Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure. Governance

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Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure

Governance

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Version History

Version Date Author Description

1.0 June 2, 2006 C. Almstrom Initial draft 2.0 August 14, 2006 L. Crooks, N.

Parry, C. Almstrom, D. Davidson

1st draft

2.0 October 13, 2006 N.Parry 2nd draft based on comments from CSDI Steering Committee September 8, 2006

Document Identification

Document Title Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure - Governance

File Name CSDIGovernance

Document Location

G:\CS\O.R.C.S\Projects\GeomaticsYukon\4140-89 CSW\Artifacts\25_Implementation\Governance

1. Introduction and Background

Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI) denotes those central, corporate services that support the

collection, sharing and distribution of spatial data for the Yukon Government. It comprises the server hardware and software needed to implement those activities, the actual data stored on the servers, and the operations to support government-wide spatial data management. The following are the primary

components of the CSDI:

• The Corporate Spatial Warehouse (CSW) is a central read-only repository designed to support spatial data analysis, publication (paper maps or web maps) and distribution. The Warehouse is available to all departments and Crown Corporations, as well as to some agencies outside of the Yukon Government. All unrestricted data in the CSW will be available to First Nations, the City of Whitehorse, and the public.

• Operational Databases will contain Department’s operational spatial data. These databases may

be file-based, or in SDE; however, there will only be one Operational SDE database in the CSDI. This SDE database has restricted access with read/write capability, supporting Departments in the creation and continual updating of their data. The operational SDE database promotes the coordinated creation of data at the departmental level, and also at the corporate level. Access privileges are dictated by the owning department.

• The Web Mapping Infrastructure is built on ESRI's ArcIMS and Moxi Media's IMF (Integrated Mapping Framework) technology. This is a shared infrastructure available to all Yukon Government branches, and in some cases external agencies, to present their data to the public or their internal clients. Data for these applications is hosted in SDE, and will eventually be based solely on CSW data.

• Metadata is based on ESRI’s Metadata Explorer which can be utilized both in ArcGIS clients for viewing and editing, as well as on the web through an ArcIMS web catalog.

A more detailed explanation of the CSDI services and architecture is provided in <<Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure – Architecture>>.

The CSDI is intended for use by all Yukon Government departments. Its primary champions and

contributors have been the two largest spatial data creating departments, Environment and Energy, Mines and Resources. Geomatics Yukon, the Yukon Government's central geomatics support agency, has coordinated the CSDI initiative. Geomatics Yukon is housed within the Information and Communications Technology Branch (ICT) of the Department of Highways and Public Works.

2. Purpose

Because it is a collaborative venture spanning departments, some definition of the CSDI's governance is needed to guide that collaboration. This document lays out the decision-making structures that will:

• Set goals and objectives;

• Establish spatial data management and sharing policies; • Set data and data management standards;

• Organize and enforce stewardship of the data; and

• Govern the day-to-day operations of the infrastructure, and the handling of spatial data within it.

3. Data Stewardship

Spatial data is an asset – our data stewardship model defines roles and associated responsibilities for husbanding that asset. The roles are: data custodian, data steward, information analyst and user. For each dataset or theme housed in the CSDI, there is a designated custodian and in some cases a steward. The permissions setup of the operational SDE database and the Warehouse determine who can act as

information analysts and users of any particular dataset, in accordance with the instructions of that dataset's custodian.

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For data owned by the Government of the Yukon, the owning body is generally the department, Crown Corporation or agency that creates that dataset. For data obtained from outside the Yukon Government, the "owning" department is the one that has entered into the agreement with the external party to acquire that data.

3.1 Data Custodian

The Data Custodian is an identified position within the owning department with authority and responsibility to establish rules for the creation, sharing and distribution of that dataset, and to enforce those rules. This authority is delegated by senior management, typically the Deputy Minister. The Custodian should be in middle management, which implies that s/he has enough other authorities to make decisions, commit resources and resolve issues.

Data Custodians are accountable for their data that is populated in the CSW. This accountability will include ensuring that:

• appropriate data models are developed (data must be organized and "packaged," so it meets client needs);

• data available is the most current; • data is of known quality;

• data follows CSDI data standard; • to “clear” data for release

• data contains comprehensive and accurate metadata; and

• data changes that may affect other datasets trigger the appropriate set of response or modification to the other dataset.

3.2 Data Steward

The Data Steward is a branch director or manager who at the request of and on behalf of a Data Custodian, can be delegated technical decisions of how the data will be stored and retrieved (territory-wide), or operational decisions of how systems processes will act on the data to maintain its technical integrity (territory-wide). This would only happen if the Data Custodian does not have the appropriate operational resources available to provide the necessary functions.

In Environment, the Manager of Information Management & Technology is the Data Steward for much of the department’s data. Energy, Mines & Resources does not generally have Data Stewards as the Data Custodians usually have the appropriate resources.

3.3 Information Analyst

We define an Information Analyst as a person responsible for creating, collecting and/or managing operational data. This role demands a certain level of technical expertise and is concerned with enforcing the wishes of the Data Custodian within the limitations of the CSDI standards. Information analysts will also suggest data for inclusion in the Corporate Spatial Warehouse.

