Our Services
Data Governance Consultancy
Clear ownership, trusted data, compliance you can evidence.
We design and embed data governance frameworks for UK central government, arm's length bodies and regulated financial institutions, so that every significant data asset has a named owner, measurable quality, and a compliance position that stands up to audit.
Most data governance programmes fail for the same reason: they produce a policy document that nobody uses. Governance only works when it is operational, when a named person is accountable for a dataset, when quality is measured against a published standard, and when the governance board sees the same numbers every month. Mayfair IT Consultancy builds governance that way round. We start from the decisions your organisation is struggling to make and work back to the ownership, quality rules, metadata and controls needed to support them. Our consultants have worked inside large public sector data programmes, so the frameworks we design fit how departments are actually funded, assured and audited, rather than assuming a greenfield estate and unlimited change capacity.
Key Capabilities
- ›Data governance framework design: policy, standards and operating model
- ›Ownership models covering accountable owners, stewards and custodians
- ›Data quality rules, measurement and reporting against agreed thresholds
- ›Data catalogues, business glossaries and metadata management
- ›UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 compliance mapping
- ›Information asset registers, retention schedules and records management
- ›Data sharing agreements and cross-departmental interoperability
- ›Governance board design, reporting packs and maturity assessment
Who We Work With
Our governance work comes out of live central government programmes. For the ONS Integrated Data Service we delivered anonymisation workflows, governance frameworks and a unified reference data hub that de-risk cross-government data sharing. For the UK IPO's ONE IPO transformation we delivered master data management and a data governance framework to replace legacy systems. Engagements range from a focused maturity assessment to embedding governance inside a live programme.
Frameworks & Accreditations
Our Approach
How we work.
Assess
We baseline your current governance against a recognised maturity model, review existing policy, and identify which data assets carry the most risk and the most value.
Define
We agree a proportionate target framework with you: ownership, decision rights, quality standards, and the controls needed for your regulatory obligations.
Operationalise
We stand up the catalogue, glossary, quality measures and reporting, and work with named owners so that governance becomes part of business as usual rather than a parallel process.
Sustain
We hand over documented processes, train your data stewards, and leave a governance forum that can make decisions without us in the room.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions.
What does a data governance consultancy actually do?
We put the structures in place that make data dependable: who owns each dataset, what quality it must meet, where it is catalogued, who may access it, how long it is kept, and how any of that is evidenced. In practice that means writing policy your organisation will follow, agreeing accountable owners with real authority, defining measurable quality rules, standing up a catalogue and glossary, and setting up the reporting that lets a governance board act on what it sees.
How long does it take to stand up a data governance framework?
A maturity assessment and target framework design typically takes six to ten weeks. Making it operational across a significant data estate usually takes six to twelve months, because it depends on people adopting new responsibilities rather than on technology being installed. We sequence the work so that the highest-risk data assets are governed first and you see value before the programme completes.
What is the difference between data governance and information governance?
The two overlap heavily and the terms are often used interchangeably in the public sector. Information governance is usually framed around legal and regulatory duties: data protection, freedom of information, records management and retention. Data governance is usually framed around making data usable and trustworthy: ownership, quality, definitions and lineage. We treat them as one programme, because in practice the same owners, registers and controls serve both.
Which standards and frameworks do you align to?
Our governance work aligns to the Government Data Quality Framework, the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, DAMA-DMBOK practice for governance structure, and ISO 27001 for information security controls where that is the client's chosen standard. We align to the frameworks that apply to your organisation rather than imposing a single house methodology.
Can you assess our current maturity before we commit to a full programme?
Yes, and we usually recommend it. A structured maturity assessment takes four to six weeks, involves interviews across data, digital, policy and operational teams, and produces a scored baseline with a prioritised set of recommendations. It gives you a costed view of the work before you commit budget to delivery.
Related case studies and reading.
- Case studyONS: Integrated Data Service and Reference Data Management Framework
- Case studyUK IPO: ONE IPO master data and data governance
- InsightGovernment data governance: ownership, quality and compliance
- InsightCompliance-led information governance consultancy explained
See how our services come together for government in public sector consultancy.
Discuss your requirements
Speak with our team about how we can support your organisation's specific challenges. We respond within one working day.