The Great Service Programme will deliver a range of improvements, across HR, Procurement, Finance and Research Administration at Imperial.
There are two components to this: improving our processes and ways of working, which will be enabled by replacing several of our current systems, including ICIS, with one new cloud-based system.
This is guided by our aims to support world-leading academic endeavour, by ensuring we are getting the basics right.
Contact Us
If you'd like to know more about the Great Service Programme please get in touch at greatservice@imperial.ac.uk.
The programme has three objectives:
1.
Address pain points and known issues experienced by colleagues.
2.
Create more Professional Services capacity to support growth.
3.
Replace a core system that will soon become unsupported.
The programme will deliver benefits for all staff:
Better user experience
User interface is clearer and more intuitive with accessibility requirements taken into consideration.
Simplified processes
Staff costing tools, simplified project changes, reduced approval chains, in-system forms, delegated access.
Real-time data
Enhanced reporting tools give staff direct access to the data they need, when they need it.
More information about the Great Service programme
- Why is it important?
- How is it going to help?
- Where are we now?
- What's next?
- Who is delivering the programme?
- How can I find out more?
Ever find it hard to work out how to get basic processes done? Or unclear what the process is? Can’t work out which data is the right data? Or maybe you don’t have access to the data you need to do your job? Then you will understand why the Great Service Programme is important.
Our aim is to get processes right across Finance, Procurement, HR, Payroll and Post Award Research to enable colleagues to support Imperial’s world-leading academic endeavour. We’re focusing up front on making sure we’re getting all the basics right.
This seems simple right? Actually, at the moment we are held back by out-of-date systems and infrastructure, and a long history of evolving processes and workarounds. But the Great Service Programme will change that.
The Great Service Programme is going to improve our processes and ways of working by moving to a new cloud-based software which will enable us to redesign how we do things around our three key objectives. Moving to the new system will allow us to take advantage of the automation and evolving functionality afforded by the cloud, making us not just more efficient on implementation, but also helping us to continue to be quicker to improve going forward.
We have reached a key milestone in the Great Service programme. Many of the key process design decisions have now been approved and the programme is now moving into the testing phase.
Over 500 staff attended Application Walkthrough sessions over the summer – this was your chance to view the system and offer feedback before final designs are agreed.
We are now focusing on testing the system, developing training and practical guidance, and mapping processes and change impact assessments to support a smooth transition.
View our timeline and programme scope.
As part of this transition planning, the programme team will be in touch directly with the teams who will be most affected by the new system and processes to discuss the impact. This will take place between November 2025 and February 2026.
The Great Service Programme team brings together a multi-disciplinary team, with hands on experience and lived knowledge of working at Imperial from both Professional Services and Faculties. They are supported by technical, change, business analysis and delivery professionals who have experience of delivering large scale digitally enabled change.
Our programme team includes 130 years of Imperial experience, and we have drawn on the knowledge of over 200 subject matter experts to ensure we are implementing the new system and processes in a way that works for us at Imperial.
This webpage and our Sharepoint are the main sources of programme information. We will be frequently adding content so you can learn more about not just the programme, but also what the future processes will be and how you can get yourself ready for new ways of working.
Our next programme milestone will be in February, when we will share how testing has progressed, next steps for the programme and our community, and what the transition phase will mean for teams.
You can also contact us at greatservice@imperial.ac.uk.