Project/Initiative Overviews

Description

As MIT transitioned from the pandemic and a return to full campus operations, IS&T has adjusted its portfolio of services and delivery models to adapt to a new hybrid world. As the MIT community continues to evolve and adapt to this new operating model, IS&T strives to align its services to meet the Institute's current and emerging needs.

• IT support is now available at the Atlas Service Center (Building E17, 40 Ames Street) during the center's standard operating hours, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on weekdays. Team members can assist the MIT community with software and systems-related issues at the center. For hardware issues, they can help coordinate the vendor-based repair process and provide loaner equipment for use until the repair is complete.
• A new IT notification system, MIT Atlas Alerts, provides prompt notification of IT service disruptions, such as internet, phone, and email, that may adversely impact the work of the MIT community. These include planned disruptions that are part of continuous efforts to support and enhance the services provided to our community, as well as unanticipated large-scale disruptions due to issues impacting these services. Atlas Alerts are distributed through several channels: email, Atlas Mobile notification, and text message. Information is also provided on the MIT Atlas Alerts website.  In addition, MIT IT Systems Status (formerly “3Down”) provides timely information about non-critical outages and planned maintenance, and community members can subscribe for notifications.
• IS&T has expanded 24/7 IT support beyond phone and email to a new live chat feature in the MIT Atlas mobile and desktop apps. Community members who tap the chat icon in the app will immediately connect with an IT support team member.
• With the ongoing evolution of MIT Atlas and broader enterprise systems, IS&T has expanded the role of the team responsible for their design, development, and operation to also provide expert first-tier support for the Atlas suite and related business applications.
• IS&T is exploring additional modes and methods to provide IT support, including a pilot to place private tech support pods in select campus locations, enabling 24/7, video-enabled, face-to-face troubleshooting and IT help with a remote support team member. Currently in development for summer 2024.

Timeline

• IT support at Atlas Service Center: Launched August 2023
• MIT Atlas Alert: Launched August 2023
• 24/7 chat-based IT support: Launched October 2023
• Tech support pods: Late summer 2024
• Hardware repair: Late summer 2024
• Work to expand IT support to the community is ongoing

Sponsor

Mark Silis, Vice President, IS&T

Questions

Contact the IS&T Service Desk with questions about this initiative.

Description

MIT has launched an initiative to install an automated external defibrillator (AED) in every building on MIT’s campus, including leased spaces and satellite locations. The project will install state-of-the-art AEDs in buildings that weren’t previously equipped with them while also replacing existing ones.

Project funding is being provided centrally and the devices are being supplied to units free of charge.

The compact, energy-efficient devices provide users with step-by-step instructions on a touch-screen display and have built-in maintenance tracking.

The AEDs were developed by a company called Avive, founded by MIT alumni. The idea was born in an MIT classroom as part of a 2.009 class project.

While training is not required to use an AED, MIT Emergency Management encourages all MIT community members to take first aid, CPR, and AED training to become more informed about how to respond to cardiac and other emergencies.

Timeline

Installation of AEDs began in fall 2023 and will continue through 2024.

Project Lead

MIT Emergency Management

Questions?

Contact Director of MIT Emergency Management Suzanne Blake at smblake@mit.edu.

Description

The MIT Atlas app is an initiative to deliver a streamlined digital experience for community members interacting with the systems and support needed to accomplish their work at the Institute. The MIT Atlas app is available for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows devices.

The MIT Atlas app framework was first used in 2020 to support campus operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since been leveraged to deliver a growing suite of features. Community members can use the app to activate their digital MIT ID, access campus, find and reserve Zoom Rooms, receive notification of IT service disruptions, and get help from IS&T via 24/7 live chat. The app guides incoming first year and graduate students through their onboarding activities, and enables graduate students to view and confirm their appointment funding. Faculty and instructors can use the MIT Atlas app to schedule and manage automated recordings using IS&T's Lightweight Lecture Capture system in supported classrooms.

Key features launched to date include:

• Campus access - 2020
• Digital MIT ID - 2021
• Onboarding - 2021
• Travel registration - 2021
• Spaces (Zoom Rooms) - 2022
• Atlas Alerts - 2023
• Commencement - 2023
• Lecture Capture - 2023
• Open Enrollment - 2023
• 24/7 chat support - 2023

Visit apps.mit.edu to download MIT Atlas for your devices.

