Who doesn’t want faster analysis, sharper insights, and better use of your time? But many council staff, and consultants who deliver projects for councils, may hesitate to make good use of it, if they don’t know what’s actually allowed.
Can you use ChatGPT to sketch out a community engagement plan? Is it okay to upload a draft report into Claude? Is your council okay with this sort of use, or could it get you into trouble?
Without clear rules, most people default to one of two extremes:
- Use AI quietly, without approval – and risk getting it wrong.
- Avoid it entirely – and miss out on time-saving gains.
That’s why I created the AI Policy Guide for Councils – Balancing the Opportunities and Risks of AI Use.
What’s inside the guide
This guide gives you a clear, practical framework to:
- Define low, medium and high-risk AI use in a council context
- Understand what tools are safe to use in what situations
- Align your work with privacy and data sovereignty expectations
- Build staff and consultant confidence to use AI tools the right way
Whether you’re working as an employee for a council or as a consultant delivering projects for a council, this guide helps you move forward safely and responsibly.
Why it matters
The councils that get this right won’t just protect data, they’ll also empower their staff to do better work, faster.
Who it’s for
This guide is for two groups of people:
- Council staff can use the framework to shape internal policy, and to train staff and contractors
- Consultants can use the framework to establish their own AI policy for working with councils, and to clarify acceptable usage at the beginning of new projects.
Download the guide
You can access the guide here.
AI tools and training
The AI Policy Guide also explains how my purpose-built AI tools and training sessions can help council staff and consultants make a safe transition to AI use. These tools are designed specifically for council documents, and the guide shows how they align with best-practice use of AI.
My AI Policy
I used my guide to create my own AI Policy, which I will share during the set-up phase of future projects with my clients, and make any amendments to meet their needs. This will give us both confidence that we understand acceptable uses of AI in the delivery of client projects.
