A New Era of Digital Governance at Stony Brook
Key Considerations
Advancing Strategic Priorities
In 2023, Stony Brook University launched "Our Moment" which defined the University's strategic plan and priorities, distilling them into four key pillars:
- Transforming Learning and Teaching
- Growing Our Research for Enterprise Impact
- Reimagining the Way We Work
- Serving Communities as a Public Flagship
In March 2024 DoIT announced Innovate to Elevate which defined three critical areas that DoIT will focus on to ensure Digital Equity across the University:
- Enabling Innovation and Transformation
- Fostering Inclusivity and Professional Growth
- Partnering to Modernize and Protect
Digital Governance 1.0 will serve as a process to ensure our resources and budget is best invested in activities that will enable DoIT to deliver projects that best help Stony Brook to achieve "Our Moment".
The graphic above depicts how digital governance helps align the four pillars of the University's strategic goal supports with DoIT's efforts for executing on Digital Equity for our campus.
Governance Committees
To ensure the many voices from around campus have input into the process we are establishing three committees that will serve to guide DoIT in project priortization and approval
Operations Committee
This committee meets monthly and consists of members with expertise to help evaluate Security, Policies/Procedures, Integration, Authentication, Funding, and our Service Catalog.
| Department/Title | Name |
|---|---|
| AVP, Procurement | Chris Berger |
| Manager of Cyber Security, GRC | Joseph Wagner |
| Data Governance | Awaiting Nominee |
| Stony Brook Medicine Senior Leadership | Awaiting Nominee |
| VP IT & CIO | Simeon Ananou |
| AVP, Customer Engagement & Support, Infrastructure | Mike Ospitale |
| AVP, Enterprise Applications & Integrations | Maryam Mirza |
| AVP, Chief Information Security Officer | Matt Nappi |
| AVP, Chief Research Information Officer | David Cyrille |
| Senior Director of Enterprise Project Management | Heather McLaughlin |
| Senior Director of Financial Operations | Martin Tessler |
Campus Advisory Committee
This committee, comprising community experts from across campus, meets 6-8 times annually to score and prioritize digital projects. They also assist in preparing presentations to the Executive Committee for project approval.
| Department/Title | Name |
|---|---|
| Budget, Finance, Planning, & Analysis | Awaiting Nominee |
| Office of VP of Research | Awaiting Nominee |
| Graduate Student Government | Awaiting Nominee |
| Undergraduate Student Government | Awaiting Nominee |
| Exec. Dir. Student Affairs & CRAFT Team | Ahmed Belazi |
| Stony Brook Medicine Senior Leadership | Awaiting Nominee |
| IT Partners | Awaiting Nominee(s) |
| SCEDIT Member, Digital Projects Librarian | Victoria Pilato |
| Dean of the School of Communication and Journalism | Laura Lindenfeld |
| Acting Director, IACS | Alan Calder |
| Chair, Applied Math & Statistics | Joe Mitchelle |
| Assistant Vice Provost and Director of CELT | Rose Tirotta-Esposito |
| Enterprise Risk Management | Awaiting Nominee |
| Data Governance | Awaiting Nominee |
| VP IT & CIO | Simeon Ananou |
| AVP, Customer Engagement & Support, Infrastructure | Mike Ospitale |
| AVP, Enterprise Applications & Integrations | Maryam Mirza |
| AVP, Chief Information Security Officer | Matt Nappi |
| AVP, Chief Research Information Officer | David Cyrille |
| Senior Director of Enterprise Project Management | Heather McLaughlin |
| Senior Director of Financial Operations | Martin Tessler |
Executive Committee
This committee, comprising executive members from the President's Cabinet, Deans Council and SET (financial commitment) meets 3 to 4 times a year and provides a final evaluation/approval on project prioritization, investment, risk management, reputation, and revenue.
| Department/Title | Name |
|---|---|
| President's Cabinet | Confirming Nominees |
| Executive Vice President and Provost | Carl Lejuez |
| VP IT & CIO | Simeon Ananou |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - DIGITAL GOVERNANCE 1.0
Goals and Objectives
The primary goals are to ensure digital resources and investments align with the University's strategic mission and goals, involve decision-makers who represent the broader campus community, increase transparency of digital initiatives, foster partnerships across the University, and create and maintain a simple and efficient process.
We aim to disseminate information on review thresholds and processes, start with project approvals and prioritization, and evolve based on feedback. The understanding that this process will evolve, is why it is labeled with a "1.0" to help indicate that there will be updates to the process. The focus is on aligning digital initiatives with the University's strategic mission and fostering partnerships.
Process and Structure
Submit a New Work Request through the DoIT PMO website. DoIT consultants will review the request and determine the best way to move it forward. Here is a direct link: Submit a Digital Work Request (currently, this link is ONLY accessible to SBU Staff and Faculty)
The time required will vary based on the project's complexity and the review thresholds it meets. Our aim is to provide clear lead times to customers, partners, and vendors.
Only if they meet one or more of the established review thresholds.
Yes, there is an expedited process for urgent needs to ensure timely approvals.
Projects that do not get approved will receive feedback on necessary adjustments or alternative pathways.
The InfoSec Committee will continue to review and approve cloud purchases and other security-related matters, integrated within the broader DG 1.0 framework.
Roles and Responsibilities
Team members will have defined roles based on their expertise and the specific needs of the project. Clear expectations will be communicated.
SMEs will be identified based on the project's requirements and consulted accordingly.
At its core, Digital Governance 1.0 is intended to strengthen partnerships between DoIT and functional units. As such, functional sponsors will collaborate with DoIT to ensure project alignment with institutional goals. Responsibilities will be clearly outlined based on project needs.
Review and Approval
Only one of the review thresholds needs to be met for a project to be placed through the Digital Governance 1.0 process. Since project requests are unique, we will evaluate each project on a case-by-case basis.
Detailed rubrics will be provided to ensure consistent and transparent evaluations. Initial Rubrics are currently documented and will evolve as members of each of the committees are recruited. Our experiences and learnings as projects move through the process will also evolve the rubrics.
Yes, state and government mandates will be considered in the review thresholds and timing.
Funding considerations will be part of the initial project evaluation and refined through subsequent iterations.
Metrics will include spend tracking, project success rates, process lead times, and backlog management.
Communication and Feedback
The upcoming Solar update is a good example of a project that will go through the new process.
Our process is modeled after successful implementations at other universities and incorporates best practices from their experiences.
Institutional commitment is crucial. Senior leadership will ensure adherence, and there will be repercussions for non-compliance to maintain the integrity of the process.
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