Terms of Reference
Data and Informatics Governance Committee (DIGC)

Role

The Data and Informatics Governance Committee is a standing committee of Council. It reports to Council through the Executive Committee of Council. The committee assists Council in overseeing the Royal College’s strategy, opportunities, risks and performance relating to data and digital transformation initiatives.

The committee is the principal advisor to Council on the use of data and adoption of IT capabilities to transform Royal College business areas; and specifically, augment or develop new educational and membership services that support specialist physician learning. It fulfills its role in collaboration with Council, other standing committees and the management team.

Responsibility and Authority

The committee reports to Council on matters within the scope of the committee, as well as on any other special issues that merit Council’s attention.

Data governance

  • Advises Council on the governance of data[1], including data proprietary to the Royal College, and data managed by the Royal College through data sharing agreements and / or through collaborations with stakeholders.
  • Approves and directs the ongoing development of a data governance framework, and the priorities of the data governance program. The framework and program confirm decision rights, accountability and oversight; and confirm how organizational data is collected, stored, managed and used.
  • Ensures the data governance framework and program comply with federal, provincial and territorial laws and regulations of Canada, and of other countries in which the Royal College operates.
  • Advises management on cyber and physical data security and data privacy strategies and policies to ensure compliance with the data governance framework.
  • Reviews reports on data risks and opportunities, and recommends mitigations to management.

Digital transformation

  • Ensures the Royal College’s IT strategy, and adoption and use of IT capabilities (digital), are aligned and integrated with the organization’s business strategies.
  • Advises Council, committees and management on the implementation of the Information and Technology Services (ITS) roadmap to ensure the strength of the Royal College’s IT ecosystem to drive business growth.
  • Receives updates on transformative projects that have digital dependencies from across the organization and which may intersect with the jurisdictions of other committees (e.g., education committees). For example, this committee considers the digital aspects of Royal College projects concerned with but not limited to:
    • Online assessment across the learning continuum
    • Learning management systems
    • Virtual platforms for the delivery of products and services
    • Website evolution
  • Based on project reports, the committee monitors risks, change management, performance and drift from original intent; and recommends mitigations to Council, other committees and management.

Additional responsibilites

  • Advises Council, committees and management on other areas requested from time to time relevant to the expertise of the committee.

Composition

The committee is chaired by a member of Council. Similar to other standing committee chairs, the chair of this committee is appointed by Council. The voting membership is generally comprised of 7 to 12 members. It ideally includes 2 Council members and a member of the Financial Reporting and Risk Oversight Committee. The balance of the committee is drawn from experts in the field.

The committee is supported by the chief operating officer (COO). The COO is not a voting member of the committee. Additional support is provided as required from additional business leaders from across the organization as required from time to time. Staff who attend meetings do not have voting rights.

Key Competencies and Characteristics

Members have knowledge and / or experience with data governance, are actively engaged in digitalization or AI initiatives, or are principal end-users of Royal College data, products, and services.

Term of Office

The usual term of office of the chair is two years, renewable once (maximum four years). As a standing committee of Council, the chair is appointed from among the current members of Council (Bylaw No. 20, Article 15.1.1) and may be a member of the Executive Committee of Council.

The usual term of office of members is two years, renewable twice (maximum six years). All terms shall begin and end at the time of the Annual Meeting of the Members when vacancies need to be filled. Terms shall be staggered to allow for and ensure a continuity of knowledge and expertise.

Meetings

Meetings will be held as often as necessary to do the work of the committee (and no less than three times per year). Meetings will by default be virtual, unless otherwise required to be in-person.

Quorum consists of a majority of the voting members of the committee (i.e., 50% plus one). The chair is counted as a voting member in constituting quorum. However, as the presiding official of the committee, the chair does not move motions. Furthermore, the chair shall only vote when the vote is conducted by secret ballot. Every question shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast. In the event of a tie vote, the question shall be defeated. When a committee is called to make a decision outside of a meeting by e-ballot, the same rules apply.

Appointment to a Royal College committee carries significant responsibilities and all committee members are expected to adhere to the Volunteer Code of Conduct. In addition, committee members are required to maintain absolute discretion and not divulge, re-produce, or release any confidential information except when authorized by the Royal College. Committee members may download a copy of the committee materials for the sole purpose of participating in committee work. All downloaded materials must be deleted once the related committee work is completed. The Royal College retains copies of committee materials should committee members wish to access them at a later time for related work.

Committee work product

In the course of performing their committee duties, committee members may produce or contribute to materials, content or other work products. These work products and the related intellectual property will be owned by the Royal College. The Royal College is open to discussing other ownership arrangements for specific projects. Alternative arrangements must be confirmed in writing by the project contributors and the Royal College.

TOR record

Most recent resolution: Resolution No. 2023-2024-15
Previous resolution(s): Resolution No. 2021-2022-13
Approved by: Council
Approval Date: September 6, 2023
Approval path: GC, Council
Effective date: September 6, 2023
Date of next review: Spring 2025
Royal College Office: Office of Corporate Services
Version status: Approved

 

[1] The specification of decision rights and an accountability framework to ensure the appropriate behaviour in the valuation, creation, consumption and control of data and analytics (Gartner).