Background:
The Chief Data Officer of the US Air Force (SAF/CO) awarded a Basic Purchasing Agreement (BPA) to BE for data governance training services. The first task orders focus on baseline Public Sector Data Governance (PSDG) Training and certification through the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) for data officers throughout the Department of the Air Force. The BPA is broad enough to incorporate additional types of training in data acumen, however. Since awarding this BPA to BE, we have trained over 70 people in public sector data governance, with (enter percentage) passing at the Mastery Level (>70%). As such, many of these individuals have expressed interest in pursuing the Principal Level certification, which is an additional certificate an individual can pursue upon passing the PSDG Professional exam at the Mastery Level, as well as additional training in various topics such as Data Ethics, Change Management, etc. This paper proposes SAF/CO could consider leveraging additional training and professional development opportunities, to include the Principal Level Certification, during the three-year period of performance of the BPA. We believe that adding additional tasks to the BPA to support individuals pursuing the Principal Level certification and other training will enable and support the already impressive advancement of strong data acumen, data maturity, and data culture within SAF/CO and the US Air Force more broadly.
The options are informed by BE’s thought leadership and in-depth understanding of data governance and data curation training and education, as well as the direct observations and requests for additional training from USAF participants in our various USAF Public Sector Data Governance Training and Certification courses.
Approach:
Training and education pedagogy typically recognizes different levels of learning in mastering material–from basic knowledge, to application of learning in practical circumstances, to advanced evaluation and synthesis of information across domains. An integrated approach to data acumen, having ongoing and self-reinforcing learning and cultural change as its goal, will require different methods of information delivery. Formal courses for medium-sized groups can be effective for lower levels of knowledge and application. Higher levels of analysis and synthesis generally require intensive small group workshops and communities of interest in which participants collaborate with and learn from one another.
BE can provide, through task orders on the current SAF/CO training BPA, the following training and education services to supplement the existing Public Sector Data Governance Training and Certification Course.
Small Group Workshops
Several participants in the Public Sector Data Governance course who passed the certification exam at the Mastery level have expressed interest in achieving the next level “Principal” certification through ICCP, which requires a 2-day mentoring workshop. BE’s wholly owned subsidiary, R2C, has delivered these mentoring workshops on behalf of ICCP and can schedule, through the existing training BPA, a series of small group workshops. The two-day mentoring workshop provides expert support in developing strategies and an action plan associated with the participant’s current data governance environment. The workshop begins with an initial conference call to identify and understand the participants’ goals and objectives. The workshop includes discussion of specific use case(s), links to relevant resource materials, an overview of existing approaches and solutions, identification of potential pain points and pitfalls to avoid and/or mitigate, and development of an action plan with milestones for “quick wins” leading to long-term success. Further, the workshop includes an evaluation of the participant’s professional goals, their alignment with the organizational goals identified during Day One, and a plan for advancing the professional’s competencies to attain those goals.
This opportunity builds upon the concepts taught and discussed within the foundational PSDG training and certification course and looks at the application of these skills in the students’ real-world environment. Additionally, this training is heavily customizable, and content is heavily dependent on students’ data governance interests, needs, and challenges. As such, we recommend three to five participants per workshop, with participants either in the same USAF organization or operating in similar roles or facing similar hurdles in advancing their programs. An initial interview with interested participants would allow BE to group the workshop participants accordingly. A group cost estimate for multiple sessions of the two-day workshop can be provided upon request.
Formal Training Courses
Feedback from the initial running of the Public Sector Data Governance course was positive, with several affirmative responses to the question “would you like additional training on this topic?” Participants suggested additional courses on Data Ethics; Taxonomies and Ontologies; Creating Training Plans and Change Management Plans; and a more in-depth course specifically on Data Stewardship, Data Curation, and other role-specific content. BE has the ability to develop additional courses using the same instructional design methodologies employed in the creation of the original Public Sector Data Governance course, and deliver it using the same platform. At SAF/CO’s request, BE can provide a rough order of magnitude cost—inclusive of learning needs assessment, course design and development, and delivery–for a one or two day instructor-led course and/or a fully on-demand and SCORM compliant web-based training course; course content would focus on whatever topic or topics are of highest priority to the USAF.
Communities of Practice
To ensure an ongoing learning culture and facilitate the ability of data practitioners to synthesize information across domains, we recommend the creation of an active “Data Officer Community of Practice” (CoP). Scholarly research has shown that CoPs provide “support for members interacting with each other, sharing knowledge, and building a sense of belonging within networks/teams/groups. Interventions that facilitate relationship building among members and that promote knowledge exchange may be useful for optimizing the function of these groups.” BE already maintains its own data governance practice that has hosted “Data Governance Lunches” for participants to discuss ongoing issues, provided curated articles and webinars for practice member continuing education, and created a section in the company newsletter to highlight accomplishments of data governance practice members. We recommend the creation of such a CoP for the SAF/CO data officers, a CoP in which participants are automatically included upon completion of the baseline Public Sector Data Governance course. BE can provide a rough order of magnitude cost for managing the CoP under the existing BPA, which could include coordinating online events, curating educational materials and career development events, and even creating an awards program for data practitioners in consultation with SAF/CO, if desired.