Data Steward Statement of Work

The Data Steward provides guidance to their operating unit to ensure that the unit's USAID-funded data is made open to the public and machine readable by default. This is in accordance with White House Executive Order 13642 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Policy M-13-13 on Open Data. The Data Steward's primary role is to guide their operating unit on USAID's implementation of the Executive Order, as outlined in ADS 579. The Data Steward does not need to be an expert on all data within their operating unit, but they must know how to guide their unit in cataloging data in the Enterprise Data Inventory (EDI) and making it publicly available. Monitoring and evaluation specialists are often strong candidates for the Data Steward role, as they have a passion for data and unlocking its potential. The Data Steward reports through the existing hierarchy applicable to their job title, but may be asked to provide reports on their operating unit's open data efforts directly to leadership at the office director level or above. Larger operating units may find it helpful to appoint a Senior Data Steward, who will oversee several "sub-stewards" providing periodic reports on data that has been inventoried and/or released publicly. The ideal candidate for the Data Steward role is a USAID staff member with a USAID.gov email address, a background in data analysis, metadata standards, database administration, quantitative research, and familiarity with multiple data formats. The candidate should also have the ability to develop a strong understanding of the way data is managed within their operating unit, from the point at which data assets are generated to the point at which they are inventoried and/or made publicly available. The Data Steward's primary duties include reading and understanding USAID's guidance on Development Data, providing guidance to CORs/AORs and others within their operating unit on their responsibilities for identifying, cataloging, and clearing data for public release, and providing reports to their leadership regarding open data efforts within their operating unit. The Data Steward also attends monthly Data Steward meetings to gain increased understanding of USAID's progress on Open Data and to share best practices within their operating unit. In addition to their primary duties, the Data Steward collaborates with the Permanent Working Group (PWG) to facilitate and enhance the integration of current and future data collection systems, identifies users to test data management platforms and provides feedback and requirements to the PWG, and promotes a culture of data transparency and openness. The Data Steward also encourages the inclusion of information about the availability of the operating unit's data and creative uses in ongoing communications, provides feedback to the PWG on strengths and weaknesses of USAID's open data framework, and identifies and removes internal roadblocks impacting data openness within the operating unit.