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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 Version: 2.1
Schema Location: /schemas/extensions/external-organizations.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 — Government agencies, industry bodies
  • Suppliers — Vendors, service providers
  • Customers — B2B customers, client organizations
  • Competitors — For market analysis purposes
  • Industry bodies — Standards organizations, consortia

Why Model External Organizations?​

Use CaseBenefit
Ecosystem mappingVisualize your organization in context
Regulatory complianceTrack regulatory relationships
Supply chain visibilityModel supplier dependencies
Partnership managementDocument alliance arrangements
Cross-enterprise initiativesCoordinate shared programs

Extension Components​

The External Organizations extension comprises four schemas:

External Organization Schema​

Core Attributes​

AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
externalOrgIDstringYesUnique identifier
namestringYesOrganization name
orgTypeenumYesType of external organization
descriptionstringNoDescription and context
jurisdictionstringNoLegal/regulatory jurisdiction

Extended Attributes​

AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
industrystringNoIndustry sector
headquartersstringNoPrimary location
legalEntityIdentifierstringNoLEI if applicable
websitestringNoOfficial website
primaryContactobjectNoMain contact details
relationshipStatusenumNoActive, inactive, prospective

Organization Types​

TypeDescriptionExamples
partnerStrategic or operational partnerJoint venture partner, alliance member
regulatorRegulatory or supervisory bodyAPRA, ASIC, FCA, SEC
supplierProduct or service providerTechnology vendor, outsourcer
customerB2B customer organizationCorporate client, government agency
competitorCompetitive entityFor market analysis
industry-bodyIndustry association or standards bodyBIAN, ISO, industry council
governmentGovernment entity (non-regulatory)Treasury, procurement agency

Inter-Organizational Relationship Schema​

Models the relationships between your organization and external entities.

Core Attributes​

AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
relationshipIDstringYesUnique identifier
sourceOrgreferenceYesFirst organization
targetOrgreferenceYesSecond organization
relationshipTypeenumYesType of relationship
directionenumNoDirectional or bidirectional

Relationship Types​

TypeDescriptionDirection
shares-data-withData exchange relationshipDirectional
provides-services-toService provisionDirectional
receives-services-fromService consumptionDirectional
regulatesRegulatory oversightDirectional
partners-withPartnership arrangementBidirectional
supplies-toSupply relationshipDirectional
competes-withCompetitive relationshipBidirectional
collaborates-withGeneral collaborationBidirectional

Relationship Attributes​

AttributeTypeDescription
strengthenum (1-5)Relationship strength/importance
startDatedateWhen relationship began
endDatedateWhen relationship ends (if applicable)
contractReferencestringRelated contract or agreement
affectedDomainsarrayDomains impacted by relationship
governingPoliciesarrayPolicies governing the relationship

Shared Initiative Schema​

Models initiatives owned or contributed to by multiple organizations.

Core Attributes​

AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
initiativeIDstringYesUnique identifier
titlestringYesInitiative name
descriptionstringNoInitiative description
initiativeTypeenumNoType of shared initiative

Participant Roles​

AttributeTypeDescription
participantsarrayOrganizations involved
participantRoleenumLead, sponsor, contributor, observer
contributionstringWhat the participant contributes
commitmentstringLevel of commitment

Initiative Types​

TypeDescription
joint-ventureFormal joint venture
consortiumMulti-party consortium
industry-programIndustry-wide initiative
regulatory-programRegulatory compliance program
research-collaborationJoint research effort
standards-developmentStandards development initiative

Federated Governance Schema​

Models how multiple organizations co-govern shared assets.

Core Attributes​

AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
governanceIDstringYesUnique identifier
titlestringYesGovernance arrangement name
scopearrayYesWhat is being governed
governanceTypeenumNoType of governance model

Governance Scope​

Scope TypeDescription
policyShared policies
informationShared data assets
serviceShared services
standardShared standards
infrastructureShared infrastructure

Governance Roles​

RoleDescription
chairChairs governance body
secretariatProvides administrative support
voting-memberHas voting rights
observerNon-voting participant
contributorContributes expertise

