Progress continues on the Catamount LEAP Program, UVM’s multi-year effort to align people, processes, and technology to create a more connected and agile UVM. 
 
The last project update announced the Catamount LEAP governance structure with two sub-committees: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Modernization and Operational Excellence Sub-Committees. Both continue to make progress in their respective areas:  
 
ERP Modernization sub-committee 
Co-chairs: Lindsey Donovan and Marie Johnson 
The ERP sub-committee participated in vendor demonstrations of systems that can integrate the university’s core business processes including human resources, finance, and student systems. The group also distilled input from the campus community and developed a set of requirements for how an ERP system must function at UVM. This work enabled the university to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a new ERP system. The RFP launched in January, and it is anticipated that the review process will continue throughout the spring semester. 
 
Operational Excellence sub-committee 
Co-chairs: Jacob Leopold and Jennifer Greaves 
The Operational Excellence sub-committee evaluated more than 100 submissions from the campus community and built out an evaluation framework to organize proposals, assess impact, and define review criteria. 
 
Through this process, project proposals fell into several groups:  

1. Small-scale projects that can be advanced at the unit-level without significant financial or workload resources. Some of these projects have already begun.   

2. Projects directly related to the ERP implementation that are contingent on the decision and timeline around a new system.  

3. Projects that are similar in nature and can be grouped to build alignment and efficiency across the institution. After evaluation, the projects were grouped into 16 categories. These 16 categories, and the projects that fall within them, will be shared and evaluated by leaders who oversee these areas to determine project viability related to strategic priorities, and people and financial resources.  

This spring, the LEAP committee will initiate a program team to support further discovery and to help advance and scale efforts already underway. Discussions will continue with executive leadership, as many projects are large in scope and will require alignment with the strategic plan, as well as prioritization of funding and staff capacity to implement. 
 
For more information, visit the FAQ website. Additional updates will be shared as major milestones are reached in this effort.