What is Information Governance? Definition, Scope & Comparison with Data Governance

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A professional-level summary covering key definitions, frameworks, and exam-relevant points.

Information Governance vs Data Governance Comparison

Aspect	Information Governance	Data Governance
Scope	All information (structured + unstructured)	Structured data in systems
Primary focus	Compliance, records, privacy, security	Data quality, metadata, business value
Key activities	Records management; retention; disposal; compliance	Data quality; stewardship; metadata; standards
Regulatory driver	Records laws; privacy regulations; e-discovery	Data quality regulations; industry standards
Typical owner	Legal; compliance; records management	CDO; data management; IT
Relationship	Broader umbrella	Subset focused on structured data

CDMP Exam Relevance

Information governance is referenced in the Data Governance knowledge area (11% of the CDMP exam) and the Document & Content Management knowledge area (6%). Key exam topics include: the definition of information governance and how it differs from data governance, the components of information governance (records management, compliance, privacy, security), and the relationship between information governance and data governance in organisational practice. Understanding the distinction between these two concepts is a common source of CDMP exam questions.

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