Purpose and Authority

The purpose of this committee is to:

Recommend to the Dean optimal approaches to leveraging IT in support of the Faculty’s mission and priorities.
Oversee the development and execution of IT strategy for the Faculty of Medicine.
Guide the Faculty’s IT function through advice to the Deputy CIO, Faculty of Medicine.
Connect the Faculty’s IT function with UBC and Health Authority IT functions.

Composition

This committee is made up of ex officio and appointed members.

The Faculty of Medicine’s commitment to equitable and diverse membership on its committees and advisory councils guides its nomination and selection process.

Voting Members

Ex officio

Managing Director, Faculty of Medicine (co-chair) (1)
Deputy Chief Information Officer – Medicine IT (1)
Chief Information Officer, UBC (1)

Appointed

Seven faculty or staff members (ensuring balance of education, research, administration, units, regions, and programs) (7)
One IT staff member (1)
One Senior Administrator (1)
One IT Client Services Manager (1)

Please see ITC Membership for a list of current ITC members.

Guests may be invited to join specific meetings or portions of specific meetings at the co-chairs’ discretion.

Appointment Process

Ex officio members are members by virtue of their administrative appointment.

Appointed members are appointed by the Dean through the annual process initiated by the Dean’s Office.

Term

Ex officio members are members as long as they hold their administrative appointment.

Appointed members are members for a three-year term and are eligible for renewal.

Chair

Co-chaired by the Managing Director, Faculty of Medicine and an academic member of the committee.

The academic member of the committee who serves as co-chair will be elected co-chair by the committee and serve in the role of co-chair for the remainder of his/her term on the committee, unless otherwise agreed.

Meeting Schedule and Administration

Normally meets approximately every month and at the call of the co-chairs.

All members are expected to attend all meetings in person or via videoconference or phone.

A staff member from the Dean’s Office will capture meeting minutes. Minutes will be circulated to all members.

Records will be maintained in accordance with UBC and Faculty of Medicine records retention procedures.

Quorum and Decision Making Process

Quorum consists of 50% plus one of voting members.

Decisions are typically made by consensus. When consensus does not emerge, decisions will be made by vote, requiring 50% plus one of voting members present to pass.

Lines of Accountability and Communication

This committee:

Reports and makes recommendations to the Dean.
Provides an annual report summarizing the year’s activities to the Faculty Executive Committee, for information.
Seeks input from the Department Heads and School Directors Committee before presenting recommendations to the Dean, as appropriate.
May delegate responsibilities to subcommittees and/or ad hoc groups to make recommendations on, or conduct, specific aspects of the committee’s mandate.

Representatives of this committee liaise with other academic and administrative committees and advisory councils, as needed.

Responsibilities

This committee:

Determines the Faculty’s system-wide IT strategy, outcomes, and capabilities. Vets and endorses the translation of required capabilities into IT enablement tasks.
Develops and recommends principles and policies that guide IT governance for FoM, including relationships between UBC IT, MedIT, and unit-specific IT resources. Determines the scope of decision-making that should exist within the FoM organizational unit (e.g. departments and centres).
Facilitates the delivery of results. Monitors the progress of technology projects, services and investments, and advises on how to ensure that IT initiatives are successful. Advises on the identification and resolution of issues that impede the effective delivery of services. Makes recommendations that keep FoM and IT strategies aligned or that consciously manage any deviations.
Provides recommendations to Dean and Faculty Executive regarding the prioritization of major initiatives.
Ensures compliance with UBC Policy FM11 related to Faculty of Medicine IT project expenses, by seeking approval at the appropriate level depending on the estimated total cost of a project.
Adheres to the FoM General Responsibilities of Standing Committees.

Approval

This version of these terms of reference has been approved by the Dean, Faculty of Medicine on July 8, 2020.

Version History

Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on September 26, 2017, and by the Faculty of Medicine (Full Faculty) on November 14, 2017
Approved by the Dean, Faculty of Medicine on October 26, 2016

APPENDIX

IT Committee Annual Reports

ITC Annual Reports can be found below.

Future of IT in the Faculty of Medicine

The Future of IT in the Faculty of Medicine was a comprehensive IT review conducted in 2015. The Findings and Recommendations report is a consolidation of feedback received from stakeholders on IT needs and challenges, and recommendations to address the needs of the Faculty of Medicine as a whole. For more information, see the Future of IT Frequently Asked Questions.

The ITC is responsible for monitoring the progress of these recommendations. Status updates will be provided regularly –

Minutes

Minutes from recent ITC meetings can be found below.

BACKGROUND

What is IT governance?

IT governance determines who makes IT decisions for an organization and the process by which those decisions are made.

Why is it needed?

Governance is needed to ensure that IT best supports the mission and strategy of the Faculty of Medicine as a whole.

The Future of IT initiative, a review of IT that was conducted in 2015, identified significant inconsistencies in IT governance across the Faculty. These inconsistencies helped create gaps in IT services, and these have had a substantial impact on people’s daily work lives. To solve these service issues, we need a governance structure that has oversight for IT across the Faculty.

How does it work?

IT Committee: IT governance is led by the IT Committee. This committee synthesizes the needs of various areas within the Faculty and provides recommendations to the Dean on IT as whole. This group also has oversight of large initiatives that affect many groups.

Advisory groups: These groups focus on the IT requirements of a particular area of the Faculty, for example education or research. They help identify new needs and technologies, prioritize initiatives for their area, and provide advice to the IT Committee. Advisory groups also provide a mechanism for representatives to participate in IT planning. These groups are in development.

Units, individuals, and partners: Faculty of Medicine units (departments, centres, schools, institutes, programs, and administrative groups), individuals, and partners participate in governance by providing input to the governance groups and acting as representatives on those groups.

For more information about IT governance, see the IT governance overview.

Working in Federation

The governance structure is based on a federated model for IT in the Faculty of Medicine.

Unit IT groups and central IT are essential components in the Faculty of Medicine IT ecosystem. In the federated model, the Faculty’s central IT group (MedIT), UBC’s central IT group (UBC IT) and departmental/centre IT units collaborate to promote Faculty-wide and University-wide perspectives toward IT and to better manage costs, risks, and outcomes.

Having centralized IT staff and IT staff within units is a key component of this federated model as both are required to deliver services that are needed across the Faculty.

Current Priorities

The IT Committee currently has three main priorities:

Establish IT Governance: develop advisory groups including education, research, organization, and partnership.
Confirm and prioritize core service gaps: confirm and prioritize IT service gaps identified during the Future of IT initiative.
Engage Health Authorities: work with the Health Authorities and BC Clinical and Support Services to develop mechanisms that will allow all groups to address IT service issues in clinical locations.

How do I participate?

To provide input or for more information, contact one of the following:

IT Committee team
IT Client Services Manager: Baljit ‘Balli’ Chahal
IT Committee co-chairs: Dr. Mike Allard or Shanda Jordan Gaetz

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Information Technology Committee — Terms of Reference