UW-IT: Embracing the imperative for change through a new strategy

“UW-IT needs to help us develop a common language, look across the university, and create the collaboration that will be our competitive advantage in the market.”
-Office of the President

Striking the right balance between centralized and decentralized technology and information management is essential in our new reality. Face-to-face connection has never been more important, but so is the need for modern, secure and resilient technology tools. At UW-IT, we recognize the imperative to change, and so do our customers. We must align our work with the needs of the University and lean into the change that’s driving the way we interface with each other, with our work and with the world.

To that end, we are creating a new vision for our organization and a plan to adapt and innovate to embrace this exciting transformation. Becoming more nimble — and more relevant  — begins by intentionally listening to our customers. We know they want us to lead with big ideas and new opportunities and to use our expertise to ensure the University has the right tools and systems at the right time.

In 2022, we launched five initiatives to adapt our organization to the new demands of our work. We aligned our leadership team to provide the vision and innovation needed to embrace the change and challenges that lead to excellence. We’ve taken on new responsibilities, eliminated redundant structures and functions and shed activities that were no longer relevant. Now we have a leaner organization that makes more sense to us — and to our customers.

To support strategic and transparent decision-making, we’ve developed a new governance model. We have a new understanding of the responsibilities and challenges before us. We recognize critical priorities and users’ acuity and expectations. We are ready to provide smart, curated business solutions in a way that leaves customers thinking, “You get me!”

The result of our work is UW-IT becoming a resilient and healthy organization that is an employer of choice. We’re aligned around shared goals and a shared understanding of the imperative to adapt and innovate. We are healthy in the way that we challenge each other and hold each other accountable. And as a healthy organization, we are not afraid to innovate and think creatively — and even to be wrong from time to time.

“We need a process for sharing big ideas and new opportunities with UW-IT that goes beyond the normal help desk process.”
-Office of the President

We’re ready to take on the difficult and complex next steps of charting our new course forward. The Huron Consulting Group is providing deep analysis of financial, technical, and human systems in the world of information technology. Under their guidance, we’ve set up a process to ensure leadership and engagement by all of our stakeholders. Together we will map the exciting future of UW-IT as a success multiplier for the University of Washington.

The target is for us to function as “one UW-IT” — a transparent, customer-centric and collaborative organization that amplifies successes — for groups and individuals across the University, the state and nation. By responding to the change our customers and our industry demand, we will become a multiplier for innovation and success, helping people be more successful, systems more intelligent and effort more effortless.

Check this webpage for more information about how we are mapping the journey ahead. Below you can find a timeline and next steps, as we seek to wrap up this work during spring 2024.