Timeline

Ongoing. The MIT Atlas app continues to be enhanced and expanded to provide additional features and functionality to meet community needs.

Sponsor

Mark Silis, Vice President for Information Systems and Technology

Questions

Contact the IS&T Service Desk at servicedesk@mit.edu.

Description 

Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade, announced in May 2021, calls on MIT to “mobilize its strengths” to address the climate crisis. In addition to focusing on new research and applied technologies to support global goals, the plan calls for immediate action on campus to reach the goal of eliminating MIT’s direct emissions by 2050 with a near-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2026.
 
MIT has established a set of campus climate commitments, which fall under three broad categories:

• Mitigation efforts center on developing a full assessment of direct and indirect emissions resulting from the diverse operations of the Institute and the undertaking of strategic measures to continually reduce and ultimately eliminate these emissions.
• Resiliency is the work needed to support and build an MIT that continues to fulfill its mission in the face of the impacts of climate change that include flooding from more frequent and extreme rains, storm surges, and rising sea-levels as well as extreme heat events.
• Climate leadership focuses on setting new goals and empowering the MIT community to develop ideas, strategies, and metrics to reach those goals – using our campus as a “test bed for change.”

 Campus climate commitments range from employing strategies to reduce on-campus energy consumption, to converting to zero-emission campus shuttle buses, to increasing the capacity of renewable energy installations on campus. See the complete list of commitments on the MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS) website.

Timeline

The commitments will deliver incremental outcomes advancing the Institute toward its 2050 goal of eliminating direct campus emissions.

Sponsors 

Glen Shor, Executive Vice President and Treasurer
Katie Hammer, Vice President for Finance
Joe Higgins, Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship

Contact

For more information, email zeroby2050@mit.edu.

Description

In 2022-23, the Institute Community and Equity Office and the Office of Campus Planning sponsored a Campus Inclusive Restroom Study to outline an approach to improving inclusivity in MIT’s nearly 700 public, non-residential restrooms, which occupy more than 200,000 square feet of space across the Cambridge campus. In addition to benchmarking peer institution precedents and best practices, the study team engaged many stakeholders across the Institute, including diversity, equity, and inclusion staff, facilities staff, the All-Gender Restrooms Working Group, the Disability Employee Resource Group, Student Disability Services, and the Office of Religious, Spiritual and Ethical Life. 

The results of the study have informed a toolkit of guidelines for restroom design and  planning principles for restroom distribution. Project teams are now piloting the restroom design guidelines in minor retrofit, renovation, and new construction projects. The planning principles establish a framework for considering the mix and location of restroom types across MIT’s Cambridge campus and will be used to inform future plans and projects to renovate existing restrooms and build new inclusive restrooms.

Learn more about the Campus Inclusive Restroom Study and view the report executive summary video. 

Resources

The beta digital restroom directory, created by the Facility Information Systems (FIS) team within the Office of Campus Planning, includes a map of designated inclusive restrooms on MIT’s main campus and links to PDFs of restroom locations by type (inclusive, men’s, and women’s). In addition, find campus accessibility information on this map.

Questions

For more information, contact inclusive-restrooms@mit.edu.

Description

CRICO, the insurance program for Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates, awarded MIT Health a four-year grant to establish an ambulatory safety net program. An ambulatory safety net (ASN) is an innovative organizational intervention that addresses patient safety related to missed and delayed diagnoses of abnormal test results. An ASN consists of a set of tools, reports, registries, and associated workflows to create a high-reliability system for abnormal test result management.

In the first year of the grant, MIT Health will develop two ASN interventions: one for routine colorectal cancer screenings and surveillance colonoscopies for high-risk patients as well as an ASN for universal depression screening and suicide prevention within the Adult Primary Care, OB/Gyn, and Student Mental Health and Counseling Services.

We have identified cancer as a major area of expansion for future ASN interventions. In the remaining years of the grant, MIT Health plans to add additional ASN interventions in breast, prostate, and lung cancer. In many cases, missed or delayed cancer diagnoses can be attributed to failures in communication and breakdowns in the loop-closure process — a patient receives an abnormal test result, but the necessary follow-up is not completed, and a potential cancer diagnosis is missed. ASN interventions can provide a safeguard against these errors by providing a backup system for following up on abnormal test results when the standard follow-up process fails.

