Data Strategy Briefing — November 21, 2025
Following the Global CBPR Forum's October workshop, the 2025/2026 work program commits to issuing membership criteria and CAPE guidance, so cross-border privacy teams should ready evidence packages before the new requirements publish.
Executive briefing: The Global CBPR Forum’s 2025/2026 work program calls for finalising jurisdiction membership criteria and asking the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement (CAPE) to issue guidance on CBPR and PRP certifications. Coming out of the 22–24 October 2025 Boracay workshop—where new membership applications were under review and DIFC secured full membership—organisations should use November to stage governance artefacts before the criteria and guidance publish.
Key governance checkpoints
- Membership eligibility documentation. Compile proof of privacy enforcement capacity, accountability agent supervision, and domestic legal alignment so applications meet the forthcoming Forum criteria.
- CAPE guidance alignment. Map existing cross-border transfer controls and incident playbooks against the Forum’s certification updates so CAPE’s guidance can be implemented without rework.
- Stakeholder engagement. Establish internal liaisons for the multistakeholder mechanism the Forum plans to institutionalise, ensuring regulators and industry groups can supply feedback quickly.
Operational priorities
- Certification readiness sprints. Audit CBPR and PRP evidence packages for SMEs and multinationals highlighted during the workshop so they can be re-submitted once updated program requirements launch.
- Jurisdiction portfolio review. Update cross-border data inventories to reflect new members and associates, particularly the Dubai International Financial Centre and Nigeria, and validate contractual coverage in those markets.
- Workshop follow-through. Capture workshop action items on interoperability with GDPR and ISO frameworks to brief engineering and product teams that will implement CAPE guidance.
Enablement moves
- Stage briefing packs for boards and data-protection officers describing the Forum’s 2025/2026 roadmap.
- Prototype KPI dashboards that track certification uptake and jurisdiction engagement for reporting once criteria are formalised.
Sources
Zeph Tech prepares Global CBPR membership readiness packs, CAPE guidance alignment matrices, and accountability agent engagement playbooks.