Background & Participation
For the first time, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing a campus-wide strategic plan for information technology with active involvement from throughout our campus community. The CIO Office is leading the development of the plan, with the help of the Office of Quality Improvement, and the planning process has involved many representative campus groups and individuals (see Themes and Participation below).
Previous plans for IT were developed by and for the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), almost exclusively for enterprise-wide technologies provided by DoIT. Following the completion of the campus IT plan, DoIT and other department units will create/update their individual strategic plans.
Phase I: Gathering Campus Input
The CIO started the process in the spring of 2008 by meeting with campus Deans, Directors and other campus leaders to understand their needs, hear concerns and gather ideas for the future. The CIO Office then convened more than thirty-five sessions, called Strategic Planning Mondays, over the course of the summer and fall of 2008. Hundreds of faculty, staff and students gave their input through facilitated exercises and discussed strategies for improving IT service on campus.
Representatives from across campus take part in IT planning process.
Phase II: Identifying Strategic Priorities and Initiatives
Based on the preliminary findings of the summer-long planning session, a number of overarching themes began to emerge:
- Support communications, collaboration and innovation across campus.
- Promote and support IT service leadership.
- Embrace the Wisconsin Idea/Wisconsin Experience.
- Conduct effective assessments.
- Develop and implement sustainable funding models.
- Embrace agility and innovation.
- Develop and implement a common IT architecture and consistent infrastructure.
- Create a more effective organizational infrastructure.
- Support green computing initiatives.
By early 2009, further exploration of these themes culminated in a set of Strategic Priorities. Together, campus planning participants and the CIO Office proposed over 40 initiatives to achieve the stated priorities.
Phase III: Developing Charters for Initiatives (We are Here!)
During the spring and summer of 2009, approximately 10 work teams will develop charters for the 40+ initiatives that fall under the Strategic Priorities. The charters will put forth strategies for bringing the priorities and initiatives to fruition. Upon completion, the CIO Office will work in conjunction with the chancellor’s campus plan, the Madison Initiative, the Deans Council, current budgets and other resources to prioritize those initiatives that should be implemented immediately and identify initiatives for mid-to- longer-term implementation.
Phase IV: Prioritize and Implement Initiatives
Many initiatives within the IT Strategic Plan are already underway. Other will commence when the charters have been completed and prioritized. Still others will remain priorities for longer-term implementation.
Themes & Participation
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The IT Strategic Plan is focused on the same categories as the Campus Strategic Plan: Teaching and Learning, Research, Administration, and Outreach and Service. To ensure broad campus input, the CIO Office partnered with the following groups to develop strategies within each area.
Teaching and Learning
UW Reaccreditation Project Team
Information Technology Committee
Community of Educational Technology Support (ComETS)
Engage Program in DoIT Academic Technology
Research
Research Support and Services Work Group
Executive Committee for Research Computing
Madison Technical Advisory Group
Administration
Vice Chancellor’s Administrative Council
Common Systems Review Group
Administrative Process Redesign Team
DoIT Application Development and Integration
Outreach and Service
Campus Community
Other Stakeholders in the IT Strategic Plan