Timeline

2022–2026

Working Committee

Michele David, M.D., Chief of Quality and Patient Safety
Stephanie Shapiro, M.D., Chief of Medical Informatics and Population Health
Janis L. Puibello, F.N.P., Associate Chief of Nursing, Clinical Quality and Nursing Administration
Lior Givon, M.D., Clinical Director, Primary Care Behavioral Health
Regina Harvey, D.N.P-R.N. Associate Director of Nursing, Clinical Operations

 
Questions

Please email health@mit.edu with any questions about the Ambulatory Safety Net Program.

Description

MIT Health is enhancing and upgrading our second- and third-floor patient care areas, including expanding and enhancing our waiting areas and treatment spaces in Primary Care, Specialty Care, and Student Mental Health and Counseling services.
 
The project will consist of:

• Newly renovated waiting and reception areas
• Expanded number of exam rooms
• Expanded space for Student Mental Health and Counseling service
• New exam space for Primary Care Behavioral Health program (for faculty and staff)
• New internal support spaces (clean and soiled utility rooms, medication room)
• New group room, staff space, and provider spaces
• New security doors to separate public and clinical spaces

 
Architect renderings
 
2nd floor lobby

 

3rd floor reception

Timeline

2022–2024

Working Committee

Robert Bright, Director of MIT Health Facilities
Marcela Cardoso, Project Manager
David Forristall, Manager, Technology Systems
Rosie Huntress, Director of Project Management and Strategic Planning
Michael MacDonald, Facilities Manager
Brian Schuetz, Executive Director
Cecilia Stuopis, Chief Health Officer

Questions

Please email health@mit.edu with questions about renovations to MIT Health patient care areas.

Project Mission

The Office of the Vice President for Finance is developing the Purchase with Purpose campaign to respond to President Reif’s July 2020 charge for MIT to increase purchasing with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-owned businesses and in support of Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade. This work is a collaboration among VPF Strategic Sourcing and Contracts and its Small and Diverse Business program, VPF Financial Operations, and the Business Intelligence team within the Controllership.
 
The cornerstone of this effort will be two new online resources:

• Supplier Search, a vastly improved tool for the MIT community to search for suppliers for goods and services, and view demographic information to help inform their buying decisions;
• The Procurement Services website, a new web presence to help the community to source and contract for goods and services, make purchases and payments, monitor orders, book travel, and know how to create travel expense reports.

Description  

The Supplier Search tool is being developed to address two key issues with the use of suppliers on campus: frequent redundant requests to add new suppliers to MIT’s roster of established suppliers, and lack of insight into businesses that are small, diverse, or sustainable. Historically this information was difficult to provide due to the limitations in the way VPF collected, organized, and disseminated supplier data. This project coincided with a major reworking of these processes and is built on top of a new supplier database. 

Through the development of the new Supplier Search tool, it became clear VPF needed to provide updated and improved information on sourcing, contracting, and purchasing on its website and highlight MIT’s purchasing priorities around small, diverse, and sustainable businesses. The current VPF website— a task-based site developed before a number of VPF’s directorates were created, is limited in its ability to highlight the expertise and guidance provided by various teams that assist with procurement.
 
The new Procurement Services website will address these key concerns through a modern, dynamic design that highlights the function and expertise of the Strategic Sourcing, Contracts, Travel and Card Services, Procurement Operations, and Accounts Payable teams. It will also serve as a home for the procurement tools and platforms VPF provides to the community, including Supplier Search, Buy-to-Pay (B2P), and Concur.
 
In addition to these tools and resources, the new site will allow VPF to highlight MIT’s purchasing priorities with small, diverse, and sustainable businesses. These priorities will be articulated through Purchase with Purpose, a campaign to inspire buyers to align their purchases with President Reif’s charge and the Fast Forward Climate Action Plan. The campaign will consist of a year-long series of monthly purchasing challenges for the MIT community, participation prizes, on-line and in-person events, and opportunities for campus purchasers to share their Purchase with Purpose activities and stories.

Scope – Discovery, Design, Develop, User Test, and Launch

Both projects went through a robust discovery process over the past two years, with significant feedback from VPF and campus users. Design for both was completed by the same firm to ensure continuity of visuals while ensuring a unique “brand” for the separate tools.
 
