The training is delivered as two online workshops with a practical writing task in between. Participants work through each stage using their own reports or fictional examples I provide, so the learning is applied immediately.

Workshop 1: From issue to outline

Participants learn a step-by-step process for the core building blocks of a council report. We work through AI prompts for defining the issue, writing a purpose statement, drafting the background section, developing options, establishing assessment criteria, analysing options, identifying and assessing risks, writing a recommendation, and creating a report outline.

I demonstrate each prompt with a worked example, then participants apply it to their own topic. By the end of this session, everyone has a complete report outline ready to write from.

Homework: Write the first draft

Between workshops, participants write the first draft of their report using their outline. This is where the real learning happens. The outline and prompts do the heavy lifting on structure, so they can focus on getting their content down clearly.

Workshop 2: From draft to presentation-ready

We pick up where the first draft left off. Participants use AI prompts for structural editing, covering story structure, content gaps, readability and logical flow. We then move into proofreading, working through a checklist and prompts for tightening language, strengthening subheadings, and catching errors.

The session finishes with practical guidance on presenting reports to senior managers and elected members, so participants leave feeling confident about both the written document and the conversation around it.