Six Priorities

Changing how we work is an overarching theme in Boldly IT, and a cornerstone is an IT governance function for shared decision-making, direction-setting, prioritization and investment. Bringing executive stakeholders, faculty, researchers and service providers to the table, we are proposing a portfolio approach based on IT subdomains (teaching and learning, research support, data, etc.,) that will focus on creating unified strategies for those domains. 

Second, it is time that the IT community at Illinois evolves to be truly collaborative with a shared vision, strategies and goals. Today, that community has a positive, cooperative relationship, and partners well on specific and ad-hoc opportunities or in response to adverse circumstances. Our strategic plan posits more integrated ways of working to successfully implement our shared campus-wide priorities with more formal and focused relationships. 

Empowering our IT professionals is the third strategy for this priority. Making Illinois a “preferred place to work” in Higher Education IT means a commitment to exceptional talent management, an inclusive culture and opportunities for advancement and growth. The OCIO will partner closely with Illinois HR to make this strategy successful. 

Strategy 1.1: Establish Technology Governance​

• COMPLETED:
  • Finalized charter and membership of the Research Technology Governance Subcommittee. 
  • Launched the Research Technology Governance Subcommittee on May 6. 
  • Built agendas for the first two meetings of the Research Technology Governance Subcommittee. 
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Draft charters and build the membership list for the AI Infrastructure Subcommittee. 
  • Update the Boldly IT website to incorporate governance subcommittee charters, and charge letters.
  • Prepare the Research Technology Leadership Table to launch this summer.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Analyze input from the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee review exercises. 
  • Revise the former Data Infrastructure and AI Subcommittee Charter to remove Data Infrastructure from its scope. The subcommittee will be renamed the AI Infrastructure Subcommittee. 
  • Build list of potential members for the AI Infrastructure. Subcommittee and AI Infrastructure Technology Leadership Table. 
  • Finalize Executive Committee and Teaching and Learning meeting notes. 
  • Identify the chair of the AI Subcommittee. 
  • Review and prepare Teaching and Learning Governance Subcommittee and Executive Governance Committee meeting notes. 
  • Draft charters for Research Technology and AI Infrastructure Technology Leadership Tables. 
  • Develop standardized “ROI” templates for governance proposals.
  • Write an evaluation of efforts to establish and implement governance for Year 1. 
  • Build agendas for Teaching and Learning Subcommittee’s May and June meetings. 
  • Work with the CIO and Research Technology Subcommittee Chair to establish the Research Technology Leadership Table. 

Strategy 1.2: Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT

• COMPLETED:
  • Finalized the asset inventory tool for the IT pro website. 
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Finalize processes and guidelines for enhanced IT bulletin. 
  • Document IT pro-relevant resources, locations, and owners.
  • Develop framework for Shared Planning initiative.  
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Socialize asset inventory tool and build a form to invite IT professionals to provide data points.
  • Expand input for Shared Planning initiative and draft proposal for implementation. 
  • Charge and form team to further develop proposal for a campuswide internal computer leasing program. 
  • Initiate exploratory work for a server automation proposal, as well as VM institutional footprint data collection effort. 
  • Develop a shared “Change Management Calendar”. 

Strategy 1.3: Empower IT professionals​

• COMPLETED:
  • Identified two initiatives to pursue: job architecture and communities of practice. 
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Develop a list of existing communities of practice.
  • Develop plans to relaunch the IT Academy to structure intentional professional development and increase visibility of training opportunities.
  • Collaborate with Illinois HR to identify IT positions for job path and compensation mapping. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Select target phase 1 efforts from the overarching vision. 

In partnership with university data stakeholders, and leveraging work from Data Operational Excellence and the recent System Data Strategy Task Force, we will develop a Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative that democratizes access to institutional data. We will modernize our data infrastructure by automating manual processes, upgrading our access framework, improving our capabilities in analytics, and remove administrative barriers to access. Security, privacy, and other compliance considerations will be integral to our plan. 

The Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative will support the Boldly Illinois Data Strategy in partnership with the Institutional Data Governance Board. 

Strategy 2.1: Launch a Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative

• COMPLETED:
  • The initiative created a plan with four concrete projects to move from vision to execution through pilot efforts.
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Socialize the Boldly IT Data Infrastructure Initiative proposal to gather input from campus partners.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Identify leads and charge rapid response teams to develop decision-ready recommendations for scope and resourcing along with detailed project plans for implementation of the four projects. 

Strategy 2.2: Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

• IN-PROGRESS:
• Conduct exploratory work to build a chatbot trained on specific university documentation. 
  • Develop a training series for university approved gen AI tools. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Continue development, testing and refinement of chat bots with different applications.

Across the board, our stakeholders told us forcibly that overly complex administrative processes are an impediment to efficiency and detract from their ability to focus on core mission activities. Automation and streamlining processes can help us reduce inefficiencies as part of a process improvement framework. This priority is a natural next step for our IT Operational Excellence work and overlaps considerably with our prioritizing the adoption of generative AI tools on campus. 

Strategy 3.1: Launch a generative AI services & support initiative

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Gather data from initial projects to assess progress and improvements/adjustments. 
  • Continue work on pilot administrative use cases for AI solutions.

Strategy 3.2: Operational Excellence process improvements and automations

3.2.2: Pre-Employee Eligibility Screening Assessment project

• COMPLETED:
  • Incorporated feedback from application testing. 
  • Developed enhancements based upon feedback from the pilot effort. 
  • Planned phase 2 (dynamic views and responses).
• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Complete phase 1 testing including application validation. 
  • Draft Security Control document. 
  • Prepare for migration to production.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Complete audit trail investigation. 
  • Finalize the Security Control document.