The development phase of Supplier Search required significant cooperation between the consultant and VPF teams due to the nature of supplier information and its organization and structure. Currently, development is complete for the tool and final user testing is underway. Both Supplier Search and the Procurement Services website have been designed for accessibility by all users.

Development for Supplier Search and the Procurement Services website is expected to be complete in 2024. Both projects and the Purchase with Purpose campaign are slated to launch in 2024.

Project Team

Sponsors:

Lillian M. DeWitt, Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contracts
Kathleen McGrath, Director of Financial Operations
 
Project Leads:

Emma Homstad, Small and Diverse Business Program Lead Administrator
Minerva Tirado, Senior Strategic Sourcing Analyst
 
Team:

Laurie Everett, Senior Communications Manager
Ann Julian, Manager of Procurement Operations
Ashley Kennedy, Communications Officer
Gilles Simler, Manager of Business Intelligence Systems
Cecilia Talamantes, Senior Analyst

Questions

Contact Project Lead Emma Homstad with questions about these projects.

Description

In response to recommendations from RIC 7 of Task Force 2021, Human Resources and the Vice President for Research collaborated on a plan to create a a new, more granular job classification structure for the appointments defined in Policies and Procedures 5.2.2; the new structure would establish clearer expectations and paths to advancement. 

In the latter half of 2023, faculty and other supervisors across MIT, with oversight by DLCI leadership, assigned a job type and one of three levels to each research scientist, research engineer, and research associate that they supervise, according to a set of guiding criteria. 

P&P 5.2.2 was updated in February 2024 to reflect the new career ladder; it outlines two pathways with levels allowing for progression as a researcher performs more complex responsibilities. The reclassification took effect on March 1, 2024. Other steps taken to support these colleagues and their career advancement are outlined on the VPR website (Touchstone required).

Questions

Contact research_careers@mit.edu​​​​ if you have questions about the project.

Description

In order to reflect the convivial community spirit of the Excellence Awards and Collier Medal, the HR Communications team and Recognition teams worked with designer Wing Ngan to come up with a new visual presence for these most important of staff awards. The new logo aligns with the MIT rebrand and is more flexible for the event collateral and on-stage presentation. In addition, the branding is more active and inviting, showcasing the fun and spirit of the awards event itself.

Questions

Contact hrweb@mit.edu if you have questions about the project.
 

Description

In response to recommendations from RIC 10 of Task Force 2021, the Human Resources department created or enhanced a suite of tools and content for the staff community. 

The MIT Careers website was enhanced to make it more inviting to internal candidates, increase transparency related to internal opportunities, highlight specific job groups/positions of greatest need, and include staff voices representing a broad range of career experiences and journeys. Other new features include a mentoring guide for creating local mentoring programs, and new talent planning tools for managers to help with succession planning and for developing employees for current and future roles. 

MIT HR created and distributes a bi-monthly update to current MIT staff regarding new job openings from Human Resources Talent Acquisition. The update is a tool for staff to keep in touch with MIT career opportunities and fosters a culture of career mobility and growth at MIT. Staff can subscribe to the updates (Touchstone required) using their MIT email address. The updates will also contain resources including how to create an MIT job alert and links to professional development workshops.

The Staff Career Connections Slack Workspace continues to provide networking and conversation on career-related topics — membership increased 124% since last report.

MIT Human Resources created a podcast series on career journeys at the Institute. In the podcasts, employees share insights and stories about their roles and career paths at MIT. 

Finally, MIT HR developed a web-based course designed to help individuals plan for their professional development and career at MIT. The course introduces employees to job families and job roles at the Institute and describes the job duties needed to be successful. The course helps individuals explore the different job families at MIT, reflect on their work experiences, their current skills, and those skills that individuals would like to develop.

Questions

Contact hrweb@mit.edu if you have questions about the project.

Description  

MIT’s current enterprise resource planning (ERP) system uses SAP as the core system for many administrative processes across the Institute, including HR, finance, and facilities. The system is highly customized and lacks agility to support the evolving business needs of the Institute.
 
Our goal is to eliminate existing functional and technical constraints and legacy business processes to friction-free modern user experiences, access to integrated data and consistent and streamlined processes. The new system will feature integrated access to data to rapidly inform institutional decision-making and provide opportunities for automation to free up time and resources to focus on what is important for MIT.

