Data Governance Evaluation of the Data Management Office at King Saud University based on the National Data Management Office standards

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the implementation of data governance at the Data Management Office of King Saud University by examining the adoption of the strategic plan, implementation mechanisms, and compliance with data governance standards and controls established by the National Data Management Office (NDMO), the national regulatory and reference authority for data management and governance.
Using a descriptive-analytical approach, a questionnaire was designed based on three dimensions: the strategic dimension, the executive dimension, and the challenges dimension. The study sample included all 15 employees of the Data Management Office at King Saud University. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Modeler statistical software.
The results of the study at the level of the main dimensions showed that the strategic dimension achieved the highest arithmetic mean (4.51) with a very high degree of compliance, followed by the executive dimension (3.69) with a high degree of compliance, and finally, the challenges dimension obtained a medium degree with an average of (3.05).
The study revealed that the lack of data unification and its inconsistency across university departments, as well as the scarcity of financial resources that limit the improvement of the technological infrastructure at the Data Management Office, represent the most important challenges facing the implementation mechanisms of data governance at the Data Management Office at King Saud University.
The researcher recommends the necessity of creating a clear framework for cooperation to define roles, responsibilities, and joint operations between the university colleges and the Data Management Office regarding data circulation, and strengthening cooperation with external parties with expertise in the field of data governance to improve implementation processes.