Data Governance Consulting
Governance that people actually follow.
Pragmatic data governance consulting for UK businesses that need clarity without a 200 page policy binder. Ownership, quality, security and compliance shaped to the way your teams already work.
Data governance has a reputation for being slow, bureaucratic and expensive. Done badly, it deserves it. Done well, it is nothing more than the small set of rules that lets a business move faster with fewer surprises. That is what we aim for on every governance engagement.
Our data governance consulting is built for organisations that need a defensible answer to auditors, regulators and their own board, without grinding day to day work to a halt. That usually means a lean framework, clear ownership, a small number of well written policies, and a set of practical controls that the people producing and consuming data can actually apply.
We work across the usual UK regulatory landscape, including UK GDPR, FCA expectations for financial services, NHS Digital standards for healthcare and PCI DSS for anyone handling card data. We are not a legal firm, and we will always suggest you take formal legal advice where needed, but we know the landscape well enough to shape governance that fits.
The six things we usually shape
A governance framework that fits on a page.
Policies and standards
A short, plain English set of policies. Data classification, retention, access and acceptable use. Written so a new starter can read them in an afternoon.
Roles and ownership
Named data owners and stewards per domain. A working group that meets monthly. Clear escalation when a decision cannot be made at team level.
Data quality standards
Definitions for what good looks like, measured on the metrics that matter. A quality dashboard everyone can see, updated weekly, no exceptions.
Access and security
Least privilege by default, sensible group based access in Entra ID, row level and object level security enforced at the model layer.
Compliance and audit
Evidence you can hand to an auditor without a two week fire drill. Data protection impact assessments, records of processing, retention schedules.
Change control
A lightweight process for changes to models, reports and datasets that stops the wrong report going to the board on a Friday afternoon.
How we run governance work
Small, sharp phases. Never a two year programme.
We deliberately keep governance engagements small. A four to six week first phase to stand up the framework, then a lighter monthly retainer to keep it alive. Anything longer than that starts to feel like theatre.
Current state
Two weeks. Interviews with data owners, review of existing policies, gap analysis against the standards you need to meet.
Framework design
Two weeks. Draft policies, ownership map, quality standards, access model. Reviewed by the working group in short sessions.
Rollout
Two weeks. Publishing, communications, a short training session per data domain, and a governance dashboard so progress is visible.
Ongoing
A monthly retainer covering the working group, quality reporting, policy refresh and one off queries.
Get started
Ready for governance that helps, not hinders?
Tell us what prompted this. An audit finding, a data incident, a new regulator, a board question you could not answer. We will come back with a proposed first phase.