Our Approach
Alignment with University Strategy
The Horizon will be fully aligned with IT’s role in supporting the goals outlined in the University's reimagined Plan for Pitt, led by Chancellor Gabel. It will also look further into the future state of the University’s evolving digital needs.
Components
The IT 10-Year Horizon will consist of four broad components:
- Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles: Why we exist, what we want to be, what we believe in
- Strategic Pillars: What we must achieve to get there
- Strategic Goals: Measurable aspirations in alignment with each Pillar
- Initiatives: Specific approaches in moving toward each Objective
Priorities
Some of the priorities we anticipate exploring include creating personalized learning pathways through AI and analytics, improving broadband access and digital literacy, adopting transformative technologies to advance research, supporting workforce development, and positioning Pittsburgh as the epicenter for computationally enabled health sciences.
Our Partner
Pitt Digital has engaged Deloitte Consulting’s Higher Education practice as an independent consultant, facilitator, and partner to assist in this initiative. Deloitte is a recognized leader that has worked with over 500 institutions to transform their business operations. Their team has expertise in digital transformative efforts for institutions of higher education and was previously involved in conducting the 2018-19 IT Assessment for Pitt.
Project Timeline
Phases
We expect this effort to last through spring 2024 and include administrators, faculty, students, staff, researchers, governance groups, community stakeholders, regional contacts, and vendor partners. It features three phases:
- Phase 1: Discovery & Visioning
- Phase 2: Strategic Choice & Design
- Phase 3: Refine and Finalize
Phase 1: Discovery & Visioning (about 6 weeks)
Phase 1 will focus on gathering perspectives from a broad and diverse array of University stakeholders. We will solicit feedback on opportunities, challenges, and barriers that the University faces as an institution and specifically related to the future of digital technology and how it can help advance the institution's goals. The data we collect will inform the development of the high-level IT strategic pillars and goals.
Phase 2: Strategic Choice & Design (about 4 weeks)
Phase 2 will focus on refining the elements of the Horizon, taking into consideration reasonable expectations of resources to realistically achieve the strategic goals and initiatives within each strategic pillar. At the conclusion of this phase, we will have produced a first draft of the Horizon.
Phase 3: Refine and Finalize (about 4 weeks)
In Phase 3, we will focus on refining the draft Horizon into its final form by socializing it with the entire University community and collecting feedback.
Help Shape the Horizon
Your input and insights are critical to the success of this effort.
We plan to solicit input from administrators, faculty, students, staff, researchers, governance groups, community stakeholders, regional contacts, and vendor partners. After we have talked to senior leadership, we will socialize the initiative with the University community and gather additional feedback.
You will have opportunities to provide feedback through a number of channels.