Thought Leadership Data Governance Forum The Search for Meaning: Cutting Through the Noise Welcome to the On-Line Information Governance Forum for input to The Search for Meaning, Cutting Through the Noise. The purpose of the On-Line Forum is to solicit input from the broader community of IG professionals and encourage input from people who cannot attend the workshops. The main objective being to create a foundational definition of elements and terms used when describing the practice of Information Governance from a business perspective. The approach we are taking is to tackle four Information Governance terms in separate forums. This forum will be focused on Data Governance. We have a discussion thread below with some sample definitions as a starting point for input and discussion, we ask you to review these and make suggestions of alternative definitions and ask for the opinions of others who are participating in the forum. New to the […]
CIO Magazine – Grappling with IG
Why implementing good data governance should be on every CIO’s radar as a way to reduce risk, ensure compliance and increase business productivity and efficiency Businesses are literally drowning in data as employees collect, interact with and store more information across an increasing number of platforms. The sheer amount of company data residing in email and core transactional systems, as well as customer sentiments across various social media platforms is – for most organisations – getting increasingly difficult to deal with. About 2.5 quintillion bytes of information is generated worldwide each day, which means that managing information throughout its lifecycle is more important than ever. To do this well, organisations need to implement good data governance – an approach to managing corporate data by implementing process, roles, controls, and metrics that treat information as a valuable business asset. CIO Australia recently held a breakfast briefing where business leaders discussed why […]
Australia’s Mandatory Data Breach Reporting Scheme: a year on what have we learned?
Twelve months on, consumers are arguably more troubled about the lack of safeguards for privacy, while businesses face the prospect of further regulation and oversight. Without a fundamental shift in how privacy is addressed, the cycle of heightened concern followed by further regulation looks set to continue. In this article, Melanie Marks Principal of elevenM and InfoGovANZ advisory board member, examines how data breaches are happening and the benefits of a more proactive and embedded approach of privacy by design. Australian businesses became subject to a mandatory data breach reporting scheme on 22 February 2018. Angst and anticipation came with its introduction – angst for the disruption it might have on unprepared businesses and anticipation of the positive impact it would have for privacy. Twelve months on, consumers are arguably more troubled about the lack of safeguards for privacy, while businesses face the prospect of further regulation and oversight. […]
A Path Towards Trust
Be-it users stepping away from the world’s biggest social media platform, a major airline’s share price plummeting after a large data breach, or Australia’s largest bank committing to a stronger focus on privacy and security – events in recent weeks provide a strong reminder of the fragility and critical importance of trust to businesses seeking success in the digital economy. Bodies as illustrious as the World Economic Forum and OECD have written at length about the pivotal role of trust as a driving factor for success today. But what does trust actually mean in the context of your organisation? And how do you practically go about building it? A good starting point for any organisation wanting to make trust a competitive differentiator is to gain a deeper understanding of what trust actually means, and specifically, what it means for it. Trust is a layered concept, and different things are […]
Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing Frameworks
This is the third in a series of papers and develops a practical solution providing a framework for privacy preserving data sharing, addressing technical challenges as well as data sharing issues more broadly. It builds on the 2018 ACS Report, Privacy in Data Sharing: A Guide for Business and Government, expanding the concept of a Personal Information Factor and introducing a Utility Factor with worked examples. Download the report here
Infonomics – valuing information assets
Infonomics is the discipline of valuing Information Assets and it is based on the idea that information is an enterprise asset that should be counted and managed. This article explains why Infonomics is becoming increasingly important. Information Assets (data, information, published content and knowledge) are arguably an organisation’s most vital and strategic resource. Providing the right data to the right people at the right time is critical to every business activity, every business process and every business decision. Information Assets are the only ones that cannot be replaced if lost or destroyed. They are foundational to all high-profile business solutions and technology enablement: to analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning; cyber-security; cloud computing; Blockchain and the Internet Of Things; and almost any form of innovation and disruption. Unlike other physical or even financial assets that can only be used once then are used-up, any Information Assets can be used […]
