Leadership, strategy and community
By reaching this chapter, your charity has already made significant progress in understanding and implementing AI. You've explored how AI can support your mission, considered its impact on your people and culture, and evaluated both commercial and custom solutions. Now it's time to focus on building sustainable leadership practices and fostering connections beyond your organisation.
Why this matters now
As your AI implementation matures, the focus naturally shifts from internal capabilities to broader engagement. This chapter guides you through establishing governance structures, developing risk management approaches, and creating opportunities for knowledge sharing. These elements help ensure your AI initiatives remain aligned with your charitable mission while contributing to sector-wide learning.
Building sustainable governance
Effective AI governance balances oversight with innovation. This includes establishing an ethics board that brings together diverse perspectives from trustees, technical experts, and beneficiaries. Regular risk assessments involving affected stakeholders help maintain focus on real-world impact rather than theoretical concerns.
For example, a homelessness charity implementing an AI-powered benefits advice tool might create a working group combining technical staff, frontline workers, and service users. This approach ensures decisions about the tool's development reflect both practical requirements and lived experience.
Creating lasting frameworks
Documentation and knowledge management become increasingly important as your AI initiatives expand. Rather than creating separate processes, look for ways to integrate AI considerations into existing frameworks. This might involve adapting current crisis management procedures to address AI-specific scenarios or incorporating AI accountability checkpoints into standard project reviews.
Developing external connections
As your organisation gains experience with AI implementation, you're well-positioned to contribute to sector-wide learning. This doesn't require becoming an AI expert - your practical experience implementing AI in a charitable context is valuable to organisations starting their journey.
Consider establishing informal partnerships with charities serving similar beneficiary groups. These relationships can facilitate knowledge sharing about common challenges and solutions, reducing duplicate effort across the sector.
When to engage with this chapter
This chapter is most relevant for charities that have:
- Implemented at least one AI system
- Developed basic internal AI practices
- Gained practical experience with AI's impact on operations
- Built confidence in discussing AI requirements
However, even organisations earlier in their journey can benefit from understanding these eventual requirements and incorporating them into their planning.
Leadership in AI isn't about having the most advanced technology - it's about thoughtfully implementing solutions that enhance your charitable mission while contributing to sector-wide learning. The activities in this chapter will help you build the structures and connections needed to sustain this work over time.