Dive Brief:

• A group of federal government data practitioners is working to better define data-focused roles, FedScoop reports.

• The group, established by the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil, is discussing the commonalities and differences of their jobs to try to determine the best formulas for success. More than 24 federal agencies now have some type of chief data officer, Patil said. 

• The federal group is looking particularly closely at the differences and similarities between the CIO and CDO roles. While several federal chief data officers currently report to the CIO, "that’s not consistent," said GSA Chief Data Officer Kris Rowley last week at the ATARC Federal Big Data Summit.

Dive Insight:

Enterprises aren’t the only ones struggling to define the differences between the various data roles and determining who should report to whom. 

According to a recent report from Forrester Research, more companies are hiring chief data officers. The study found that about 45% of firms have already appointed a chief data officer, and an additional 16% plan to create a CDO role within the next 12 months.

The federal group wants to better define what skill sets and responsibilities each data-focused role should have. Similar efforts could be undertaken in the private sector, as many companies are introducing new roles, such as chief digital officers, which can cloud the technology leadership hierarchy.