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Appendix 3

Data Governance Charters Template

INTRODUCTION

The charter is a critical document for a data governance program. It has several purposes:
1) Set out the operating framework
2) Document the purpose and objectives of the program
3) Identify the various components, such as councils or sponsors
4) Establish the level of authority the DG operating bodies will have
5) Identify the type of federation
6) Identify the names of participants
Consider that you may need a charter for each “layer” of your operating framework. A separate charter
for sponsors, councils, and forums might be necessary in larger organizations.
The charter is a living document, and should adapt to the growth and changes in data governance as
the program evolves. Below is a basic outline featuring important aspects of charter documents, along
with an explanation of each section.

Background

State what brought about the DG program. An MDM effort? Or a general program (EIM) to better
manage all data and information?

Purpose of the DG Charter

State the purpose of the charter. Is it emphasizing scope? Is there a DG Office that will oversee the
program or is there an informal virtual operating framework? Is it describing all of the DG areas or one
specific area? Describe the scope of the DG program.

Terminology

Very often a lot of new terms appear. Terms like MDM and data quality should be defined if they are
key concepts integral to the DG program.

EIM Vision and Mission

If the DG program is a component of a general move towards enterprise information management, then
make sure the Vision and Mission of the EIM program is described . Describe the context of DG within
the EIM program.
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