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Office of the AVP & CTO

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Overview

McMaster IT Strategy

In 2018, McMaster embarked on an IT journey that started with listening, engaging, and storytelling. As a community, we dreamt up Digital Moments to guide our strategic journey.

Together, McMaster IT will continue to deliver on our collaborative efforts in support of the McMaster Institutional Priorities and Strategic Framework 2021 – 2024. With continued optimism for the journey ahead and a future-focused mindset, the McMaster IT community will continue to be connected, seamless, and transformative as we support information technology for a 21st-century McMaster!

McMaster IT Strategic Pillars

McMaster’s IT vision is based upon three foundational strategic pillars, formed through extensive consultation and engagement with our community:

A Connected McMaster Community

McMaster’s cooperative and transparent approach to prioritizing and funding information technologies for the institution will include aligned leadership and partnerships across campuses, allowing the institution to reach its highest potential by drawing on the expertise of our talented IT community, enabling engagement, adaptability, and connections at all levels of the institution.

Key Objectives

  • Institutional Adaptiveness
  • One IT Community

Seamless Foundation

A standardized, scalable, secure, and integrated technology infrastructure is the necessary foundation for transformative information technologies and services at McMaster. This ‘rock solid’ and seamless environment of core capabilities will be fostered through coordination across IT service areas and will provide McMaster with valued and high-performance information technologies.

Key Objectives

  • Optimized IT Infrastructure
  • Enhanced Productivity Systems

Transformative Information Technologies and Services

McMaster‘s evolution as a 21st-century institution will depend on strategic solutions based on leading-edge technologies and innovations, and investments in strong data integrations and automation tools to create ‘delightful’ technologies and world-class experiences for students, faculty, and staff.

Key Objectives

  • Expedited Collaboration and Decision Making
  • Reimagining the McMaster IT Experience

Implementing the IT Strategic Vision

Achieving a Transformative IT Structure

IT initiatives at McMaster will work towards building a transformative IT structure that helps create “delightful” technologies and world class experiences for students, faculty, and staff. Working as a connected community, McMaster will deliver a seamless foundation of core and transformative information technologies and services, accelerating the University’s teaching, learning, and research mission and enabling engagement, adaptability, and connections at all levels of the institution.

IT Governance Framework

Initiatives will continue to go through IT Governance processes for collaboration, prioritization, consultation, and endorsement, with details on strategic alignment, cost, resources, and expected business outcomes. How initiatives align with the Institutional Strategy and IT Strategic Pillars will be a necessary requirement for all proposals. Coordinating with the budget cycle, new initiatives should be developed in winter/spring for the following fiscal year. To learn more about IT Governance, visit the Teams Group here.

Budget Cycle

Strategic IT projects and initiatives proposals are required to look ahead for appropriate financial planning and reporting on behalf of the initiating department or faculty. Many of the initiatives identified in the McMaster IT Strategic Plan and subsequent or associated institutional strategies have discovery phases and the outcome of these projects are integrated into the planning for upcoming fiscal years. Budget planning for the following fiscal year is completed in November, and this also represents the mid-way point for approved projects. The McMaster Fiscal year runs from May 1st to April 30th. Funds to begin new approved initiatives become available on May 1st.

Information Box Group

Reach out to us!

Are you interested in getting involved in the IT Community? Do you have a question about the IT Governance process? Please contact us at itgovernance@mcmaster.ca.

Our team will be happy to chat with you.

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