What is data stewardship?

- So one of the biggest opportunities and challenges of the data age lies not only in preventing misuse, but also in facilitating the reuse of data for the public interest. Developing data collaboratives is hard. The opportunity cost of not having or providing access to data is often not well understood, and incentives to collaborate are often limited, all of which are reasons why we need data stewards. The three core responsibilities of a data steward are first to collaborate with diverse stakeholders to unlock the value of data. Second, to protect data subjects and other stakeholders through responsible practices. And third, to engage proactively to ensure relevant parties act upon the insights generated from the data. Data stewards can be active in public, nonprofit, academic, or private sectors, and are critical when it comes to promoting trust within and between organizations. They are not only needed in places that hold data, which we call the supply side of data, but those that need data, the demand side, would also benefit from having a data steward that can help them formulate their ask for data. A university or research institution, for example, might benefit from having a data steward to gather data from external parties. We can see this in initiatives like the Yale University Open Data Access, or short YODA, which allows pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson to share clinical data with academic researchers. To fulfill these responsibilities, and for a data steward to successfully promote the systematic, sustainable, and responsible reuse of data for their organization, there are five key roles they must fulfill. First, a data steward must engage with partners and potential beneficiaries to build trusted relationships and to achieve more responsible and effective collaborations by asking questions like, which organizations might have valuable data? And what other beneficiaries could we consider? This role calls for a deep knowledge of data governance, as well as the potential external stakeholders that could use or share data. Next, data stewards coordinate internal processes and help match the expertise with the demand. They are central to a successful data collaboration as they ensure that internal stakeholders are aligned with one another while upholding regulatory, legal, and ethical obligations. Helpful questions that data stewards should ask include, do we have any internal expertise we can leverage? Who can lead our partnership efforts? And perhaps more importantly, who signs off on sharing data? Third, they audit data assets, assess the value and risk associated with each dataset, and evaluate the public impact of the data. They work closely with stakeholders to ensure the quality of data while mitigating the risks of sharing that data. They must also evaluate the ethical implications and public impact of their work. This involves, again, questions like, what's the minimum viable data we need to answer the question? What's the value proposition of sharing our data? And are there any legal or ethical concerns we need to address? The fourth role of a data steward is to then communicate effectively with different stakeholders, framing a compelling story about the benefits of using and reusing data. They may be involved in raising awareness of data projects, disseminating findings, and communicating shared outcomes. A good way to identify beneficiaries and maximize the impact of the insight generated is, again, by asking questions such as, who can we share our findings with? And can we leverage these findings to solve other problems? And then finally, a data steward must find ways to sustain data collaborative projects. By understanding the business case and formulating a strategy to align the business goals with those of the data collaboratives, data stewards can help ensure that these projects have a lasting impact. Key questions for a data steward when it comes to sustainability are, do we have adequate resources and funding to sustain this project? And what is the business case for this project? Data stewardship is a critical function within any organization that has or needs data. By understanding the roles and responsibilities of data stewards, as well as the processes and tools that they use to request and manage access to data, you can help to ensure that data is leveraged effectively within your organization.