DAMA-DMBOK2 explicitly states that a Data Governance program must be sustainable. Governance is not a temporary implementation project that ends after policies, committees, or stewardship roles are established. It is an ongoing organizational capability requiring continuing leadership, sponsorship, ownership, decision rights, and operational integration.
The DMBOK2 governance guidance describes sustainable governance as “sticky”: it must survive beyond its initial implementation and become embedded in normal business and Data Management practices. Sustainable governance depends specifically on business leadership, sponsorship, and ownership.
This distinction matters for Data Quality because quality improvement is likewise continuous. New applications, data sources, business processes, regulatory requirements, and transformations continually create new risks. Governance must therefore continue assigning accountability, approving definitions and quality rules, resolving cross-domain disputes, and overseeing remediation.
Options focused on financial registration or assigning a dollar value confuse data-as-an-asset thinking with formal accounting treatment. Data valuation can support investment decisions, but it is not a prerequisite for Data Governance. Likewise, treating governance as a fixed-duration initiative contradicts the operating model described by DAMA.
Reference Topics: DAMA-DMBOK2 Chapter 3 — Data Governance Goals and Principles; Sustainable Governance; Leadership; Sponsorship; Ownership; Chapter 13 — Data Quality Governance.
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