Data governance
Decide who owns the data, who may use it, and who rules when that changes.
- operating model
- stewardship roles
- decision rights
DATA · AI · GOVERNANCE
Better governance leads to better AI.
daitagov is a data governance and AI readiness consultancy for government and commercial organizations. Governance comes first, tools follow, and your data stays yours.
Seven questions, about a minute. You see your result before you share an email address.
19 yrs
Supporting federal data programs, in business since 2007.
self-reported · Oct 2026
108,000
Assets under data governance across a national operational system.
self-reported · Oct 2026
85,000
Service flows governed across that same system.
self-reported · Oct 2026
HOW IT WORKS
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Four parts, one order.
AI readiness is what you get when all four are in place, and data exchange is where your AI connects. Every engagement starts with governance and works down. Skip a layer and the next one fails.
Data standards
Agree on shared definitions so one term means one thing in every system.
- ISO 11179 metadata
- W3C DCAT
- ontology (RDFS, OWL)
Data management
Run the catalogs, repositories and pipelines that put the standards to work.
- metadata repository
- data catalog
- lineage
Data exchange
Put policy into the interfaces that systems, AI inference and chatbots use to exchange data, not into documents they never read.
- open APIs
- service flows
- governed AI access
THE POSITION
Governance first. Tools second.
Most platforms ask you to move your data into their system before you see any value. That is a tools-first plan, and it makes the platform your governance.
Open standards such as RDFS and OWL, and an ontology you own, keep the meaning of your data portable. Then you can choose a tool, change a tool, or add AI without starting over.
A platform's built-in semantic layer is not the same thing. If you cannot take the model with you, you do not own it.
Governance counts when it reaches the pipelines. Policy that stays in documents while systems swap spreadsheets changes nothing. It is judged by what changes: faster decisions, less rework, AI answers you can trace.
daitagov is not the right fit if the plan is to pick a platform first and govern later.
When governance leads, tools follow.
The name says the same thing. daitagov is data with AI inside it, under governance.
AI READINESS CHECK
How AI-ready is your data?
Seven questions, about a minute. No agency or system names needed. You see your result first, then choose whether to get the full breakdown by email.
- A plain result: AI-ready, partly AI-ready, or not yet
- The one thing worth fixing first
- An optional breakdown by email, and an optional call
Sample, not a real result
score: 9 of 14
Partly AI-ready.
Fix first: Data standards
Adopt one shared definition for your core terms and make your systems follow it.
SELECTED WORK
Framework
Ontology
API platform
Built at national scale.
A large federal agency had a catalog built mainly to meet compliance requirements. A catalog records what data exists. It does not say who owns it, what it means, or how it moves. daitagov built the framework, the ontology and the API platform that do.
A data governance framework for a national operational system.
Ownership, stewardship and decision rights for tens of thousands of systems, defined once and applied everywhere.
A governance ontology, not just a catalog.
Built on open standards, so the meaning of the data does not depend on any one vendor's platform.
A complete API platform for daily operational exchange.
Governed data moves between operational systems every day through documented, open interfaces.
Figures and outcomes are self-reported. Reviewed October 2026.
Where engagements usually start
Government programs and commercial teams get the same approach. Federal experience shapes how it handles scale, audit and security.
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AI readiness
Find out whether your data can support AI, and close the gaps that matter first.
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Governance program
Ownership, decision rights and an operating model that people follow.
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Standards and ontology
One shared meaning for your data, owned by you and portable across platforms.
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Data management
Catalogs and repositories that stay current because someone is accountable for them.
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Data exchange
Governed data that moves between systems without custom rework.
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Independent advice
Platform-agnostic guidance, with nothing to sell you.
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Advisory and training
Ongoing support by the month, plus workshops for teams and leaders.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What people ask before they get in touch.
A data governance consultancy sets up who owns data, how it is defined, who can use it and how decisions get made. daitagov does that for government agencies and commercial organizations, then helps the team run it day to day.
AI readiness means your data has clear owners, shared definitions, a known source and open interfaces, so an AI system can use it and you can trace what it says. It is a property of your data, not of the model you buy.
AI gives reliable answers only when the data underneath it has clear owners, shared definitions and a known source. Governance supplies all three. Without it, AI repeats whatever inconsistency already exists in the data.
No. A catalog records what data exists. AI readiness also needs owners, shared definitions and governed exchange between systems. A catalog is a good start, but on its own it is not governance.
By what changes in the business, not by how much governance exists. Good signs are faster access to trusted data, less rework, quicker impact analysis and AI answers you can trace to a source and an owner. Coverage counts and quality scores are still worth tracking, but as early indicators, not the goal.
A governance ontology is a formal model of the concepts in your organization and how they relate, written in open standards such as RDFS and OWL. It gives every system and every AI tool the same meaning for the same term, and it stays yours if you change platforms.
Usually not. Most platform ontologies are a semantic layer of objects, metrics and glossary terms that only works inside that product. An ontology in open standards such as OWL and RDFS can be reviewed, versioned and loaded somewhere else. If you cannot take the model with you, it is product context, not an ontology you own. Write the model in an open syntax, run daily work on tables, a graph and APIs you operate, and use a platform's semantic layer to share your vocabulary with its tools, not as your system of record.
No. Governance and standards come first and work on the systems you already run. A platform decision made afterward is easier to reverse. A platform purchase made first usually decides your governance for you. A lake serves analytics. Systems that run operations need governed exchange between them.
Policy lives in documents and guidance, while operational systems exchange data through files and one-off feeds. Governance only changes behavior when it is built into the interfaces systems actually use: shared definitions, named owners and open APIs. That gap between policy and pipeline is what daitagov closes.
Yes. Government work is the core, including large federal programs. Commercial teams get the same approach with less paperwork.
ISO 11179 for metadata, W3C DCAT for data catalogs, RDFS and OWL for ontologies, and UAF for enterprise architecture. The work is platform-agnostic by design.
daitagov does not resell software and does not start with a tool selection. If the plan is to buy a platform first and govern later, this is not the right fit, and the first call will say so.
Take the one-minute AI readiness check, or send a message. Replies come within two business days.
THE FIRST CALL
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No pitch. Here is what happens.
A discovery call is 30 minutes and costs nothing. You talk with the principal who would lead the work. You can book one after you send a message or finish the AI readiness check.
You describe the situation.
What you are trying to govern, what AI work is planned, and where the data sits today. Rough is fine.
You get a plain read.
Where governance is holding AI back, and the one thing worth fixing first.
You get a straight answer.
If it is a fit, a proposal follows. If it is not, you leave with the read and a pointer to who can help.
START A CONVERSATION
What are you trying to govern?
Five fields, one reply. Answers within two business days. Prefer email? Write to contact@daitagov.com.