External Organizations

The External Organizations extension enables modeling of relationships with third-party entities such as partners, regulators, suppliers, and customers. It supports cross-enterprise scenarios where business architecture spans organizational boundaries.

Schema: external-organization.schema.json
Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07

Overview

What are External Organizations?

External Organizations represent entities outside your enterprise that interact with your business architecture:

• Partners — Joint venture partners, alliance members
• Regulators — Regulatory and supervisory bodies
• Customers — B2B customers, client organizations
• Suppliers — Vendors, service providers
• Peers — Comparable organizations, industry bodies, standards organizations and other government entities

Why Model External Organizations?

Use Case	Benefit
Ecosystem mapping	Visualize your organization in context
Regulatory compliance	Track regulatory relationships
Supply chain visibility	Model supplier dependencies
Partnership management	Document alliance arrangements
Cross-enterprise initiatives	Coordinate shared programs

Extension Components

The External Organizations extension comprises four schemas and a composite schema that groups them:

Schema	Models
external-organization.schema.json	A third-party organization
inter-organizational-relationship.schema.json	A link between two organizations, internal or external
shared-initiative.schema.json	An initiative owned jointly by several organizations
federated-governance-model.schema.json	How several organizations co-own or co-steward a resource
external-organization-composite.schema.json	A collection of all four

Internal organizations are referenced by their organizationID or orgUnitID from the Organization domain; external organizations by their externalOrgID. Wherever a record can refer to either, an internal/external flag says which.

External Organization Schema

External Organization

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
externalOrgID	String	✓	Unique identifier for the external organization
name	String	✓	The full name of the external organization
acronym	String		Short form of the name, e.g. APRA
type	Enum	✓	Classification of the external organization
description	String		Brief description of the external organization
domain	String		Industry or government domain the organization belongs to
jurisdiction	String		Legal jurisdiction the organization operates under
jurisdictionCodes	Array[String]		Jurisdictions the organization's remit covers, as ISO 3166 codes (AU, SG, EU, US-NY), or INT for international bodies
remit	String		For a regulator or standards body, what it regulates or standardises
contactInfo	Object		Contact information for the external organization
website	String (URI)		Website of the organization
monitoredSourceDataFlowIDs	Array[String]		Data flows that watch the organization's publications for change

Contact Information (contactInfo)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
primaryContact	String		Name of the primary contact
email	String (email)		Contact email address
phone	String		Contact phone number

Organization Type (type)

Value	Description	Examples
partner	Strategic or operational partner	Joint venture partner, alliance member
regulator	Regulatory or supervisory body	APRA, ASIC, MAS, FCA, SEC
standardsBody	Issues recognised standards or frameworks	ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, NIST
legislature	Makes statute law	Parliament of Australia, European Parliament
government	Government department or agency that is not a regulator	Department of Industry, Science and Resources
industryBody	Industry association or professional body	AusIMM, Insurance Council of Australia
customer	B2B customer organization	Corporate client, government agency
supplier	Product or service provider	Technology vendor, outsourcer
peer	Comparable organization	Peer firm, peer agency

Inter-Organizational Relationship Schema

Models the relationships between your organization and external entities, or between external entities.

Inter-Organizational Relationship

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
relationshipID	String	✓	Unique identifier for the relationship
sourceOrgID	String	✓	Reference to the source organization (internal or external)
sourceType	Enum		Whether the source is an internal or external organization
targetOrgID	String	✓	Reference to the target organization (internal or external)
targetType	Enum		Whether the target is an internal or external organization
relationshipType	Enum	✓	The nature of the relationship between organizations
description	String		Detailed description of the relationship
strength	Integer		Strength of the relationship from 1 (very weak) to 5 (very strong)
formalAgreement	String		Reference to any formal agreement governing this relationship
startDate	Date		When the relationship began
endDate	Date		When the relationship is scheduled to end (if applicable)
linkedDomains	Array[Object]		Domains affected by this relationship

Linked Domain (linkedDomains)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
domainType	Enum		The affected domain, from the shared domain list (e.g. risk, policy, finance, capability)
domainID	String		ID of the linked domain entity

Relationship Type (relationshipType)

Relationships run from the source to the target organization.