JSON Schema Definition​

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "$id": "https://orthogramic.com/schemas/extensions/external-organizations.schema.json",
  "title": "External Organizations Extension",
  "definitions": {
    "externalOrganization": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["externalOrgID", "name", "orgType"],
      "properties": {
        "externalOrgID": {"type": "string"},
        "name": {"type": "string"},
        "orgType": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["partner", "regulator", "supplier", "customer", "competitor", "industry-body", "government"]
        },
        "description": {"type": "string"},
        "jurisdiction": {"type": "string"},
        "industry": {"type": "string"},
        "headquarters": {"type": "string"},
        "legalEntityIdentifier": {"type": "string"},
        "website": {"type": "string", "format": "uri"},
        "primaryContact": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "name": {"type": "string"},
            "role": {"type": "string"},
            "email": {"type": "string", "format": "email"},
            "phone": {"type": "string"}
          }
        },
        "relationshipStatus": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["active", "inactive", "prospective", "terminated"]
        }
      }
    },
    "interOrgRelationship": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["relationshipID", "sourceOrg", "targetOrg", "relationshipType"],
      "properties": {
        "relationshipID": {"type": "string"},
        "sourceOrg": {"type": "string"},
        "targetOrg": {"type": "string"},
        "relationshipType": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["shares-data-with", "provides-services-to", "receives-services-from", "regulates", "partners-with", "supplies-to", "competes-with", "collaborates-with"]
        },
        "direction": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["directional", "bidirectional"]
        },
        "strength": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5},
        "startDate": {"type": "string", "format": "date"},
        "endDate": {"type": "string", "format": "date"},
        "contractReference": {"type": "string"},
        "affectedDomains": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}},
        "governingPolicies": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}}
      }
    },
    "sharedInitiative": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["initiativeID", "title"],
      "properties": {
        "initiativeID": {"type": "string"},
        "title": {"type": "string"},
        "description": {"type": "string"},
        "initiativeType": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["joint-venture", "consortium", "industry-program", "regulatory-program", "research-collaboration", "standards-development"]
        },
        "participants": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
              "organizationID": {"type": "string"},
              "role": {"type": "string", "enum": ["lead", "sponsor", "contributor", "observer"]},
              "contribution": {"type": "string"},
              "commitment": {"type": "string"}
            }
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "federatedGovernance": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["governanceID", "title", "scope"],
      "properties": {
        "governanceID": {"type": "string"},
        "title": {"type": "string"},
        "scope": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "string",
            "enum": ["policy", "information", "service", "standard", "infrastructure"]
          }
        },
        "governanceType": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["committee", "council", "board", "working-group"]
        },
        "participants": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
              "organizationID": {"type": "string"},
              "role": {"type": "string", "enum": ["chair", "secretariat", "voting-member", "observer", "contributor"]}
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Examples​

Regulatory Relationship​

{
  "externalOrganization": {
    "externalOrgID": "ext-apra",
    "name": "Australian Prudential Regulation Authority",
    "orgType": "regulator",
    "description": "Primary prudential regulator for Australian financial services",
    "jurisdiction": "Australia",
    "website": "https://www.apra.gov.au",
    "relationshipStatus": "active"
  },
  "relationship": {
    "relationshipID": "rel-001",
    "sourceOrg": "ext-apra",
    "targetOrg": "our-organization",
    "relationshipType": "regulates",
    "direction": "directional",
    "strength": 5,
    "startDate": "1998-07-01",
    "affectedDomains": ["Risk Management", "Policy", "Finance", "Capabilities"],
    "governingPolicies": ["Banking Act 1959", "APRA Prudential Standards"]
  }
}

Industry Consortium​

{
  "sharedInitiative": {
    "initiativeID": "init-open-banking",
    "title": "Consumer Data Right Implementation",
    "description": "Industry program to implement Open Banking in Australia",
    "initiativeType": "industry-program",
    "participants": [
      {
        "organizationID": "our-organization",
        "role": "contributor",
        "contribution": "Technical implementation, API development",
        "commitment": "Full compliance by deadline"
      },
      {
        "organizationID": "ext-accc",
        "role": "lead",
        "contribution": "Regulatory oversight, accreditation",
        "commitment": "Ongoing supervision"
      },
      {
        "organizationID": "ext-dss",
        "role": "sponsor",
        "contribution": "Standards development",
        "commitment": "Maintain data standards"
      }
    ]
  }
}

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 — 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.