Data Governance RACI Matrix

What's in the matrix

The matrix maps 24 governance activities across five role columns. Each cell is one of the standard RACI letters:

• R — Responsible. Does the work.
• A — Accountable. Owns the outcome. One per activity, by convention.
• C — Consulted. Provides input before the decision.
• I — Informed. Notified after.

The five role columns

Role	What they do
Data Owner (Business)	Senior business leader accountable for a data domain. Approves policies, classification, and access — does not perform the work.
Data Steward	Subject-matter expert who curates definitions, monitors quality, and resolves issues day-to-day.
Data Custodian (IT)	Engineering team that implements controls, maintains pipelines, and operates the platforms.
Data Governance Council	Cross-functional body that approves enterprise-wide standards and resolves cross-domain conflicts.
Executive Sponsor	C-level owner who provides air cover, secures funding, and is accountable for highest-impact decisions.

How to adapt it (about 2 hours)

1. Download and open the workbook. The XLSX includes a cover sheet with usage guidance and a legend; the matrix lives on the second tab. Excel, Google Sheets (just upload), or any other spreadsheet tool works.
2. Replace the column headers with the actual titles in your organization. "Data Owner" might become "VP, Customer Operations" for the customer domain. Consider per-domain matrices if responsibilities vary materially.
3. Walk each row with the named owners. Disagreement here is the value — surface it now, before an incident forces it.
4. Publish alongside your governance charter. Reference the matrix in onboarding, incident playbooks, and access reviews. A matrix that lives in someone's email is not a matrix.
5. Review annually. Roles drift. Re-validate during the annual program review.

Common adaptations

Smaller orgs (under 500 employees): collapse Data Steward and Data Custodian into one column. The same person often plays both roles.

Regulated industries (financial services, healthcare): add a Compliance / Privacy column with R or A on classification, retention, access reviews, and incident response rows.

Federated (data mesh) organizations: duplicate the matrix per domain rather than running one enterprise matrix. Use the council column for cross-domain decisions only.

What this matrix doesn't replace

A RACI matrix codifies who does what — it does not motivate them to do it. You still need executive sponsorship, performance objectives tied to governance outcomes, and a culture that treats data as a shared asset. If you publish a matrix into a vacuum, the matrix wins zero arguments.

For the broader operating model the matrix sits inside, see the data governance maturity guide and the best-practices reference.