Value	Description
sharesDataWith	The source shares data with the target
providesServicesTo	The source provides services to the target
regulates	The source exercises regulatory oversight of the target
collaboratesWith	General collaboration between the two
funds	The source provides funding to the target
reportsTo	The source reports to the target
advises	The source advises the target
coGovernsWith	The two jointly govern a shared resource

Organization Kind (sourceType, targetType)

Value	Description
internal	Your own organization or one of its units
external	An external organization

Shared Initiative Schema

Models initiatives owned or contributed to by multiple organizations.

Shared Initiative

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
initiativeID	String	✓	Unique identifier for the initiative
title	String	✓	Title of the initiative
description	String	✓	Description of the initiative
purpose	String		Purpose of the initiative
startDate	Date		Date the initiative starts
endDate	Date		Date the initiative ends
status	Enum		Progress of the initiative (shared work status list)
budget	Number		Total budget
goals	Array[String]		Goals of the initiative
owningOrganizations	Array[Object]	✓	The organizations involved in the initiative (at least one)
governanceModel	String		Description of how decisions are made across organizations
crossOrgDependencies	Array[Object]		Dependencies involving multiple organizations

Owning Organization (owningOrganizations)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
orgID	String	✓	Reference to an internal or external organization
orgType	Enum	✓	Whether this is an internal or external organization
role	Enum	✓	Role of the organization in this initiative
responsibilities	String		Specific responsibilities of this organization
resourceContribution	String		Resources contributed by this organization

Participant Role (role)

Value	Description
lead	Leads the initiative
sponsor	Provides executive sponsorship
fundingPartner	Contributes funding
implementationPartner	Delivers part of the work
stakeholder	Has an interest in the outcome without a delivery role
oversight	Provides regulatory or governance oversight

Cross-Organization Dependency (crossOrgDependencies)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
dependencyType	Enum		What is depended on
description	String		Description of the dependency
sourceOrgID	String		ID of the organization that depends
targetOrgID	String		ID of the organization depended on

Dependency Type (dependencyType)

Value	Description
information	Data or information from the other organization
capability	A capability the other organization provides
resource	People, funding or assets
decision	A decision the other organization must make
approval	A formal approval from the other organization

Initiative Status (status)

The shared work status list.

Value	Description
proposed	Proposed, not yet planned
planned	Planned and scheduled
approved	Approved to proceed
inProgress	Under way
onHold	Paused
deferred	Postponed to a later period
completed	Finished
cancelled	No longer being pursued

Federated Governance Schema

Models how multiple organizations co-own or co-steward shared resources.

Federated Governance Model

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
governanceID	String	✓	Unique identifier for the governance model
name	String	✓	Name of the governance arrangement
domainType	Enum	✓	Type of domain being governed: any domain from the shared domain list (e.g. policy, information, service), or standard
domainReference	String		Reference to the specific domain entity being governed
participatingOrganizations	Array[Object]		Organizations involved in this governance model (at least two)
decisionProcess	String		How decisions are made (consensus, majority, etc.)
meetingCadence	String		Frequency of governance meetings
escalationPath	String		Process for escalating unresolved issues
documentationLink	String		Link to governance documentation

Participating Organization (participatingOrganizations)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
orgID	String		ID of the participating organization
orgType	Enum		Whether the organization is internal or external
governanceRole	Enum		Role the organization plays in governance
votingWeight	Number		Relative weight in decisions, if applicable

Governance Role (governanceRole)

Value	Description
lead	Chairs or leads the governance body
participant	Takes part in decisions
advisor	Contributes expertise without decision rights
approver	Holds approval rights
auditor	Independently reviews compliance with the arrangement

Composite Schema

external-organization-composite.schema.json collects records of all four kinds in one document.

