RDA programs and practices

Planning connected to daily operations.

RDA's programs and practices connect your priorities with the people, procedures and technology needed to carry them through. They give ongoing responsibilities a consistent structure for service delivery, evidence and review.

Explore programs and practicesThe RDA Operating Model
One IT department
Red outline Management graphicManagementPriorities and responsibility
Blue outline Software graphicSoftwareApplications and information
Green outline Network graphicNetworkInfrastructure and continuity

Daily support connected to the longer-term plan.

Know who is responsible, what happens next and how the result is checked.

Programs and Practices connect daily support to the longer-term plan. They turn a requirement, service need or investment decision into coordinated activities with defined responsibilities, appropriate approval and a record of the result.

Technology Portfolio Governance (TPG), the RDA Program Framework and the Service Matrix serve different purposes. Together they connect decisions, service delivery and review across Management, Software and Network. Your organization retains its decision and funding authority.

The shared foundation

Frameworks, programs and practices.

Technology Portfolio Governance (TPG) organizes investment and significant change. The RDA Program Framework provides a common structure for programs. Practices apply and develop expertise, bringing the findings back into requirements and decisions.

Program

A defined way to manage an ongoing responsibility, with an owner, requirements, rules, procedures and review.

Practice

How RDA applies and develops its expertise. Methods and tools evolve with the work, technology and emerging risks.

Both need defined responsibilities, accountable people, evidence and approved changes. Programs and Practices evolve as requirements and methods change.

How the pieces fitShared frameworks connect programs, practices and service delivery.
FrameworkTechnology Portfolio Governance (TPG)

Set priorities and authorize investment or significant change.

FrameworkRDA Program Framework

Connect requirements, responsibilities, workflows and evidence.

Programs

Establish the outcomes, rules, procedures and review.

Practices

Apply expertise, investigate and improve the methods.

Services, evidence and review

Carry out the agreed work, check results and bring findings back into decisions, programs and practices.

The organization retains its decision and funding authority. The Service Matrix connects service delivery across Management, Software and Network.

Procurement begins with the requirement. We connect the business case, existing investments, interoperability, support and lifecycle costs to your organization's purchasing process. Requirements, approvals, vendor selection and acceptance remain connected to the service that will operate afterward.

Documentation and continuity when responsibilities change

The RDA approach

Programs and Practices

Practice

Technology Review and Planning

Review how your organization uses technology, identify what needs attention and agree on priorities. Technology Portfolio Governance (TPG) and the RDA Program Framework connect the findings to owners, funding decisions, implementation and review. Security and continuity are part of that broader plan.

Explore this practice

Related guidance: Turn Technology Plans into Work You Can Approve · Use the Service Review to Set Priorities and Next Actions

Technology Review and Planning: the connectionInformal overview · Read in numbered order
  1. 1Review

    Needs, responsibilities and evidence

  2. 2Agree

    Priorities, owner and next decision

  3. 3Carry through

    Implement, support and review

Program

Information & Technology Governance

Governance connects the rules people work under to the responsibilities and technical controls behind them. The acceptable-use work includes short user policies, local adoption decisions, training, operating records and evidence. Acceptable use belongs within that broader governance work.

A policy needs an owner, review date, approval and a way to put the approved wording into use. Changes in requirements, systems and experience feed the next review. Our workflow uses automation to keep policy records, review tasks and the associated standards and evidence connected. Responsible people review applicability, approve changes and check that staff understand the result.

Follow the policy areas, controlled document workflow, requirements and evidence mapping and supporting automation. These systems support the work already in place; their website explanations and examples help show how the pieces fit.

Illustrative policy wording: Use the organization's approved accounts and services for its information. When a task needs another arrangement, ask the designated owner before proceeding and record the approved exception.

This short example illustrates the method. Complete policies, training modules and exercise materials are for approved member access.

