Open Data Platform Account Hierarchy

Organization

An Organization is the representation of a state entity on data.ca.gov. Each Organization has a minimum of one Data Coordinator, who authorizes publishing of the data with approval from the Executive Sponsor of the Organization. Organizations may also have Data Stewards who upload the data, metadata and data dictionaries, but do not have the authority to publish the data. Both Data Stewards and Data Coordinators have the ability to upload data, resources, and edit the Organization’s description.

Executive Sponsor

Within the California Open Data Portal program, the Executive Sponsor role is a director-level person or an organization’s executive who has the authority to recommend, approve and publicize data collected by the state entity they represent. The Executive Sponsor identifies a Data Coordinator to carry out the vetting and publishing of their organization’s data. This role typically does not have an account on data.ca.gov.

Data Coordinator

The Data Coordinator works under the authority and permission of the Executive Sponsor of their respective Organization. The Data Coordinator identifies data, oversees the Data Stewards and has the authority to approve the publishing of datasets on the portal. The Data Coordinator can also serve as the Data Steward in a combined role.

Data Steward

The Data Steward is the person most knowledgeable about the data including the sources, collection methods, and limitations. The Data Steward should be able to write metadata describing the data and answer questions about the data or the program the data derives from. The Data Steward cleans, uploads, and edits the data of an organization on data.ca.gov and communicates with the Data Coordinator for publishing approval. Sometimes, the data steward is also the data coordinator, who has authority to publish the data.