We live and work in an era where huge amounts of data flows in and out of our associations. The stakes are high to use that information wisely, to protect and to manage it well. It seems, however, so easy to be overwhelmed by the size of the project. Even a small association can have thousands, even millions, of data points. That’s too much information to leave to manage itself.
You might ask yourself:
- Who in our organization is responsible for protecting the personal information we collect about our members?
- How do we ensure reporting is accurate?
- What standards do we use to ensure the data is correct?
- Who is allowed to change member records?
- How do we handle downloads from outside vendors such as event companies?
These questions (and many others) can be addressed by establishing effective data governance — the overarching set of processes and policies that ensure data is managed properly in your association. Data governance can be divided loosely into four areas:
- Data quality
- Data ownership
- Data management
- Data security
We’d like to share our recommendations for starting effective data governance in your association. We like to think of it as “Data Governance 101,” the basics of how to build the policies and procedures you’ll need to extract the best from your data. Let’s start with who’s driving the process.
[Related: How to Deliberately Make Space for Innovation in Your Association]
Who Will Guide Data Governance Development?
Often, the responsibility for developing written data governance falls on the IT department, and that might be best for your association. Staff members from other areas, however, are also good choices, even if their primary job responsibilities are not in technology. You might think about a person from finance, membership, events, education or fundraising.
You might also consider creating a small, diverse taskforce. You’re looking for staff members who have the time and interest to develop the policies and procedures that data governance requires. This initiative can teach new skills and provide stretch opportunities for staff members who want to grow, but the process also requires good leadership and a solid understanding of the initiative’s goals. A diverse taskforce can help solicit advice and create buy-in from all departments.
In addition, a clear directive and support from senior management is also essential for a positive outcome. Give an individual or the taskforce the authority necessary to make changes. Set realistic goals and deadlines and check-in frequently with those managing the effort.
[Related: How to Turn Your Association Board’s Vision Into a Reality]
Start By Determining Your Data Quality
Everything begins with the quality of your data. You can get an initial assessment by simply asking your membership team how accurate they think the information in your database is. They use the system every day and have made mental notes about what’s lacking. Their sense of data quality can help guide your next steps.
If they believe your AMS is in reasonably good shape but could use some maintenance, you can go for low-hanging fruit and make checking accuracy a goal for the year. For the next 12 months, your team can clean up addresses, misspellings, bounced email addresses and other problems as they find them in the database. Make it a priority.
If you want to move more quickly, however, you might need to hire a consultant or outside vendor to help you clean the membership database. They can help eliminate duplicate records and run software to help correct problems like bad addresses.
The money you spend is often a good investment for several reasons. For one, clean data allows your staff members to trust the reports they pull. Correct addresses, emails and phone numbers help make your outreach efforts more effective because your communications actually reach your members and other audiences. Accurate counts and reports allow senior management to make better decisions.
Your governance task force can decide what initial steps to take and, after the database is clean, how to update it going forward. The task force will write the procedures for entering and updating records, as well as other policies, with input from the departments that are most involved.
Determine Who ‘Owns’ Your Data
The second area your task force should examine is data ownership. Who “owns” your records – enters, updates and manages them – depends on how access to the AMS is structured.
Access can either be centralized or decentralized. With a centralized approach, one department or group controls the data and the database. All changes go through them. Using a decentralized approach, however, staff members, volunteers, members and others are more autonomous and can make changes on their own. In this model, for example, your members could update their own records.
In either case, you will have three entities that provide input.
Three Entities To Consider
Let’s explore three important entities to consider for your association’s success.
- A steering committee to guide the process and set policies
- The owner or owners of the records – that could be a group like a membership department or members who are allowed to change their own records
- Data stewards – the day-to-day operational people
Small associations most often use a centralized approach to data ownership. If membership is the owner of a record, someone in finance would have to ask membership to make a change. As associations increase in size, it becomes cumbersome to have one person or department to affect all changes in the database. At that point, the ownership often becomes a group of people, possibly the entire staff and the data policies apply to everyone.
Initially, the data governance task force is responsible for establishing data ownership and creating the rules for entering new records or making changes to existing records. After the task force has finished its work, the steering committee will continue to guide the process by assuming responsibility for data ownership and updating data entry procedures.
Data Management
Effective data management makes it possible for associations, people and connected technologies to use data at the highest level. This type of access enables leaders to make data-based decisions on behalf of the association rather than relying solely on beliefs or feelings about challenges.
Specifically, managing data includes making sure that data is available to apps, analytics and algorithms whenever necessary, and that it is stored appropriately – in the cloud, offsite and onsite. It also involves disaster recovery and making sure data is available as needed when the worst happens. Also, archiving and destroying data as required is part of data management.
Over the years, associations have added association management systems, learning management systems, communication systems, content management systems and other disparate systems to their array of tools to help manage the important functions of the association. Properly managing the exchange of data among these systems is not just recommended, it’s often a requirement for good business.
New capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, data lakes or data warehouses, have their own requirements for good management. The task force will determine the response to each new technology as necessary.
The responsibility of data management is often relegated to the IT department, and the IT staff may be the best team to address data management. They can provide key insights into the project as the data governance task force does its work.
[Related: Association Management Systems (AMS): Benefits and Options]
Ensuring Member Data Is Secure
Data security is everyone’s business, and effective data governance includes ensuring the security of both your hardware and the data it contains. It also includes provisions to keep malicious actors out of your system.
Your data governance task force will determine how hardware like laptops and phones can be used and protected. And what to do when a team member leaves a laptop in a taxi or hotel room. Allowing employees to work from home also has its own security requirements.
Your task force will help write policies for how to share data and personal information with outside vendors. When you share data, to whom does it belong? What protocols does the vendor need to prove before you are satisfied with data security on their end? What do other customers say about a prospective vendor’s security measures?
[Related: Benefits of Outsourcing for Your Organization]
How Long Will It Take?
A big project like creating data governance can be daunting. The good news is that you don’t have to finish quickly, and you can set a reasonable timeline for your association. You might want to start small with the most obvious tactics. Most associations, in fact, think of timelines in terms of months, not weeks. We recommend that you tackle one of the four areas at a time, setting goals and deadlines as needed.
You may have in-house expertise you need to run the entire project. However, if you need guidance, we’re here to help. Want to discuss possibilities? Contact us!
