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Quest Training

National Data Strategy & Data Policy Development Training Course

Equips ministries and data regulators to build a national, not corporate, data strategy and policies on data categorization, cross-border flows and open data.

DMS · Data Management & GovernanceAll Levels#3026ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Data, Analytics & Digital TransformationCategories:Data Management & Governance

Course Overview

This advanced course is designed for national policy makers rather than individual organizations. It develops the capabilities required to design, negotiate, and implement a national data governance strategy and the policy instruments that give it effect across ministries, regulators, statistics offices, the private sector, and citizens. Where enterprise data strategy focuses on one institution, this program addresses data as a national resource that shapes public services, economic growth, trust, and sovereignty. Participants will examine the policy landscape that national strategies must respond to, including the African Union Data Policy Framework, the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, the Digital Trade Protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, and relevant data protection laws in the Gulf and Africa. The course covers the core building blocks of national data policy: data categorization and classification schemes, personal data protection, cross-border data flows and localization choices, open data and data sharing regimes, data economy development, digital public infrastructure, and interoperability. It also addresses the institutional set-up needed to govern data nationally, including the mandates of data offices, data protection authorities, and national statistics offices. Through policy drafting exercises, comparative case analysis, stakeholder mapping, and institutional design workshops, participants will build a national data strategy outline, policy options, a regulatory and institutional model, and an implementation and monitoring plan suited to their country context.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain the role of data as a national resource and source of public value.
  • Analyze continental, regional, and international data policy frameworks for national use.
  • Diagnose the national data ecosystem, legal gaps, and institutional capacity.
  • Define the vision, principles, and pillars of a national data strategy.
  • Design national schemes for categorizing personal, non-personal, public, and critical data.
  • Select suitable policy instruments, from legislation and regulation to standards and incentives.
  • Evaluate policy options for cross-border data flows and data localization.
  • Develop open data and data sharing policies with balanced safeguards.
  • Identify measures that grow a trusted national data economy.
  • Design institutional mandates and coordination for national data governance.
  • Strengthen the role of national statistics offices in the data system.
  • Prepare an implementation and monitoring plan for a national data strategy.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for senior officials in ministries of ICT, communications and digital economy, data protection and data regulatory authorities, national data offices, national statistics offices, policy directors, legal and regulatory advisors, and officials responsible for drafting national digital and data strategies. It is particularly relevant to ministries, central government agencies, regulators of telecommunications, finance, and competition, and public institutions in the Gulf and Africa that are preparing or reviewing national data strategies, data protection laws, open data policies, or regional data-flow commitments. The program will also benefit advisors in planning and economy ministries, central bank data teams, trade negotiators, and development partners supporting national data governance reforms.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
  • Explain how national data governance differs from organizational data management.
  • Interpret the African Union Data Policy Framework and related instruments for national use.
  • Diagnose a national data ecosystem and its legal, institutional, and capacity gaps.
  • Formulate the vision, principles, and pillars of a national data strategy.
  • Design a national data categorization scheme with matching access and protection rules.
  • Select and justify policy instruments for each data policy objective.
  • Evaluate cross-border data flow and localization options.
  • Draft open data and data sharing policies for government and business data.
  • Propose measures that grow a trusted data economy while protecting fair competition.
  • Design an institutional model with clear mandates for data bodies.
  • Develop monitoring indicators and review mechanisms for national data policies.
  • Prepare an implementation plan with priorities, sequencing, and financing options.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

National Data Governance & Policy Landscape

  • Data as a national resource for public value and growth
  • National versus organizational data governance
  • The national data value chain and its stakeholders
  • The African Union Data Policy Framework and its main pillars
  • Regional, Gulf, and international data policy instruments
  • Diagnosing national data ecosystems and legal gaps
  • Defining the vision, principles, and pillars of a national strategy
  • Practical application: Diagnose a national data ecosystem and draft the strategy vision and pillars
Day 2

