Data Governance Community of Practice to Host Ethics Web Event

Jan. 6, 2009 - PRLog -- The Data Governance & Stewardship Community of Practice (DGS-COP) will host a free ‘Meet the Expert’ webinar with Anne Marie Smith, Ph.D., Principal Consultant with EW Solutions, entitled ‘Ethics and Data Governance.’ This event will be held Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 11:00 AM, New York time (GMT-5).

This timely presentation will focus on shifting responsibilities for data and information management roles. “Traditionally,” says Smith, “a data manager’s professional responsibility for data has been limited to making data and information ‘fit for use’ for a particular business purpose. Since business users may not be aware of key information about that data, we should ask whether the time has come for a more advisory role for data and information management professionals, including data stewards, in the ethical use of data.”

“This is an important question,” says Gwen Thomas, President of the Data Governance Institute and host of this event. “Think about our current world-wide economic situation. Around the globe, data workers were aware of quality issues with the information used to make critical corporate financial decisions. But often, there was no mechanism to communicate their concerns to decision-makers.”

“We should also ask,” says Smith, “whether business data and information consumers are solely responsible for ethical breaches in the usage of data. Should data managers wash their hands of how information is used, or is it time to consider an expansion of roles and responsibilities?”

This webinar will be available at no charge to both DGS-COP members and non-members; advance registration is required. To register for this event, go to DataStewardship.com and click on the ‘Ethics and Data Governance’ link under ‘Hot Topics.’

This event will take place between 11:00 AM and noon, New York time (GMT-5) on Tuesday, January 27, 2009.

About The Data Governance & Stewardship Community of Practice:
Membership in the Data Governance & Stewardship Community of Practice (DGS-COP) is open to anyone who has an interest in Data Governance & Stewardship. The DGS-COP hosts a variety of Data Governance and Stewardship-related web events, including the ‘Ask the Expert’ series, Knowledge Exchanges and event previews. It also offers members access to the largest collection of Data Governance documents and artifacts on the web, including case studies, frameworks, charters, templates, charts and other guidance. The DGS-COP also provides networking opportunities and a venue for the exchange of ideas and information. For more information, visit http://www.DataStewardship.com.

About Gwen Thomas:
Gwen Thomas is Founder and President of The Data Governance Institute, which sponsors the Data Governance & Stewardship Community of Practice. Thomas is also publisher of the web’s largest Data Governance resource at http://www.datagovernance.com and author of the book Alpha Males and Data Disasters: The Case for Data Governance.

About Anne Marie Smith:
Anne Marie Smith, Ph.D., is Director of Education and Principle Consultant for EW Solutions, a resident expert for the EIM Institute, and Editor of the Real-World Decision Support (RDWS) Journal, located online at http://www.realworlddecisionsupport.com. She is a leading consultant in Information Management, a frequent contributor to various IS publications, and an in-demand presenter at major conferences throughout the world.

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The Data Governance Institute is the premier provider of in-depth, vendor-neutral information about – and assistance with – tools, techniques, models, and best practices for the governance/stewardship of data and information.