Oxford's digital transformation continues

This message was first shared on Tuesday 5 September 2023.  

Oxford’s digital story continues to develop. I am delighted to confirm that following months of detailed planning, consultation, and collaboration with hundreds of colleagues, we are able to go ahead with the three significant activities designed to evolve Oxford’s digital landscape: 

• The Digital Transformation Case for Support was approved by University Council last term. They have agreed a budget of £16.6 million for the year 23-24 with placeholders for future years. You can get a detailed picture of the progress we have made in the Foundation phase and the transformational initiatives we’re planning to deliver in Phase 2: read the Case for Support here.
   
• Oxford’s new Digital Governance Framework and Operating Model has been agreed by the University Council. These governance changes will start being introduced from this term (MT23) and are being described by many colleagues as being a ‘truly transformational’ change in the way we think about, govern, and deliver digital change across the University. You can read more about digital governance here.
   
• The IT Infrastructure Service Review recommendations have been delivered, you can read the recommendations report here. Working with colleagues across the collegiate University, the review has, over the last nine months, diagnosed the issues we face with the delivery of IT Infrastructure services across the University. The recommendations centre around the realisation of a new service delivery model for the University’s IT Infrastructure service whereby component services are designed so they are ‘shared by default and bespoke by exception’. Our next step is to appoint a programme manager and, working closely with divisions, agree an implementation plan by the end of MT23. This plan will include a programme of change activities so we can start implementing the recommended changes to realise the potential of our service, provide greater value for departments and improve user experience.

Thank you for your input 

My thanks to hundreds of colleagues and students for their ideas, insights, and feedback during the last few months. Our large-scale engagement activities for all three of these programmes have been tremendous and have acted as a beacon of what we can achieve with University-wide effort. As we are planning our activities for this year, we are now better equipped with new insights about Oxford’s richness, breadth, and depth that will, in some areas, result in breakthrough changes in our capability. Thank you.  A significant aim of the Foundations phase was to create the conditions for success – to understand and put in place the changes required to ensure the investments made through this programme will have a sustained and continuing impact. We believe we have achieved that through our investigative work, interventions, competency centres, governance review, and IT infrastructure service review. 

Oxford’s Digital Festival

I hope you will join us for Oxford’s first Digital Festival on Thursday 9 November 2023 at the Jesus College Digital Hub. We will be celebrating Oxford’s digital transformation, sharing insights, and exploring new possibilities together. The registration site will open next week. In the meantime, we’d love your ideas on what you’d like to experience at the festival and stories about how you and your colleagues are innovating in your part of Oxford. Please share your festival ideas with us by completing this form. And do tell your colleagues about the festival.

Your involvement is crucial, again

I look forward to sharing regular news about our work and how you can get involved with Oxford’s digital transformation during the next few months. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Digital Digest our new newsletter about Oxford’s digital transformation (first edition next week).

Thank you for continuing to play your part in Oxford’s digital transformation. 

With best wishes,

Anne