3. Training for Data Governance

Overview

Data governance implementation often incorporates focused staff training to provide in-depth knowledge or build staff capabilities in specific areas. In the Prosci™ ADKAR change management parlance, while communications focuses on Awareness and Desire, training emphasizes building Knowledge and Abilities. This chapter reviews several types of training that can be considered to complement the communications activities to be covered in Section 2. Some of this training may already exist in the agency and can be adapted or integrated to fit within a data governance change management effort.

Data Literacy Training

Interest in the concept of “data literacy” has been growing in recent years within both public and private sector organizations. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write; data literacy is the ability to read (i.e., use and understand) and write (i.e., create) data. Many data literacy courses are offered through academic institutions and commercial sources; some organizations have created customized courses to meet their particular needs. Data literacy courses may target very different audiences (e.g., executives, data analysts, data users) and course content varies accordingly. Some of these courses go beyond the reading and writing of data and provide a broader perspective on data management and governance, considered to be important context for anyone creating or working with data.

Table 2 summarizes elements of data literacy training that would support data governance implementation within a DOT.

Table 2. Data Literacy Training Supporting Data Governance Implementation

IT Security Training

Most (if not all) DOTs require some type of periodic IT security training for any employee or contractor accessing the agency’s computing network. This training provides information about the agency’s security policies and procedures and covers various types of security risks such as malware, phishing, social engineering, and password attacks. Some IT security training will touch on topics related to data governance, so it is important for data governance staff to review the content of these courses to avoid duplication and ensure consistency with any new training that is developed. There may also be opportunities to integrate new data governance material within these courses. Potential areas of commonality include:

• Data classification schemes
• Definitions of personal, private, sensitive and confidential information
• Data privacy practices
• Data protection practices including encryption
• Data storage, transfer, and sharing practices and protocols
• Data recovery
• Cloud security considerations
• Data ethics

Records Management Training

Many DOTs provide Records Management training to designated records administrators, managers, or coordinators within each major business unit. The purpose of Records Management training is to familiarize employees with applicable laws and regulations regarding classification, organization, storage, protection, retention, disposition, and destruction of official agency records. Records Management training also covers requirements for responding to public records requests.

Records Management training has historically been focused on paper records but now covers records in both paper and electronic forms. Records may include database files, engineering design files, website content, emails, text

messages, and multimedia files (video, audio recordings, photographs, etc.). Similar to IT Security training, Records Management training may include topics related to data governance. The contents of Records Management training should also be reviewed to identify points of intersection with data governance. Potential topics of relevance to data governance are:

• Data classification
• Protection of confidential, sensitive and personally identifying data
• File naming conventions
• Record series definitions and hierarchies
• Retention schedules
• File storage policies
• Metadata requirements to ensure efficient records retrieval
• Documentation required for electronic records (which may include data models and data dictionary information)

Other Training Opportunities

Onboarding

Orientation training for new employees as part of the agency onboarding process can provide an opportunity for incorporating data governance content and improving data literacy. This might include:

• An introduction to data governance policies and guidance documents
• Information on the agency’s authoritative data resources
• Tips on recognizing and protecting personal and sensitive information (if not already covered)
• Do’s and don’ts for data handling and sharing

GIS and Other Data System Training

Training may be offered to help employees understand how to use GIS and other data query and reporting tools in the agency. These courses can be supplemented with information to reinforce data governance policies and guidance, such as:

• Metadata – how to find it and how to create it
• Data Quality – how to recognize and report errors
• Data Sharing – best practices for sharing data with others (inside and externally)

Summary

Training is an important element of change management for data governance implementation. It complements data governance communications activities by providing in-depth coverage of concepts, procedures, and methods that employees need to understand to adhere to data governance policies and guidance. DOTs can take advantage of

opportunities to integrate or reinforce data governance-related topics into existing course offerings for IT security, records management, GIS, and other data system training. Data governance concepts can also be included in a broader data literacy training effort and in onboarding training.