E. Implementation

The recommendations and actions articulated within the I.T. strategy necessarily range in scope and many of them will require multiple individual projects, the participation of many groups and the integration with existing efforts in their implementation.  The articulation of implementation has been viewed from the outset as beyond the scope of the strategy development process.

What are listed below are some of the key roles, processes, and near term priorities that are integral to the implementation of the I.T. strategy.

Roles -

The University-wide scope of the I.T. strategy implies a role for virtually every information technology support group at York.  This participation will be first through the use of the strategy in the preparation of annual computing plans and then in the active participation specific initiatives and projects.

Overall leadership for implementation will come from the Executive Director – Information Technology supported by the Information Technology Executive Group representing executive leadership and faculty.  This group will have a fundamental role as the custodians of the plan with responsibility for guiding implementation and tracking progress.

Process –

The annual computing planning process, which is well ingrained within the planning cycle of Faculties and is being adopted by other groups within the University, will be the key vehicle for initiating the specific activities and projects necessary to implement the I.T. Strategy.

The timing of the computing planning process has been changed for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.  The call for plans will be done in October with the aim of completing plans by January 2002. The timing of the planning process will allow for funding issues arising from the development of plans to be considered within the annual budgeting cycle in the spring of 2002.

In order to set the context for the 2002-03 planning effort there will be a planning workshop held in October 2001.  This workshop will be used as an opportunity to bring together groups across the University to review the strategy and agree on priorities for computing for 2002-03

Near term priorities  -

Several of the recommended actions will require near term action on the part of University senior management.  These actions (1.1, 3.1) should be considered before the end of the calendar year as they will provide important context for other initiatives.

Work is already underway on many of the actions.  Articulation within the strategy serves to underscore this work and place it in the broader University context.

Funding -

It is difficult to specify the costs of the entire plan.  As we proceed through operational planning details, including the costs of the implementation, will become evident.

As noted in the plan the University already spends in the order of $25 million dollars annually on information technology and support.  Additional funding for infrastructure has also been planned beginning in 2002-2003.  These funds should be the primary source for new action under the I.T. strategy particularly allowing us to address actions related to network, classroom, and computing labs.  New funding will have to be sought as part of the implementation when operational planning is done.

Tracking our progress -

The Executive Director – Information Technology will have the responsibility for monitoring and reporting on the progress of the strategy implementation.  The primary mechanism to do this will be to track the progress and outcomes of initiatives that arise for the recommendations and actions.  As implementation proceeds we must be able to assess whether we have:

• Articulated University-wide direction for technology in  teaching and learning and have increased accessibility and support for faculty to use technology.
• Enhanced the academic and management information resources that are available to the community.
• Increased and integrated our service delivery via the web and taken steps to transform our processes.
• Put in place an information technology environment that is accessible, sustainable and adaptable to change.
• Modified our information technology organizational processes and structures to improve collaboration and capitalize on the distributed computing approach.

The Executive Director – I.T. will report, through the President, to UEC on the progress of strategy implementation on at least a semi-annual basis.  One of these updates will be prepared for September of each year in advance of the computing planning cycle.