Domain Governance
Domain governance is an important aspect of overall NIEM governance.
Stewardship
All NIEM domains are led by a domain steward that is responsible for the domain’s model content, governance, and maintenance. A domain steward may collaboratively work with a team of volunteer subject matter experts that collectively represent any involved Communities of Interest (COIs). Stewards and, if applicable, governance committees, manage their domain and bring together domain stakeholders to identify information exchange business requirements.
Content Management
Individual domains manage their portion of the NIEM model and work with other NIEM domains to collaboratively identify areas of overlapping interest (known as the harmonization process). As domain stakeholders develop and implement NIEM-based exchanges they provide new or updated information exchange requirements to the domain steward. Content updates can happen at any time, and are then incorporated into the next NIEM release (major or minor) for reconciliation and official publication.
Community Participation
The use of NIEM accelerates collaboration in and across communities. Domains typically consist of participants and end users across federal, state, local, tribal, international, and industry organizations. These members may take part in domain-specific working groups to resolve issues pertinent to their community. Domains also participate in broader-scale NIEM committees, such as the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC), the NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC), and the NIEM Program Management Office (PMO).
Governance
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to domain governance. Each domain represents a broad and, at times, diverse group of individuals and organizations. Domain governance should be tailored to address these stakeholders.
However, there are several activities that are part of governance that are applicable to all. For example, fair and adequate representation, dispute resolution, and continuous communication between all stakeholders are important for community success. Also, to ensure that they remain independent and self-sustaining, established NIEM domains may create and maintain a governing document, such as a charter, that outlines roles and responsibilities, organizational structure, dispute resolution frameworks, and a management plan that details the activities of the domain.
Example: The Biometrics domain
The Biometrics domain provides an excellent example of how to formalize domain governance. The governance framework below illustrates how the Biometrics domain serves the needs of the Biometrics community.
Another example: The Children, Youth, and Family Services (CYFS) domain
The NIEM Children, Youth, and Family Services (CYFS) domain supports timely, complete, accurate, and efficient information sharing to improve outcomes for children and youth whose circumstances make them particularly vulnerable.
Within the CYFS domain, there is a governance committee. This committee stewards the domain and brings together communities of interest to identify information exchange business requirements.
The CYFS communities of interest include but are not limited to: Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, Child Support Enforcement, and Courts. End users across the communities develop and implement NIEM-based exchanges and provide new or updated information exchange requirements to the domain governance committee.
The domain governance committee determines who represents the domain on the NBAC.