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
externalOrganizations	Array[Object]		External organizations
interOrganizationalRelationships	Array[Object]		Relationships between organizations
sharedInitiatives	Array[Object]		Initiatives owned jointly by several organizations
federatedGovernanceModels	Array[Object]		Governance models shared across organizations

Examples

Regulatory Relationship

{
  "externalOrganizations": [
    {
      "externalOrgID": "EXT-APRA",
      "name": "Australian Prudential Regulation Authority",
      "type": "regulator",
      "description": "Primary prudential regulator for Australian financial services",
      "domain": "Financial services regulation",
      "jurisdiction": "Australia",
      "website": "https://www.apra.gov.au"
    }
  ],
  "interOrganizationalRelationships": [
    {
      "relationshipID": "IOR-001",
      "sourceOrgID": "EXT-APRA",
      "sourceType": "external",
      "targetOrgID": "ORG-001",
      "targetType": "internal",
      "relationshipType": "regulates",
      "description": "Prudential supervision under the Banking Act 1959 and APRA Prudential Standards",
      "strength": 5,
      "formalAgreement": "Banking Act 1959; APRA Prudential Standards",
      "startDate": "1998-07-01",
      "linkedDomains": [
        { "domainType": "risk" },
        { "domainType": "policy" },
        { "domainType": "finance" },
        { "domainType": "capability", "domainID": "CAP-RISK-001" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Industry Consortium

{
  "initiativeID": "SI-CDR-001",
  "title": "Consumer Data Right Implementation",
  "description": "Industry program to implement Open Banking in Australia",
  "status": "inProgress",
  "owningOrganizations": [
    {
      "orgID": "EXT-ACCC",
      "orgType": "external",
      "role": "oversight",
      "responsibilities": "Regulatory oversight and accreditation"
    },
    {
      "orgID": "EXT-DSB",
      "orgType": "external",
      "role": "lead",
      "responsibilities": "Develop and maintain the data standards"
    },
    {
      "orgID": "ORG-001",
      "orgType": "internal",
      "role": "implementationPartner",
      "responsibilities": "Full compliance by the deadline",
      "resourceContribution": "Technical implementation, API development"
    }
  ],
  "crossOrgDependencies": [
    {
      "dependencyType": "approval",
      "description": "Accreditation is required before data sharing can go live",
      "sourceOrgID": "ORG-001",
      "targetOrgID": "EXT-ACCC"
    }
  ]
}

Shared Data Standard Governance

{
  "governanceID": "FGM-001",
  "name": "Consumer Data Standards Governance",
  "domainType": "standard",
  "domainReference": "Consumer Data Standards",
  "participatingOrganizations": [
    { "orgID": "EXT-DSB", "orgType": "external", "governanceRole": "lead" },
    { "orgID": "EXT-ACCC", "orgType": "external", "governanceRole": "approver" },
    { "orgID": "ORG-001", "orgType": "internal", "governanceRole": "participant" }
  ],
  "decisionProcess": "Public consultation followed by chair decision",
  "meetingCadence": "Monthly",
  "escalationPath": "Data Standards Chair, then the responsible minister"
}

Usage Guidelines

When to Use External Organizations

• Regulatory mapping — Document all regulatory relationships
• Ecosystem visualization — Show organization in industry context
• Due diligence — Capture partner/supplier landscape
• Cross-enterprise programs — Model multi-organization initiatives
• Supply chain analysis — Map supplier dependencies

Modeling Best Practices

1. Start with regulators — Critical relationships to document first
2. Include strength indicators — Not all relationships are equal
3. Link to affected domains — Use linkedDomains to show which internal domains are impacted
4. Document governance — How are shared arrangements managed?
5. Maintain currency — Relationships change; keep data fresh

For Data Engineers

External organization data can enrich your data catalog with business context. When documenting data sharing arrangements, link the data assets to the external organization relationships that govern their exchange.

Related Documentation

• BIAN Mapping — Banking industry interoperability
• Organization Domain — Internal organization modeling
• Inter-Unit Relationships — Internal relationship modeling