Information Governance: optimising the lifeblood of organisations
Figure: The Elements of Information Governance diagram Data and information are increasingly becoming the lifeblood of organisations. However the exponential amounts of data being collected by companies and government alike, together with the risks and costs of holding and securing this information, have created a new set of issues for those responsible for organisational governance. A healthy circulatory system increases overall health and improves our ability to function. Likewise, the optimal use of data and information will improve the effectiveness of an organisation. This article explains why identifying and co-ordinating the areas, people and technologies responsible for keeping the lifeblood of your organisation in good health is key to effective information governance (IG). IG provides a unified strategic framework for the control, security, optimisation and effective use of information. It is an essential part of good corporate governance, assisting organisations to maximise the value of information while minimising risks and […]
Keynotes of Privacy Commissioners at IAPP ANZ Summit – Sydney 2019
The challenge of regulating nationally in a global data sharing environment was a common theme in the keynote speeches delivered by Australia’s and New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioners at the 2019 IAPP ANZ Summit. Compliance is not enough · Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner — Angelene Falk, spoke of the trends and changes impacting the local landscape, noting that there is now a need to ensure the Privacy Act remains ‘fit for purpose’ into the next decade. She also pointed to the continuing ‘convergence of privacy principles and standards’ internationally, influenced by the GDPR and the need for a coordinated international response. Falk welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement of stronger regulation, which will introduce higher penalties, new infringement and notice powers, as well as special requirements in relation to social media and online platforms and the children’s privacy respectively. Click here for Privacy Commissioner Falk’s speech covering the OAIC’s […]
Information Governance as a Key Enabler of Successful System Design
This is the first in a series of articles explaining how design information governance (IG) adds to the ontological and structural language that creates the ‘sensemaking’ framework for complex adaptive systems. In doing so, IG provides a foundational enterprise capability which enables adaptive behaviour and organizational resilience in the face of changes in the internal and external environment. Modern society is enabled by systems, some of them technology-centric like our road and rail networks, some human-centric like our system of parliamentary democracy, and some a more balanced mix like our health system. Successful systems are those that are effective in meeting the needs that they were designed (or emerged) to meet and are sustainable in the face of change. A key enabler of successful systems is appropriate design information. For example, the number and boundaries of electorates in our parliamentary democracy are periodically adjusted to ensure that the (design) […]
Identity Conference 2019 – Identity as taonga: now and in the future
He taonga te tuakiri: āianei, haere ake nei New Zealand’s Identity Conference 2019 was the fourth in a series of conferences that began in 2008. The conference was held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, on 26 and 27 August 2019. The conference purpose or ‘big idea is to look at the identity-related problems of today and the solutions of tomorrow’. Carol Feurriegel recounts some of the highlights from the conference. “Identity is a complex and sensitive area. It reflects our sense of self and it is also at the heart of relationships between people and organisations. Our Identity is our taonga” to quote Professor Steve Warburton, in his keynote address as Chair of the Identity Conference 2019 on Monday 26thAugust. It is fitting that the premier event that takes a multi-disciplinary perspective on Identity is held at Te Papa Tongawera, Museum of New Zealand in Wellington. “Taonga” means ‘treasure’ in […]
Closer to the Machine: Technical, social and legal aspects of AI
OVIC has collaborated with experts in AI including Professor Toby Walsh (UNSW and CSIRO’s Data61), Professor Richard Nock (Australian National University and CSIRO’s Data61), Dr Jake Goldenfein (Cornell Tech, Cornell University) and others to produce an e-book on AI. You can download the e-book Closer to the Machine from OVIC here
Data as a Strategic National Resource: The Importance of Governance and Data Protection