We are proposing a more deliberate and integrated approach among the providers of academic technology services on campus (CITL, Technology Services, colleges) to create a cohesive vision for this space with more capacity for innovation and more equitable access to academic technologies. Campuswide support for online learning is a priority for our academic stakeholders and we propose providing online learning infrastructure comprising platforms, technologies and support for hybrid and fully online classes. Improving the student experience is a key consideration under this priority. 

Strategy 4.1: Establish Teaching & Learning Governance Subcommittee – Complete

Chaired by Dean Brooke Elliott (Gies), the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee was launched in the Fall of 2025. Learn more about the subcommittee.

Strategy 4.2: Establish a campuswide online learning infrastructure initiative

• IN PROGRESS:
  • Review and finalize the charge for the Boldly IT Online Learning Infrastructure Steering Committee. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Develop charge letter, vision draft and inventory work. 
  • Review and finalize the charge and develop the charter for the Boldly IT Online Learning Infrastructure Steering Committee.  

As with our support for teaching and learning, we need to take a much more cohesive and intentional approach to supporting research through the use of technology. The Boldy Illinois Research Computing Visioning Committee will inform our directions here but establishing a research support ecosystem, as well as simplifying the researcher experience, have already emerged as strategies under this priority. 

Strategy 5.1: Integrate outcomes from the Research Computing Visioning Committee

• NEXT STEPS:
  • Integrate outcomes from the Research Computing Visioning Committee when recommendations finalized.

Strategy 5.2: Simplify the researcher experience

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Identify a set of potential interventions as next steps to improve coordination, service visibility, and researcher engagement.

Strategy 5.3: Develop a coordinated Regulated Research Program

General

NEXT STEPS:

• In collaboration with OCIO/OVCRI’s Data Compliance Committee, gather requirements and complete a gap analysis for the Regulated Research Environment, and ensure non-IT requirements (policy, process, compliance, and researcher workflows) are integrated into infrastructure planning. 
• Define and document the Regulated Research Environment, including a clear outline of the broader Regulated Research landscape and how services fit together.

Regulated Research Onboarding and Development – Complete

Regulated Research Architecture and Infrastructure – Complete

Our final priority bundles the foundational IT capabilities that we need to develop and refine to support our new campuswide vision and priorities. These capabilities comprise four disciplines or best practices and five IT subdomains. Strategic initiatives recently launched in these areas will be integrated into Boldly IT. 

Strategy 6.1: Strengthen foundational IT capabilities through strategic investments and roadmap delivery

• Integrate existing infrastructure, identity, cybersecurity, privacy, accessibility and data initiatives (e.g. SailPoint IGA, Cybersecurity and Privacy roadmaps, Boldly Connected) into a unified universitywide framework.
• COMPLETED:
  • Established shared rollout approach and completed foundational setup and initial design activities for SailPoint.
• IN PROGRESS:
  • Continue discussions to resolve alignment issues with sequencing and scheduling.
  • Coordinate execution of SailPoint connectivity. 
  • Finalize setup of SailPoint development and test environments. 
  • Finalize discovery and business requirements validation for SailPoint tools, which help manage people’s accesses by improving oversight, automation and enhancing controls. 
  • Develop requirements documentation and gain approvals. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Conduct SailPoint solution design walkthroughs. 
  • Hold discussions to resolve alignment issues with sequencing and scheduling. 
  • Begin design of core identity systems. 
  • Collaborate with Human Resources and student governance groups to update third-party and external researcher access. 
  • Integrate the Privacy and Cybersecurity roadmap into Boldly IT. 

Strategy 6.2: Establish unified IT architecture

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Update the Teaching and Learning portfolio in the enterprise architecture tool. 
  • Assist a project with purchasing needs.  
  • Finalize the initial Enterprise Architecture Review Board charter and membership. 
  • Establish communication and collaboration tools for the Architecture Review Board and assemble onboarding materials. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Research the purchasing need for the project referenced above. 
  • Outline tasks for the next quarter and complete collaborative tool setup.  
  • Review IT Operational Excellence needs for architecture.

Strategy 6.3: Modernize core infrastructure for future needs

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Reorganize Technology Services to create the Systems and Platforms group to unify data center operations, virtualization, data storage and backups, operating system management and public cloud technologies. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Finalize Tech Services reorganization. 
  • Obtain approval for the Boldly Connected proposal.

Strategy 6.4: Advance enterprise IT service delivery

• IN-PROGRESS:
  • Redistribute and assign responsibilities following the departure of the Lead Service Management Analyst.  
  • Explore opportunities to automate service offerings reminders and review cycles in the future. 
  • Refine ITSM processes and onboarding pilot units. 
  • Standardize service offerings for the Enterprise Service Catalog. 
  • Update training and enablement materials. 
  • Work with units to assess readiness and align expectations for phased adoption. 
• NEXT STEPS:
  • ESMO will continue advancing several key Service Management initiatives. 
  • Development of Service Management practices, including continued collaboration with campus working groups on the Change Management and Service Request Management practices. 
  • ESMO to work with the ESMO Liaisons to begin developing a roadmap for implementing the Incident Management Practice. 
  • Continue outreach to campus IT units to collect and validate unit-level service offerings for inclusion in the service catalog, ensuring the catalog accurately reflects the services currently being provided across campus. 
  • Develop and coordinate a transition plan to temporarily redistribute incident management and major incident response responsibilities. 
  • Continue ITSM practice development and support active working groups. 
  • Maintain service offering intake for the Enterprise Service Catalog. 
  • Coordinate with pilot units on training plans, readiness assessments and incremental implementation.