduced collection burden on districts
• Smoother transitions from aggregate to student-level data collection and reporting
• Longitudinal data system built according to program area needs – not just a technology project
Data Governance – Changing Culture, Breaking
Down Silos, and Deciding Who is in Control
The Data Quality Campaign would like to thank the Data Governance Subcommittee:
Arie van der Ploeg Learning Point Associates
Charles McGrew Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Corey Chatis Tennessee Department of Education
Donald Houde Arizona Department of Education
Hans L'Orange State Higher Education Executive Officers
Kathy Gosa Kansas State Department of Education
Kelli Parmley Virginia Commonwealth University
Laurie Collins Schools Interoperability Framework Association
Ora Fish Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
