Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission has begun a series of staff training sessions to bolster its work in establishing data governance processes and standards, as well as organizing, standardizing, and strategizing the use of data. The training sessions support the Commission’s open data and data governance efforts, and are complementary to its data analytics work, initiatives launched by Chairman Michael Kubayanda.

Earlier this year, the Commission created its first data governance board, comprising representatives from each of the Commission’s major administrative units. The board’s aim is to enhance the Commission’s mission of transparency and accountability of government operations through data that is machine-readable and available in an open data format. The Commission also hired its first Chief Data Officer, Russell Rappel Schmid, to lead the data governance and open data efforts, and formed a data analytics unit within the Office of Accountability and Compliance.

Over the next few months, the Commission has invited guest speakers to present on topics such as the OPEN Government Data Act, the Evidence Act, and the Federal Data Strategy to Commission employees. The Commission kicked off the series with its first presentation, on Open Data, on June 21 when it hosted Corinna Turbes, Policy Director of the Data Foundation – an organization that seeks to improve society through the use of data, and ensure that government data is accessible and usable.

This and upcoming presentations will be made available to the public on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov.