Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
What This Requires
Define clear roles and responsibilities for AI governance across business, technology, legal, and security functions. Use RACI or similar framework to assign accountability for policy, risk, compliance, and incident response.
Why It Matters
Ambiguous accountability leads to gaps (nobody owns AI security) or conflicts (multiple teams claiming authority). A matrix prevents finger-pointing during incidents and ensures coverage of all governance activities.
How To Implement
Identify Key Roles
List stakeholders: AI Governance Lead, CISO, CTO, Legal, Compliance, Data Science Manager, Engineering Leads, Business Unit Owners. Add roles as needed (Ethics Board, Privacy Officer).
Map Activities to RACI
For each governance activity (policy approval, risk assessment, vendor eval, incident response, audit), assign Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed. Ensure each activity has exactly one Accountable owner.
Document Escalation Paths
Define how decisions escalate (e.g., Engineer → Team Lead → Director → VP → Executive Committee). Include timeframes for escalation (48 hours for high-risk decisions).
Communicate & Train
Publish matrix to internal wiki. Conduct role-specific onboarding for new hires in governance roles. Review annually during policy refresh.
Evidence & Audit
- RACI matrix document with all governance activities mapped
- Organizational chart showing reporting lines for AI governance
- Escalation procedure document
- Training records for governance roles
- Meeting minutes showing governance activities aligned to roles