This past week, I was unable to attend the IT Strategic Planning meetings on campus because of CIC commitments, but I did take part in many strategic planning discussions. In these meetings with CIC colleagues, members of our Administrative Process Redesign effort, and faculty and staff working on our reaccredidation efforts, one theme was clear. Our best chance for success is for faculty, staff and students to work together to develop a common set of objectives and goals that we will use to direct our efforts.  This must start with a common set of values and principles that will guide our work.  In the coming weeks, I will spend much time talking about IT service “guiding principles” and "principles of practice.”  As you engage in these discussions, please express your views regarding principles and values for IT services.  These discussions will establish the foundation for future IT strategic planning work.

On Monday, we held the first open campus IT Strategic Planning session.  About 45 people attended.  My impression was that people found the session useful and people had many ideas about how we might improve processes and cover more topics. One of the major themes was “the importance of communications.”  In the end, my hope is that these sessions help us all work better together by building more relationships and developing a better understanding of our collective challenges.

Over the past several days, I have been asked by several people about our approach for the upcoming IT Strategic Planning Meetings. Specifically, people have noticed that most of the sessions are not organized around individual units, but rather around themes or domains. The primary invitee list consists of groups that have interests in the areas. For example, for the sessions on “teaching and learning”, I have not specifically invited a school or college, but rather advisory groups, councils, or committees that more broadly represent campus in the area of “teaching and learning.” Hopefully, each school, college or unit will ensure that the right people attend some of the sessions. Everyone across campus is invited to participate. Please watch for the sessions and join us when you can. Also, if your individual unit would like to have a session or discussion, I am open to that.

Welcome to my IT Strategic Planning blog.  I will use this space to share impressions of our process and to listen to your input.  As we make progress, please share your thoughts.