Improving Data Culture Through The Data Stewardship Program

The Data Stewardship Program posits that by building staff capacity at the ground level to use data more often, more effectively and more reliably, we can improve the Ministry’s culture around data, raise awareness about the value of Ministry data and change behaviour related to data.

This innovative program is an organic, grassroots, collaborative approach to address the pressure to use Ministry data and to increase the use of data in decision making. With support from senior leadership at the top and the voluntary participation of a select group staff and managers from across the organization, the program has been co-created to encourage uptake and ensure it was meeting the Ministry’s needs.

This presentation will cover:

The problem the program is trying to address
The program's inception
The innovative approach we took to developing the program
The program components
Lessons learned
Next steps

Currently, Kyra is a senior policy analyst at the Strategic Information and Business Intelligence Branch in the Ministry of Children and Youth Services at the Government of Ontario and is leading the implementation of the skill-building and management engagement strategies of the ministry’s data stewardship program. She has been working at this branch for four years and has been responsible for a number of key initiatives including procuring access to academic journals for the ministry. Kyra also has experience working at the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the Ministry of Labour in the Government of Ontario. Prior to this, Kyra completed her Master’s Degree in International Political Economy at McMaster University. In her spare time, she reads voraciously, plays recreational softball, and watches baseball, football, and hockey.

Charene is currently with the Strategic Information and Business Intelligence Branch at the Ministry of Children and Youth Service in the Government of Ontario. In her position as manager of the Data Strategy and Knowledge Brokering Unit, she is responsible for several files that tackle the data culture within the ministry. In addition to leading the work on the ministry’s data stewardship program, she is responsible for work on open data, performance measurement, and knowledge mobilization. Prior to this position, Charene led the development of the Accessible Transportation and Design of Public Spaces Standard - both which regulated under Ontario’s accessibility legislation. On a personal note, Charene has lived in Toronto since 2002 but before that spent many years living and working in Northwestern Ontario and the Yukon. She loves living and working in the heart of the city, however she is still a northerner at heart.