3.4 User

Users have read-only access to data in the Corporate Spatial Warehouse, in order to generate maps and do analysis. They differ from Information Analysts in that they do not create or update data within the Operational Database. A slight nuance is that the Data Steward may provide work space for a user within the Operational Database, and allow him or her read/write access to it. Such a user is not considered an Information Analyst until s/he creates datasets that are shared through the Warehouse.

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4. CSDI Governance

ICT, as the Yukon Government's corporate agency for Information Technology (IT) and Information Management (IM), has responsibility for the shared infrastructure and for setting corporate standards. As part of ICT, it is appropriate that Geomatics Yukon take on those roles in the specific area of spatial data. In order to effectively coordinate the CSDI to meet the spatial data infrastructure requirements of the entire Yukon Government, a CSDI Steering Committee has been formed to jointly make decisions for building and managing this shared infrastructure. A Data Advisory Committee has also been formed to jointly make technical decisions on behalf of the Steering Committee.

4.1 CSDI Steering Committee

The Departments of Environment and EMR have the greatest number of dedicated GIS (Geographic Information Systems) staff in the Yukon Government Although Geomatics Yukon does not create a lot of spatial data, they coordinate data acquisition and attempt to represent the GIS needs of all other Yukon Government Departments. Therefore it is essential that these three agencies have a seat at the governance table.

The ultimate authority for spending and personnel follows the line reporting relationships of the involved departments – managers do not cede any of their authority to the CSDI Steering Committee or the Data Advisory Committee. The Steering Committee will work by the involved managers' agreement, i.e. by consensus. The Data Advisory Committee will likewise work by consensus. When that committee cannot reach a consensus on an issue, that issue will be escalated to the Steering Committee.

Enhancements to the CSDI could consist of adding new data, upgrading existing data, or improving the server technology or infrastructure. Such enhancements will usually be done as projects, each with its own project structure – steering committee, working group, rules of engagement, and so on. In most cases,the CSDI Steering Committee will act as the project steering committee for these initiatives. The project sponsor and client will vary, depending on which department takes the lead role for that particular project. In keeping with the principle that managers retain their line authority, each project's sponsor, who brings the resources to the project, will retain ultimate authority for the project.

The CSDI Steering Committee is responsible for: • Setting goals and objectives, for example:

o Which data to load, and when;

o Hardware and software upgrades and enhancements.

• Deciding on technologies for the CSDI, and the level of support for them. Examples include: o_{Use of SDE, coverages, Oracle's Spatial Data Option;}

o Web mapping technologies. • Setting relevant policy, such as:

o Data access, use and distribution; o_{Data sharing.}

This policy would pertain to data in general. An example might be, "Any data loaded into the Corporate Spatial Warehouse will be freely distributed to the public." The rules for any particular dataset are set by its Custodian. Following the example, if the Custodian did not wish to allow public distribution, s/he could still support limited sharing of that dataset by storing it in the Warehouse, but only allowing certain groups of users access to it.

• Approving standards, such as: o_{Data quality;}

o_{Modeling requirements;} o Metadata requirements;

o Procedures for populating the Warehouse. • Recruiting members to the Steering Committee. • Defining roles.

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• Enforcing policy, ultimately through the line authority that members have with respect to the resources they contribute.

• Designating data custodians and stewards.

• Acting as the steering committee for CSDI projects.

4.2 Data Advisory Committee

The Data Advisory Committee (DAC) provides the framework and standards within which data custodians can manage, share and integrate their respective data sources. The DAC is composed of representation from the two primary departmental corporate geomatics groups, EMR Informatics and Environment Geomatics, in addition to representation from Geomatics Yukon. As in the Steering Committee, Geomatics Yukon attempts to represent the spatial data requirements for other Yukon Government departments.

The Data Advisory Committee is a working group responsible for: • Recommending standards, such as:

o_{Data quality;}

o_{Modeling requirements;} o Metadata requirements;

o Procedures for populating the Warehouse. • Quality-assuring models and data.

• Recommending data custodians and stewards. • Providing technical advice to the steering committee.

4.3 Geomatics Yukon – Technical Role

Geomatics Yukon, operating within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Branch, is responsible for:

• Maintaining a stable CSDI Environment with support from other ICT staff. • Providing operational support for the CSDI, for example:

o Help Desk services;

o_{Web mapping administration; and} o_{SDE administration.}

• Governance of data in the Corporate Spatial Warehouse. • Stewardship of data when delegated to Geomatics Yukon.

• Performing secretariat and communications activities in support of the CSDI.

4.4 Departments – Technical Role

Departments are responsible for:

• Custodianship of that department's operational data.

• Giving direction to Geomatics Yukon for the department’s data in the warehouse.

4.5 IT support

Both Network Services and Applications Services, also operating within the ICT Branch, provide support services to the CSDI.

Network Services is responsible for:

• Building and maintaining the CSDI infrastructure – server hardware and software, etc; • Assisting Geomatics Yukon with maintaining a stable CSDI Environment.

Applications Services is responsible for:

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5 • Managing Oracle accounts and user groups; • Backing up the Oracle databases; and

Corporate Spatial Data Infrastructure. Governance