Guiding Principles

Our focus is to support MIT’s mission of advancing knowledge, educating students, and conducting research to bring knowledge to bear on the world’s greatest challenges. So that units across MIT can have access to a single source of reliable data, be informed to make sound decisions, and effectively manage operations and meet business objectives, MIT will:

• Strive to adapt to new ways of working in order to ensure that the chosen solution is leveraged to realize expected benefits;
• Provide a comprehensive set of shared tools and processes that will make it easier to access information, manage operations, and eliminate the need for shadow systems;
• Standardize administrative processes where possible to create a foundation for operational consistency across MIT;
• Avoid customization of configurable workflows within the chosen system unless required to support a differentiating or regulatory requirement in order to maintain a lightweight and flexible environment that can accommodate current and future needs; and
• Only consider technical solutions with intuitive, adaptive interfaces that deliver experiences aligned to end-user functional needs.

Current Status 

The ERP project is still in its early stages, with preparations underway to ensure that the project launches successfully.

Renaud Fournier was appointed Chief Officer of Digital Strategy and Transformation in September 2023. Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President and Treasurer, this new position focuses on identifying key opportunities for improving business processes and streamlining complex processes, defining and evolving digital strategy, and building and leading a team to work with academic, research, and administrative areas.
 
Additionally, the team continues to conduct readiness activities to prepare for the project launch, such as identifying and prioritizing meaningful business process changes and identifying impactful cross-cutting initiatives across the organization.

Initial Planning Phase

• Engaged a consulting company to guide us through the request for information (RFI) process with ERP vendors, and to help MIT identify institutional opportunities, pain points, cost and resource needs based on the current state environment.
• Explored a range of possible vendor solutions and cloud platform options available in today’s broader ERP market.
• Set the foundation for an ERP modernization that will provide a world-class experience, sustain enhancement and innovation with MIT’s broader ecosystem, and provide the data to rapidly inform institutional decision making.

Key Deliverables 

• Strategic Principles and Guiding Principles
• Business Capability Maturity Assessment
• Request for Information (RFI) to vendors
• Organizational Readiness Assessment
• ERP Solutions Assessment Report
• Target State Architecture
• ERP Modernization Roadmap
• Final report and readout

Steering Committee 

Robin Elices, Executive Director, Office of the EVPT (Committee Lead)
Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources
Katie Hammer, Vice President for Finance
Ron Hasseltine, Assistant Provost for Research Administration
Joe Higgins, Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship
Colleen Leslie, Assistant Provost for Research Administration
Mark Silis, Vice President for Information Systems and Technology

Discovery Project Leads

Lizz McManus, Senior Project Manager, Office of the EVPT (Project Team Lead)
Eamon Kearns, Associate Vice President, IS&T
Karon McCollin, Manager of Financial Systems, Office of the Vice President for Finance
Wayne Turner, Director, HR Operations, Human Resources
Susan Wolfson, Director, Finance & Administration, Campus Services & Stewardship
Carol Wood, Director, Research Administration Systems Support
Gartner, Discovery Consultants

Business Process Leads / Subject Matter Experts 

Various subject matter experts and users from across the Institute (as needed)

Questions

Contact Senior Project Manager Lizz McManus if you have questions about the ERP project.
 

Description

To guide the work ahead, the Business and Digital Transformation Office is developing a roadmap to:

• Provide a clear direction, ensuring that our time and effort are purposefully invested and ensuring the best use of MIT resources
• Set priorities to concentrate our resources and efforts on areas that provide the most value to our organization and community
• Track accomplishments and make necessary adjustments along the way
• Promote transparency, enabling our community to understand the selection process for projects, fostering a sense of clarity and alignment across our organization
• Foster collaboration across all MIT communities, encouraging cross-functional teams to work together towards our shared transformation goals

Stakeholders

Faculty, staff, and students. The community’s active involvement and collaboration are pivotal to the success of our Administrative Transformation Roadmap and subsequent projects.

Approach and Timeline

We aim to initiate our first project, informed by the insights gained from the Administrative Transformation Roadmap, in Spring 2024. Our timeline for the creation of the roadmap is as follows:

Key Contacts

We invite the community to reach out with any questions or comments to the following key contacts:

Renaud Fournier, Chief Officer for Business and Digital Transformation
Mark Silis, Vice President for Information Systems and Technology