EEOC Data Governance Board Charter

Mission: The EEOC Data Governance Board (DGB) provides executive leadership and oversight for the development and implementation of the policies and processes which govern the collection or creation, management, use, and disclosure of EEOC data.

Guiding Principle: To ensure intra-agency data transparency to promote efficient and appropriate use of, and investment into, agency data resources. Data transparency includes:

• Openness:  Promoting and facilitating the open sharing of knowledge about EEOC data, including an understanding how and where agency data are collected or created, stored, managed, and made available for analysis.
• Communication:  Promoting partnerships across the EEOC enterprise to eliminate duplication of effort, stove-piping, and one-off solution designs.
• Accountability:  Ensuring agency-wide compliance with approved data management principles and policies. Understanding the objectives of current and future strategic or programmatic initiatives and how they impact, or are impacted by, existing data management principles and policies as well as current privacy and security protocols.

Core Responsibilities:

• Oversight and Decision-making

  Provides a forum for executive oversight and approval of the enterprise’s data management strategies and practices.  Data management principles and policies endorsed by the DGB apply to all phases of the data lifecycle (including its collection or creation, integration, storage, validation, analysis, dissemination, and destruction) and to all EEOC components.

• Resource Allocation

  In collaboration with the Information Technology Investment Review Board (ITIRB) and other EEOC governing bodies, sets funding and other data-related priorities to maximize the utility of agency data and fully leverage its potential within the enterprise.

• Assess and Prioritize Needs

  Continually assesses the analytic and reporting needs of the enterprise and reflects these needs in policy development and funding decisions. Supports stakeholder access to and delivery of EEOC data resources.

• Strategic Alignment

  Ensures that investments into data-related initiatives, and the principles, policies and practices established to govern them, align with the agency’s mission and strategic objectives and initiatives as well as current privacy and security protocols.

• Issue Resolution

  Serves as the final point of escalation for data-related issues and needs.  Clarifies and resolves issues on topics including, but not limited to, access, architecture, compliance, data quality, privacy, risk, security, trust, and precedent-setting data requests.

• Review Reports and Evaluate Membership

  Ensures that groups reporting to the DGB are established and comprised of staff members able to proficiently represent their respective member-organization.

• Facilitate Knowledge Sharing

  Ensures DGB-approved policies, procedures, and related decisions are documented and made available to agency employees and, where appropriate, external entities.  This transparency enables performance measurement and progress toward EEOC data governance goals.

• Compliance Monitoring

  Monitors application of DGB approved data management principles and policies by data-related initiatives and acts to compel adherence.

Accountability: The DGB may sponsor or mandate the creation of agency steering committees, boards, and other forms of working groups to focus on specific tasks. The DGB will review and approve charters that specify the tasking, relationship between, and reporting requirements of these entities.  The DGB will continually assess progress by receiving updates from these bodies at DGB meetings.

Membership: The DGB is comprised of EEOC executive leaders, all of whom have a stake in the collection or creation, use, and disclosure of EEOC data.  Members must be Office Directors or Deputy Directors or their appropriately-qualified designee. Specific member-organizations include:

• Office of the Chair
• Office of Chief Financial Officer
• Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs
• Office of Field Programs
• Office of General Counsel
• Office of Information Technology
• Office of Inspector General
• Office of Legal Counsel
• Office of Research, Information, and Planning
• Office of Federal Operations

One member will be requested to represent all Field Offices. Depending on the topic for discussion, guest subject matter experts may be invited to the meetings at the request of their DGB representative or the DGB Chair.

Chair: The Chief Data Officer serves as the DGB Chair.  The DGB Chair is responsible for:

• Liaising between the DGB and the Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Chairing and facilitating DGB meetings
• Defining meeting agendas
• Providing meeting support
  • Scheduling meetings and disseminating materials
  • Taking meeting minutes and disseminating them for review and approval
  • Managing DGB artifacts

Meetings: The DGB meets on a regular basis, and as needed, depending upon the type and urgency of issues that arise.  DGB meetings will occur in person whenever possible but the DGB can be convened for electronic voting.

Decision Model: The DGB is a decision-making body and strives for consensus when making decisions.  Each member-organization has one vote in the voting process and decisions will be made by simple majority.  Members have the right to abstain from voting.  The DGB Chair will capture member-organization votes (including abstentions and cases where the member- organization is not present to vote) and record this information in the meeting minutes.

Reporting: The COO will review all decisions made by the DGB.  In consultation with the EEOC Chair, the COO has the right to overturn decisions made by the DGB.