Technical Report 2: Knowledge Governance

1. Purpose

Technical Report 2 defines the Knowledge Governance Layer for RI-ECOSYS. This layer transforms external information into governed knowledge assets that can be used by the Runtime Foundation (TR1) with auditability and trust.

TR2 specifies:

• The knowledge lifecycle (ingestion, validation, normalization, governance, retention)
• Provenance tracking and evidence requirements
• Knowledge object identity and versioning
• Separation of knowledge curation from execution
• Policy-enforced knowledge access and mutation constraints
• The principle that only governed knowledge may participate in execution

2. The Problem: Information vs Knowledge

Most AI systems retrieve external information and execute against it immediately. This works for stateless inference. It does not work for mission-critical enterprise systems where knowledge must be trusted.

• Information — exists externally, has unknown provenance, may be outdated, inconsistent, or incorrect
• Knowledge — has been ingested, validated, versioned, and tracked. Its provenance, currency, and correctness are known

3. Governance Principles

RI-ECOSYS is built on six foundational governance principles:

3.1 Information Must Be Transformed Into Knowledge

No external information participates directly in execution. All information passes through a ingestion and validation pipeline before becoming knowledge.

3.2 Knowledge Has Identity and Lifecycle

Every piece of knowledge has: unique identifier, version number, creation timestamp and modification history, provenance (source, author, evidence), governance status (draft, validated, approved, deprecated).

3.3 Knowledge Has Immutable Provenance

Once published, the provenance of knowledge cannot be retroactively altered. The source, timestamp, and author create an auditable chain.

3.4 Knowledge Curation is Separate From Execution

The team that curates knowledge is distinct from the team that executes against it. Execution cannot modify canonical knowledge.

3.5 Governance Policy Precedes Access

Every knowledge access (read, write, derive) is gated by governance policy. No execution can bypass these gates.

3.6 Deprecated Knowledge Is Tracked, Never Deleted

When knowledge becomes obsolete, it is marked deprecated but never removed from the registry. This preserves the historical record and enables audit trails.

4. Knowledge Lifecycle

Knowledge moves through five states:

4.1 Ingestion

External information enters the system. Metadata is captured: source URL, timestamp, format, expected refresh interval. No validation yet.

4.2 Validation

The ingested information is validated against domain rules and schema. Validation may reject, request clarification, or flag warnings.

4.3 Normalization

Validated information is transformed into canonical form. Units are standardized, formats are normalized, references are resolved. Metadata is enriched.

4.4 Governance Approval

Normalized knowledge passes through governance gates. Policy checks confirm the knowledge meets organizational requirements. Once approved, the knowledge receives canonical status.

4.5 Retention and Retirement

Canonical knowledge is available for execution. Over time, if knowledge becomes incorrect or obsolete, it is marked deprecated. Deprecated knowledge is never used in new execution but remains in the registry for historical queries.

5. Governance Architecture

6. Knowledge Object Structure

Knowledge Object {
            id: string              // Unique identifier
            version: string         // Semantic versioning
            domain: string          // Finance, operations, compliance, etc.
            type: string            // Metric, policy, calculation, etc.

            // Content
            content: object         // The actual knowledge (domain-specific)

            // Identity & Lifecycle
            status: enum            // ingestion | validated | normalized | approved | deprecated
            created_timestamp: ISO  // When ingested
            approved_timestamp: ISO // When approved
            deprecated_timestamp: ISO // If retired

            // Provenance
            source: string          // URL or system name
            author: string          // Person or service that curated
            evidence: array         // References to validation artifacts

            // Governance
            policies_applied: array // Which governance policies apply
            access_level: enum      // public | internal | restricted
            modification_locked: bool // Execution cannot modify

            // Metadata
            description: string     // Human-readable explanation
            related_knowledge: array // IDs of related knowledge objects
        }

7. Provenance and Evidence

Provenance answers the question: Where did this knowledge come from, and can we trust it?

Every knowledge object maintains:

• Source — External system or document the information came from
• Author — Person or service that curated the knowledge
• Timestamp Chain — Ingestion time, validation time, approval time, deprecation time
• Evidence — References to validation reports, approval documents, audit logs
• Dependencies — Other knowledge objects this knowledge depends on

8. Separation of Concerns

RI-ECOSYS maintains strict separation between knowledge curation and execution:

8.1 Knowledge Curation (Human or Administrative)

Curators:

• Ingest information
• Validate it against domain rules
• Normalize and enrich metadata
• Submit for governance approval
• Retire or deprecate knowledge when needed

Curators cannot execute runtime operations.

8.2 Execution (Runtime)

The runtime:

• Reads from the knowledge registry
• Executes reasoning against approved knowledge
• Records execution logs
• Cannot modify canonical knowledge
• Cannot bypass governance gates

Runtime cannot curate or approve knowledge.

9. Policy Framework

Governance is enforced through policies. Each policy is a rule that knowledge must satisfy before execution.

• Currency — Knowledge cannot be used if its source data is older than N days
• Completeness — Required fields must be present
• Consistency — Knowledge must not contradict other approved knowledge
• Authority — Knowledge must come from an authorized source
• Sensitivity — Knowledge marked sensitive cannot leave restricted zones
• Approval — Knowledge must have explicit approval before use

10. Knowledge Registry Model

The Knowledge Registry is the canonical store of approved knowledge:

• All queries must read from the registry, never from external sources
• All updates to knowledge must go through the lifecycle
• The registry maintains version history
• The registry tracks deprecations but never deletes
• Access is controlled by governance policy

11. Scope and Limitations

TR2 defines governance principles and lifecycle. It does not define:

• How to validate domain-specific knowledge (domain packages define this)
• Database schema or storage technology
• API design or network protocols
• Performance optimization techniques

12. Relationship to TR1 and Future Reports

TR1 (Runtime Foundation) — Established runtime architecture and execution flow independent of knowledge source.

TR2 (Knowledge Governance) — Specifies how knowledge is curated and approved before runtime consumes it.

TR3+ (Domain & Integration) — Will introduce domain-specific knowledge validation, semantic layers, and cross-domain consistency.

13. Final Summary

• Knowledge ≠ Information — Only governed assets participate in execution
• Lifecycle is Mandatory — Five-stage pipeline ensures knowledge quality
• Provenance is Immutable — Audit trails cannot be retroactively altered
• Curation is Separate from Execution — Knowledge curators and runtime operators are distinct roles
• Policy Precedes Access — Governance gates every read and write
• Deprecated Knowledge is Tracked — Historical record is preserved forever