Data Steward

An individual responsible for managing data quality, usability, and compliance within a specific business domain or for particular data sets. Data stewards work tactically to ensure data is accurate, accessible to authorized users, properly classified, used appropriately, and compliant with policies. Unlike data owners (who make strategic decisions) or data custodians (who handle technical implementation), stewards focus on day-to-day data management and quality assurance. Data steward responsibilities typically include monitoring data quality, addressing data issues, documenting data lineage, facilitating appropriate data access, ensuring policy compliance, serving as subject matter experts, and liaising between business units and IT. For privacy compliance, data stewards help maintain data accuracy, facilitate data subject requests, identify and address privacy risks, and ensure consistent application of privacy policies. Organizations should formally designate data stewards, define their scope, provide appropriate authority, and include them in governance structures.