AI for Changemakers: Building the Foundations

Overview

🕮 Off the shelf (OTS)

AI for Changemakers helps civil servants work confidently and responsibly with AI as part of everyday change.

The workshop builds the cultural readiness, judgment and collaborative habits needed to turn AI capability into meaningful improvement across projects and services. Rather than teaching coding or technical tricks, the session focuses on how AI can support teamwork, collective intelligence and better decision-making.

The workshop offers a grounded introduction to how AI is beginning to reshape organisations. Participants explore what AI is genuinely useful for, where human judgment remains essential and how to use AI in ways that strengthen—rather than weaken—the human foundations of good government. Using real examples, the session highlights opportunities, risks and the cultural dynamics that emerge when new forms of intelligence enter the system.

A central feature of the day is live experimentation. Participants bring use cases from their own roles—such as analysis tasks, communication needs, service redesign questions or leadership challenges—and use AI tools directly in the room. This gives a realistic sense of what AI can and cannot do, the questions to ask, and where oversight, ethics and inclusion matter most. The emphasis is on small, safe-to-fail tests that build confidence, insight and momentum.

The workshop also helps participants consider the wider organisational impact. AI tends to amplify existing cultural patterns: where trust, learning and collaboration are strong, AI can accelerate progress; where systems are strained, it can expose tensions or gaps.
The session supports changemakers to work with these dynamics and to model curiosity, psychological safety and reflective practice in their teams.

Summary of Topics Covered
AI and the Work of Change
- What AI can realistically support in public-sector work
- Where human judgment must stay central
Working With AI in Teams
– Using AI for analysis, communication and problem-solving
– Understanding strengths, limits and risks
Live Use Cases
– Trying AI on real challenges from participants’ roles
Safe and Ethical Experimentation
– Bias, inclusion and accountability in public service
– Designing small, low-risk trials that build confidence
Culture and Engagement
– Introducing AI in ways that support trust, curiosity and psychological safety

This stand-alone workshop does not require any specific prior knowledge or attendance on other workshops.