Sec. 1504. Department of Defense Data Ontology Governance Working Group
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The Secretary of Defense shall establish a working group to develop and implement a common data ontology and governance structure across the Department of Defense. The working group established under to paragraph
(1)shall be known as the Department of Defense Data Ontology Governance Working Group (in this section the Working Group ). Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may designate an existing forum, council, or organizational body to serve as the Working Group if such entity satisfies the requirements of subsections
(b)and (c). For the purposes of this section, a forum, council, or organizational body designated under subparagraph
(A)is deemed to be a working group established by the Secretary of Defense under paragraph (1). The purpose of the Working Group is to inform and to progress the Department of Defense’s foundational data ontology work by developing and implementing domain-specific data ontologies and governance structures across the Department of Defense to expand data interoperability, enhance information sharing, and enable more effective decision making throughout the Department. The Working Group shall consist of— the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Department of Defense; the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense; the Chief Data Officers of the Department of Defense; the Chief Information Officers of the military departments and the combatant commands; such representatives from defense intelligence elements as the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate; the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the service acquisition executive for each military department; and such other officers or employees of the Department of Defense as the Secretary considers appropriate. The Working Group shall— coordinate with and build upon any existing data ontology development efforts for foundational data ontologies within the Department of Defense and the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )) to ensure complementary and nonduplicative efforts; incorporate Department-wide data and data from defense intelligence elements into the development of domain-specific data ontologies Department-wide; develop and maintain domain-specific data ontologies that address functional areas within the Department; establish a process to identify and designate functional area leads responsible for leading the development, review, approval, and respective guidance of domain-specific data ontologies for the functional areas of such elements; develop a structure for governing data ontologies of the Department that includes— a centralized, accessible repository for domain-specific data ontologies of the Department; clear ownership and role definitions for data ontology management, including authorities regarding access and modification; standardized governance procedures for updating, reviewing, and maintaining the data ontologies; adherence to established data ontology engineering principles that promote interoperability and reusability across domains; infrastructure requirements that include on premises, multi-cloud and hybrid environments; access to information networks that are on all classification levels; and integration of domain-specific ontologies with existing Department data management practices and systems. In designating functional area leads under subsection (d)(4), the Working Group shall select individuals who possess extensive subject matter expertise in their respective functional areas and maintain substantial equities or responsibilities within the functional area. The Working Group shall designate functional area leads under subsection (d)(4) in a manner that ensures appropriate representation across the Department of Defense, including the military departments, combatant commands, defense agencies, and field activities. Each functional area lead designated under subsection (d)(4) shall be responsible for— leading the development and maintenance of domain-specific data ontologies within the functional areas for which such entity is designated as the functional area lead; reviewing and approving domain-specific data ontology elements specific to such functional areas; ensuring alignment between domain-specific data ontologies specific to such functional areas and the enterprise-wide foundational data ontology; developing guidance specific to such domain-specific data ontologies for data ontology implementation; and serving as the authoritative source for knowledge on domains in such functional areas within the data ontology governance structure. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the Working Group is established pursuant to subsection
(a)not later than June 1, 2026, and the Working Group shall remain in effect for a period of not less than 5 years beginning on the date of the establishment of the Working Group, unless the Secretary determines that it is necessary to transition the Working Group into a permanent organization. Not later than August 1, 2026, the Working Group shall identify and designate functional area leads in accordance with subsections (d)(4) and (e). Not later than June 1, 2027, the Working Group shall develop and distribute a Department of Defense-wide policy on the data ontology governance structure, including guidelines for the development, maintenance, and integration of domain-specific ontologies. Not later than June 1, 2028, the Working Group shall implement the governance structure developed under subsection (d)(5). Not later than July 1, 2027, the Working Group shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on progress of the Working Group in carrying out this section. Not later than June 30, 2028, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the implementation of the data ontology governance structure, including the status of the implementation of such structure for domain-specific ontologies, and recommendations for sustainment and further development. In this section: The term data ontology means a formal, structured representation and categorization of data elements, their properties, and the relationships between them within an information system or knowledge domain that enables consistent interpretation, integration, and analysis of data across different systems and users. The term Defense intelligence element has the meaning given such term in section 429 of title 10, United States Code. The term domain-specific data ontology means a data ontology that is specific to a particular functional areas within the Department of Defense. The term foundational data ontology means a top-level, domain-independent data ontology that establishes universal categories and primitives applicable across information systems and upon which domain-specific ontologies are based. The term functional area means a specialized functional, operational, or subject-matter areas within the Department. The terms military department and service acquisition executive have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in title 10, United States Code.
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Sec. 1504
Department of Defense Data Ontology Governance Working Group
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