Irika Mehta, Alexandra Bekker, Istem Akalp, Mihika Mehta

U.S. universities are in crisis. Anxiety disorders, feelings of isolation, and financial insecurity have become pervasive among students, faculty, and staff. To address these complex problems, we need to understand how universities contribute to them. Drawing on extensive research and testing involving more than 150 participants over an eight-month period, we developed Care Hive. Care Hive is an innovative organizational tool designed to facilitate and improve the provision of care in universities. The tool consists of three main components: 1) care indicators, contextualized metrics that serve as a set of system change targets and measures of progress; 2) a data visualization of institutional care scores based on the indicators, which makes data transparent and accessible by showing trends, challenges, and best practices over time; and 3) a method that enables the community to use the data to inform the design of new policies and practices. By centering the metrics and mapping around care, our tool inspires conversations that lead to the reevaluation of organizational goals, shifts in institutional values, the reallocation of funds, and greater critical accountability, resulting in a transformation of university culture. To support the adoption of Care Hive, we developed a comprehensive strategy and roadmap to promote internal capacity and acceptance of the tool and facilitate the institutionalization of processes. We firmly believe that care will serve as the foundation for organizations in the future. Universities are not alone in struggling with these kinds of challenges; similar patterns are evident in a range of organizations, in both the public and the private sectors. Care Hive offers such organizations the opportunity to reimagine their structures and operations to support well-being in their management and staff.