A GDPR compliance program typically includes governance, documented policies, processing records, risk management, and monitoring activities. It also covers DPIAs, breach handling, and internal checks to track issues and improvements.
A GDPR compliance program is the set of governance and operational practices an organization uses to meet GDPR obligations and demonstrate accountability. From a DPO perspective, the program needs to be structured enough to produce consistent decisions and repeatable evidence, while still fitting the organization’s processing realities.
Governance starts with clear roles and escalation paths. The course content highlights DPO designation and the relationship with top management, which are central to making compliance decisions actionable. The program also relies on documented policies that define expectations for processing, access, retention, and incident response.
Operational documentation is another core component. Maintaining a register of processing activities is a practical foundation because it makes processing visible: what data is processed, for what purpose, and under what controls. A register also supports risk management by showing where higher-risk processing exists and what mitigations are in place.
Risk management and impact assessment sit alongside documentation. The program content includes a risk management process and data protection impact assessments. DPIAs help evaluate whether controls are adequate for higher-risk processing and create a record of the reasoning behind decisions.
Monitoring and continual improvement keep the program alive. The course includes monitoring and measuring compliance, internal audit, treatment of nonconformities, and continual improvement. These activities produce the evidence needed for accountability and ensure issues are identified, addressed, and tracked to closure. Incident management and personal data breaches are also covered, because breach handling and documentation are essential parts of operational compliance.
Many organizations build GDPR artifacts but do not build a system. The difference is monitoring. If you cannot show what you checked, what you found, and what you corrected, the program will not hold up under scrutiny. A DPO should define a monitoring cadence, align it to the organization’s processing register, and ensure outcomes are captured as evidence.
Keep the program practical. Use the register to prioritize controls, use DPIAs for higher-risk processing, and treat incidents as learning inputs. That is how continual improvement becomes routine rather than a yearly scramble.
“A compliance program is governance plus evidence-producing operations.”
Expert Trainer
Expert Trainer
An AIMS helps an organization govern how AI is planned, implemented, operated, and improved so AI initiatives remain controlled, consistent, and auditable.
A cybersecurity program includes governance, risk management, controls, awareness, incident management, monitoring, and continual improvement.
Preparation is based on the key domains covered: Explain the correlation between ISO 22301 and other standards and regulatory frameworks; Apply concepts, approaches, and methods to deploy a BCMS.
Necessary cookies are always active. You can accept, reject non-essential cookies, or customize your preferences.