Policy Instruments, Data Categorization & Data Protection

  • The policy cycle for national data policies and regulations
  • Legislation, regulation, standards, and soft-law instruments
  • National data categorization and classification schemes
  • Personal, non-personal, public, private, and critical data categories
  • Personal data protection principles and data subject rights
  • Independence and powers of data protection authorities
  • Regulatory impact assessment and public consultation
  • Practical application: Design a national data categorization scheme and matching policy instruments
Day 3

Cross-Border Data Flows & Data Sovereignty

  • Economic and security dimensions of cross-border data flows
  • Data sovereignty, data localization, and their policy trade-offs
  • Transfer mechanisms, adequacy decisions, and contractual safeguards
  • Data flow commitments in digital trade agreements
  • Regional harmonization and mutual recognition of data rules
  • Government cloud policy and hosting of sensitive data
  • Law enforcement access to data and international cooperation
  • Practical application: Draft a data transfer and localization policy for a selected country
Day 4

Data Economy, Open Data & Data Sharing

  • Building a trusted national data economy and data markets
  • Open government data policy, licensing, and high-value datasets
  • Data sharing frameworks between government, business, and citizens
  • Data intermediaries, data trusts, and data spaces
  • Digital public infrastructure, data exchange, and interoperability
  • Competition, fair access, and preventing data concentration
  • Skills, research, and innovation incentives for data-driven growth
  • Practical application: Develop an open data and data sharing policy with access tiers and safeguards
Day 5

Institutional Set-Up, Implementation & Monitoring

  • Institutional models for national data governance
  • Mandates of data offices, regulators, and statistics offices
  • Inter-ministerial coordination and multi-stakeholder governance
  • National statistics offices as stewards of the national data system
  • Action planning, sequencing, and financing
  • Monitoring indicators and periodic strategy review
  • Capacity building and public communication of data policies
  • Final workshop: Present a national data strategy outline covering vision, categorization, protection, cross-border flows, open data, data economy, institutions, and monitoring.

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Madinah · 22 – 26 Feb 2027 · Classroom

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CityDatesPrice per ParticipantEarly Bird
SalalahScheduled
2 – 6 Nov 2026€5,300—
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ParisScheduled
2 – 6 Nov 2026€5,700—
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Sharm El-SheikhScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€4,300—
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ViennaScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,700—
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AbujaScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,100—
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AccraScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,100€4,590until 2 Nov
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AmmanScheduled
29 Nov – 3 Dec 2026€3,100€2,790until 9 Nov
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BangkokScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€6,100€5,490until 16 Nov
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AmsterdamScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 16 Nov
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BarcelonaScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 23 Nov
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BeirutScheduled
20 – 24 Dec 2026€4,000€3,600until 30 Nov
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CairoScheduled
27 – 31 Dec 2026€3,300€2,970until 7 Dec
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Cape TownScheduled
28 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 7 Dec
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CasablancaScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€4,300€3,870until 14 Dec
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DohaScheduled
10 – 14 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 21 Dec
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DammamScheduled
10 – 14 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 21 Dec
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DubaiScheduled
17 – 21 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 28 Dec
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ErbilScheduled
24 – 28 Jan 2027€3,100€2,790until 4 Jan
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IstanbulScheduled
25 – 29 Jan 2027€4,700€4,230until 4 Jan
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JeddahScheduled
31 Jan – 4 Feb 2027€4,200€3,780until 11 Jan
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Kuala LumpurScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€4,400€3,960until 18 Jan
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KigaliScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€5,100€4,590until 18 Jan
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LisbonScheduled
15 – 19 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 25 Jan
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MadinahScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€4,200€3,780until 1 Feb
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LondonScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,600€5,040until 1 Feb
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MadridScheduled
1 – 5 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 8 Feb
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ManamaScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€4,700€4,230until 15 Feb
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MakkahScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 15 Feb
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MuscatScheduled
15 – 19 Mar 2027€5,300€4,770until 22 Feb
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OnlineScheduled
21 – 25 Mar 2027€1,700€1,530until 1 Mar
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