Message from dCIO - Summer 2021

Hello everyone,

Throughout the last year, as I met with our colleagues in the DGSOM, UCLA Health Science Schools and across UCLA Health IT, I have been struck by the overall level of talent, collegiality, mutual respect and commitment reflected in conversations and interactions. I am very proud and enthusiastic to be in DGIT, a strong and capable team, and am thrilled to lead in our mission to provide innovative technology and exceptional service.

Having started at the height of the pandemic, I have had a unique opportunity to focus and learn much about this organization, and its ability to adapt to new circumstances and triumph. As things settle into a new normal, I am excited to share with you all the plans the DGIT’s leadership team have developed for DGIT’s future and its impact on the support we provide.

As all good things, DGIT will be evolving from a focus on consolidating into a single IT organization into what we’ve been referring to as “DGIT 2.0”. While this iteration does not stray from DGIT’s original core values, DGIT 2.0 will focus on refining our support and aims to provide a greater experience for you, our clients in the areas of research, teaching, and administration of the academy.

DGIT 2.0 will focus on three pillars or directorates:

Client Experience

Our focus will be to transition to a more personal approach to how we provide support. We will be creating a “pod” support model in which we will be dividing our support teams into smaller groups to focus on dedicated departments. Read more about the Client Service Pods >>

In addition to the pod support model, we are focusing on outreach efforts and training to improve your experience with IT services. Our communications team has conducted a series of interviews with your Business Relationship Managers to learn more about you and will soon be reaching out to key members of each department to gather feedback to inform these efforts.

Platform Services

Our goal is to build, secure, and enhance our technology platform and service offerings to meet the needs of the schools’ missions. We will deliver modern and secure information technology that enable effective access, performance, and collaboration while delivering leading-edge support and consultancy that meet organizational needs and expectations.

Academic technology services

In support of the academic missions of the schools, we will build an Analytics Center for Education (ACE) to support MD-CQI and decision support; expand the data science platform and capabilities to accelerate research and innovation; and enable the implementation of the new curriculum for DGSOM and tools that enable competency-based education.

We are excited to bring these changes to the organization and continue to grow to meet the organization’s needs.