As we rapidly move toward a technology-driven, globally interconnected world, the exponential growth in data collected by business and government enables significant value to be derived from this resource. In December 2015, the Australian Government released its Australian Government Public Data Policy Statementas part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, recognising data as ‘a strategic national resource that holds considerable value for growing the economy, improving service delivery and transforming policy outcomes’. While there is the potential to derive enormous value from data, there is a fundamental requirement that data be secured, meaning both government and business must protect citizens’ and consumers’ personal information. Key to achieving the benefits of data optimisation and mitigating the inherent risks is governance. Good governance enables organisations to control data by securing, protecting, managing and optimising the value of data. Digital Continuity 2020 Policy Supporting the Australian Government’s digital transformation is the Digital Continuity […]
NIST plan for AI Standards Development
NIST has released a plan for prioritising federal agency engagement in the development of standards for AI. The plan recommends the federal government bolster AI standards-related knowledge, leadership and coordination among agencies that develop or use AI; promote focused research on the trustworthiness of AI systems; support and expand public-private partnerships; and engage with international parties. Read more here
Putting People and their Data at the Centre – investing in the social wellbeing of Aotearoa
Jacinda Ardern’s announcement of her intention to deliver New Zealand’s first ‘Wellbeing Budget’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January caused headlines as the world’s youngest female head of state outlined an approach to economic measurement that put people’s needs at the centre of the government investment agenda. Ardern said “politics needed to be more altruistic and more long term” to address the deep-rooted inequalities in New Zealand’s current economic outlook and to address the challenges emerging from issues such as climate change and automation. World leaders and economic institutions have been watching the ‘little country at the bottom of the world’ with great interest, as they embark on this experiment that could change the way governments develop social strategy and assess the effectiveness of their social policies. For many years institutions like the OECD have been encouraging economies to look beyond just economic measures of success and […]
50 Principles for Responsible AI
Roger has followed up the Guidelines with ‘Principles and Business Processes for Responsible AI’ with a view to protecting the organisation’s own interests and also those of its stakeholders and society as a whole. He presents a set of 50 Principles for Responsible AI, arising from a consolidation of proposals put forward by a diverse collection of 30 organisations. To apply those Principles, he recommends adapted forms of the established techniques of risk assessment and risk management. Read the article
Principles and Business Processes for Responsible AI
The promise of data analytics brings with it considerable risks. Canberra-based consultant and researcher Roger Clarke recently published a set of Guidelines, whose purpose is to intercept ill-advised uses of data and analytical tools, prevent harm to important values, and assist organisations to extract the achievable benefits from data, rather than dreaming dangerous dreams. Read the article
Policy and Investment Recommendations for Trustworthy AI
In June 2019, the second deliverable of the AI HLEG was published, the Policy and Investment Recommendations for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. Read the report
IEEE Ethically Aligned Design
The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (The IEEE Global Initiative) has launched Ethically Aligned Design: A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, which is a crowd-sourced global treatise regarding the Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. Read the report
Big Data, Privacy and Information Governance: Incorporating an Ethical Based Assessment
As the law lags behind in rapid technology innovations, particularly in big data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine-learning and the Internet of Things (IoT), there is increasing awareness and discussion about the need for an ethical based approach to data analytics. This article considers why an ethical based approach can build trust and transparency with consumers and citizens, and why it should be part of good information governance, as a means of maximising the value of information derived from data analytics while minimising risks. Big data Big data describes the large volumes of data held by corporations and governments. Using analytics technology tools, insights and knowledge can be derived from the data. These insights can then be used to make informed decisions, for example, in the development of new or improved products or services providing a competitive advantage and ultimately delivering results to the bottom line. In other words, there […]
Principles on Artificial Intelligence
In May 2019, the OECD adopted its Principles on Artificial Intelligence, the first international standards agreed by governments for the responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI, which include recommendations for public policy and Principles to be applied to AI developments around the world. The Principles ‘promote AI that is innovative and trustworthy and that respects human rights and democratic values. Visit the website