Related guidance: Know What Information You Hold and Why · User Credentials · User Credentials Review · Policy areas

Information & Technology Governance: the connectionInformal overview · Read in numbered order
  1. 1Agree

    Responsibilities, authority and rules

  2. 2Put into use

    Responsibilities and training

  3. 3Review

    Records, exceptions and results

Program

AI use and governance

RDA separates immediate AI-use controls from the longer-term program. A bounded Quick Start establishes rules, information boundaries, accountability and human review. The Municipal AI approach puts requirements before tools, classification before ingestion, validation before rollout and ownership before scale. Broader capabilities are reviewed, funded and approved in stages for each organization.

Related guidance: Give AI a Defined Job and an Accountable Owner · Automate an Approved Process You Can Still Explain

AI use and governance: the connectionInformal overview · Read in numbered order
  1. 1Define

    Use, sources and permissions

  2. 2Test

    A bounded pilot with acceptance checks

  3. 3Review

    Staff verify the work and results

Programs

Continuity and disaster recovery

The framework covers these as related subjects. Continuity addresses essential work, people, facilities and alternatives. Disaster recovery addresses service dependencies, restoration order and accepted recovery objectives. Both need named owners, exercises and recorded corrective actions.

Related guidance: Decide How Work Continues When a Service Stops · Prove That the Information Can Be Restored

Continuity and disaster recovery: the connectionInformal overview · Read in numbered order
  1. 1Essential work

    People, services and dependencies

  2. 2Exercise

    Try the arrangements and recovery

  3. 3Improve

    Check results and assign corrections

Program

Incident response

The program framework provides for triage, response authority, containment, evidence handling and recovery. Procedures, role training and exercises support the response. Results and lessons feed corrective work with owners and verification.

Related guidance: Know Who Takes Charge When an Incident Starts · Give Every Important Alert a Route to Action

Incident response: the connectionInformal overview · Read in numbered order
  1. 1Prepare

    Roles, contacts and procedures

  2. 2Respond

    Assess, coordinate and recover

  3. 3Follow through

    Record, review and verify corrections

Practice

ThreatHunter

ThreatHunter connects current threat intelligence with the systems we manage. Research, inventory checks and authorized investigation help identify what needs attention. Findings become assigned actions and follow-up. Validation records distinguish planned checks, completed tests and verified corrective actions.

Related guidance: Security operations · Incident response · Endpoint security

ThreatHunter: the connectionRead in numbered order
  1. 1Research

    Current threats and relevant assets

  2. 2Investigate

    Authorized checks and available evidence

  3. 3Follow through

    Assigned action and verified results

Practice

Technology budget planning

Connect current operations, recurring services, projects and replacement costs. Keep assumptions, responsibilities and timing visible so authorized owners can decide what to fund and sustain. GrantMonitor connects approved priorities to suitable funding routes.

Related guidance: Technology planning · Asset lifecycle

Technology budget planning: the connection
  1. 1Understand

    Current services and commitments

  2. 2Plan

    Projects, replacement and full cost

  3. 3Review

    Decisions, changes and actual costs

Program

GrantMonitor

Fit funding to an approved need. GrantMonitor connects requirements, readiness evidence, eligibility, full cost and delivery capacity. Defined readiness checks support funding and release decisions. Your organization retains purchasing and funding authority and responsibility for sustained operations. Identifying an opportunity or preparing a plan does not authorize spending or establish eligibility, an award or reimbursement.

Related guidance: Technology planning · Lifecycle planning

GrantMonitor: the connectionRead in numbered order
  1. 1Define

    Approved need, requirements and cost

  2. 2Qualify

    Eligibility, evidence and capacity

  3. 3Carry through

    Authorize, deliver and review

Responsibilities, priorities and approvals are agreed with your team. Programs and Practices both retain evidence and verify results.

The RDA Operating Model

Prepare people to carry the work forward

Policies and operating procedures need people who understand how to use them. Cross-training, succession planning and practical exercises help RDA and client teams maintain institutional knowledge and prepare for gaps in coverage. Reviews bring lessons and unfinished actions back into the plan.

Public training wording, an incident discussion prompt and a continuity exercise example show the kind of preparation involved. Each is illustrative and needs to be adapted to the people, systems and responsibilities of the organization.