Last fall, more than 350 UW–Madison IT professionals participated in listening sessions with the university’s new Chief Information Officer, Didier Contis. Over eight 90-minute sessions, participants shared ideas, challenges and opportunities to help Contis understand the needs and priorities of UW’s IT infrastructure and community.
A new report, Moving IT Forward, presents findings and actionable insights from a rigorous analysis of the hundreds of verbal and written comments shared during those sessions.
“I am so grateful to all of the IT professionals who took the time and not only showed up, but spoke up, during these sessions,” Contis said. “Your willingness to engage is so important because it means that your priorities — your voice — will be a key part of how we approach strategic planning in the months ahead.”
What the sessions revealed
The analysis showed an IT community with a strong sense of pride in supporting the university’s people and the Wisconsin Idea. However, challenges like limited resources, technical debt and fragmented governance create barriers and hinder flexibility.
Participants identified five priority areas for the UW IT community:
- Strengthen governance and voice. Create formal channels for distributed IT to help shape decisions, not just provide input. Build transparent roadmaps that balance university-wide priorities with local flexibility.
- Address resource constraints and technical debt. Develop clear plans to retire outdated systems and replace them with reliable, cost-effective solutions. Prioritize university-wide licensing and identity management to reduce duplication and costs.
- Invest in workforce development. Expand training opportunities, especially in AI literacy and IT service management. Create programs that connect central and distributed IT staff to build relationships and share knowledge.
- Shape AI strategy with guardrails. Publish clear guidelines on approved AI tools, data handling and ethical use. Build risk assessments into how we evaluate and adopt new technology.
- Improve service transparency and scalability. Develop a university-wide IT service catalog showing who owns what, how to get help, and what’s on the service roadmap.
Participation exceeded expectations
The sessions drew 356 IT professionals, eclipsing all expectations based on similar sessions in 2018. Half of the attendees came from distributed IT units across 30 schools, colleges and divisions, and the other half from the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). More than half of the attendees shared feedback during the discussions.
Participants said they appreciated the sessions and valued the opportunity to engage directly with the CIO and learn from their colleagues. Many expressed a desire for continued engagement of this kind.
“These conversations were a first step,” Contis said. “We are already using what we have learned from them to plan new opportunities to strengthen our IT community. I hope that you will stay engaged as we continue this journey together.”
The complete report includes detailed findings, participants’ comments, and recommendations for future engagement.