Data governance in Native Title: Why it's important

Organisations thrive when plans and procedures are in place for managing data. This is particularly true for organisations such as Native Title groups and Prescribed Bodies Corporates (PBCs) who regularly generate new data through knowledge exchanges with Indigenous elders and Traditional Owners.  

Learn more about PBCs and the role they play in Native Title here.

Having an adequate data management system in place and practicing data governance is fundamental for all businesses to achieve their relevant objectives. But what is data governance, and why is it so important for Native Title organisations to practice? We have outlined the different components of data governance to help you understand the positive outcomes that come from effective data management.

What is data governance?

On a micro-scale, data governance refers to a concept of data management. It exists to ensure an organisation is consistent and confident with its decisions, maximise staff efficiency, and decrease the need for external intervention. 

When it comes to Native Title, data governance should be practised and addressed in the following ways:

Data currency 

Data currency refers to data’s timeliness as opposed to its monetary value. 

Direct and live data resources such as Web Map Services (WMS) ensure that maps display current instead of static information, and therefore have adequate data currency. 

Although you cannot undertake geoprocessing tasks on a WMS or view the WMS without an internet connection, recently downloaded WMS data can be used as a checkpoint to compare your data’s currency within the same screen. 

As many remote areas are faced with extremely poor or non-existent internet connections, creating a project based data repository is a great work around to check the currency of your data. 

Data ownership

PBCs document generational data from knowledge holders and communicate this knowledge through maps. 

As the data is often being documented and communicated for the first time, it is imperative to claim ownership of this data as it is being created. Effective data ownership begins with understanding how to manage and store data once it has been generated. 

Practicing data ownership ensures that when data is being handled by third parties, PBCs are able to confidently identify interferences and accurately pinpoint where discrepancies between draft and final sets of data may exist. 

Data quality

Effective data governance prioritises the quality and maintenance of your data. 

Maintaining metadata and correctly storing your data ensures that its quality and accuracy is less likely to be compromised when distributed.

Version control and naming convention best practice make it easier to distinguish between preliminary data and data that may have been altered by a third party or during external processes.

When there isn’t a system in place to maintain, check and own your data properly, there is a much higher risk of your organisation being unable to identify when and how interferences with your data have occurred. 

Being able to understand the differences between preliminary and adjusted data is imperative when it comes to Native Title and heritage surveys. Implementing quality data governance practices early on in the process will greatly assist with this.

If you want to learn more data best practice, take a look at our free course Deadly Data that is offered in the IMW Australia - On Demand

See who participates in the IMW Australia - On Demand here.  

Why is data governance important?

Supporting your business objectives

Data governance ensures that your organisation can achieve its business objectives. 

Native Title exists to recognise the traditional rights and interests to land and waters of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Data governance in the context of Native Title therefore seeks to streamline the processes associated with the recognition and protection of this native title.

In some areas of Australia, heritage surveys and cultural heritage management planning are fulfilled by Native Title organisations. The data created by these processes is important to manage to ensure correct protections of both intangible and tangible cultural heritage sites.

Longevity of your data

Much like any other organisation or department, sound and documented processes will ensure the longevity of your organisation’s data regardless of staff turnover, busy periods or other workplace related obstacles. 

As PBCs are generating data in the Native Title realm, it is extremely important to ensure the longevity of this data is maintained through data governance and best practice.

Sometimes PBCs use external consultants who work with their own data standards. It is important for PBCs to ensure that their data is being formatted in a way that makes sense for the staff and Traditional Owners to manage. 

Data governance increases the quality and longevity of data, but also ensures it is easily accessible for newcomers and easily understood and comprehended by third parties. 

Winyama is one of the only Indigenous digital consultancies in Australia that specialises in mapping and GIS, which makes our combination of experience, knowledge and expertise unique.

If you need help creating a data review or setting up systems for data management, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with our team to learn more about how we can help you with data governance. 

Explore our Data Processing and Management services here.

 

Teaser image credit: Tech Daily

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