The paper is divided into two sections, the first providing an overview of key issues and processes to be considered while working on data and information governance and the second a set of principles and standards to be considered by relevant stakeholders. For purposes of immediate use of the processes, principles and standards elaborated in this paper, we have used the ongoing discussions under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through the recently adopted global biodiversity framework (GBF) as a starting point. With 196 Parties to the CBD set to update and align their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), the use of information provided in the paper can inform the way in which countries and stakeholders will generate, share, use and assess the data and information related to biodiversity. In addition, the paper is expected to inform work focusing on issues of digital transformation by institutions as well as for other national, bilateral and multilateral processes.