The Data Governance Clinic is the second, optional, day of my Getting Started in Data Governance course bit is also incredibly valuable as a standalone day if you understand the theory of Data Governance but are struggling to put it into practice.

This day is all about turning theory into practical actions and you will get the opportunity to ask detailed questions about implementing Data Governance in your organisation and receive advice on how to overcome the challenges you may be facing.

It’s a workshop format where you get the opportunity to share the challenges you are experiencing with your Data Governance initiative and get pragmatic solutions. You also get the opportunity to share knowledge, insight, and network with others in a similar situation.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the day recently, so thought I’d answer them all here, including what it is, who it is for and what you will get out of it.

Getting Started in Data Governance

This one-day course was born out of the very strong belief I have that there's no such thing as a standard data governance framework. But what I found over the rather many years that I've been doing data governance is that there are certain key components that you must look at and address.

If you don't do that, your data governance framework is very unlikely to be successful and sustainable for your organisation. This course gives you all the building blocks and tools that you need, and all the areas that you need to address so that you're able to confidently design and implement your own data governance framework that's right for your organisation.

Putting theory into practice
So, what do you do with all that theory from day one? That’s where the Data Governance Clinic comes in.

This workshop is for people who understand the theory but are perhaps struggling with some of the implementation of it or are coming up against obstacles. For example, they have presented their draft framework to some senior stakeholders and received a challenging response or were asked questions that they didn't feel confident or able to answer.

One thing I found very much in the early days of doing Data Governance is I felt very lonely and very vulnerable. Like, ‘I must be the only idiot that can't convince my work colleagues that we need to manage our data better’ but actually, it's quite common. And I see that people who come to my courses really benefit not only from hearing me share my expertise and experience but talking to other people that have been in the same situation.

So that's where the idea of a Data Governance Clinic was born. I wanted to give people the opportunity to get together with people in very similar situations themselves, and share experiences but more importantly, get answers for their challenges.

Who is the Data Governance Clinic for?

I find that the people who attend the data governance clinic tend to be two different groups of people.

The first the people who have done my one-day training course, either immediately the day before or sometime previously, or I've even had people who've done it online and then turned up to a face to face clinic and they're normally looking for answers along the lines of ‘you taught me this in the theory and how do I turn this into a practical solution, given my particular set of circumstances?’

And the second set of people are very much the people who know they know Data Governance and feel quite comfortable that they know what it is, but when they're actually trying to implement it and roll out their Data Governance Initiative they are coming across some challenges and some obstacles. These are the people who really just need some guidance and advice, tips and tricks, anything to try to overcome these obstacles.

If either of these groups are resonating with you then this might be the course for you.

What will I get out of it?

I absolutely love the Data Governance Clinic days. I find they are very informal, but engaging days where everybody gets to bring along their questions and challenges. We sort them into themes, and we work through everything together that we can and make sure by the end of the day we have answered answering everybody's questions and they go away with very clear actions of what to do to overcome their challenges.

Everyone who attends this course will also get a copy of the actual checklist that I use when helping clients design and implement Data Governance Frameworks. This is an incredibly helpful resource, especially if you’re just starting out in data governance. There is lots of information and resources out there, but this checklist is tried and tested and has served me well through the years - it’ll keep you right too, through all your data governance initiatives.

You will gain confidence in your own Data Governance Initiative. Let’s face it… it’s one thing thinking or hoping you’re doing the right thing - it’s another to know it! And to have the confidence to sell it to senior stakeholders.

You will also get the opportunity to meet other people who are in the same position as you and will be able to connect and workshop ideas beyond the course.

It’s a great opportunity to feel a little less alone in this big data governance world - especially if you’re brand new to it or the only person in your organisation who’s remit it is. You will also just have a really good time, I promise!