Digital Leads Network AI Learning Hour: From Strategy to Roll‑out: Lessons from Our 12‑Month AI Journey - and What Comes Next.
Type of Learning Hour
Show & Tell
Session lead
Lee Springett, AI Product Manager, Barnardo’s
Hosted and supported by the Digital Leads Network, part of CAST.
Purpose of this session
A facilitated show & tell (e.g. short talk or demo) designed to inspire and spark ideas. The focus is on sharing personal or organisational learning, including what’s worked, what hasn’t and what’s still being explored.
Session overview
Many organisations are now rolling out tools like Microsoft Copilot to help colleagues work faster and think more creatively. But questions quickly surface: How do we help people use it well? How do we find the real use cases? And how do we move from scattered excitement - or even slight skepticism - to confident, consistent adoption across the whole organisation?
This session explores how we can move from early experimentation to a structured, organisation‑wide AI programme that people trust, value and actually use.
Lee will share the first 12 months of Barnardo’s AI strategy - a year focused on enabling AI‑ready colleagues through the charity‑wide rollout of Microsoft Copilot, and on helping the organisation shift from a slightly skeptical starting point to a positive, empowered AI culture.
It will cover:
• How structured engagement pathways helped colleagues move from curiosity (and occasional skepticism) to confident, everyday use.
• The real, high‑value use cases we uncovered across teams - and how we used them to guide a smooth, well‑supported rollout
• How those insights are shaping our next wave of innovation, including the creation of our emerging AI agent framework
If you're looking for an AI foundation that’s practical, trusted and sustainable, this session will offer a clear, experience‑based roadmap.
Session structure
Welcome & check-ins: 10 mins
Show & Tell / Questions: 25 minutes
Group discussion / Reflections: 20 minutes
Wrap up: 5 mins