AI readiness for economic development organizations
Independent advisory. No software to sell. Built by people who have run the RFI process from both sides.
Your staff is already using AI. Your board doesn’t know.
Your staff is using AI right now. Not because you approved it — because an RFI came in Friday afternoon with a Tuesday deadline and someone pasted the project details into a chatbot to get a head start.
That’s not a discipline problem. It’s a governance gap. For a quasi-public organization handling code-named projects, confidential employer data, and records subject to public disclosure, it’s a real exposure — and one most boards have never been briefed on.
Meanwhile the actual opportunity goes unclaimed. AI can meaningfully compress RFI turnaround, prospect research, BR&E synthesis, and grant drafting — but only if your data is in shape, your workflows are mapped, and someone has told you honestly which tools are worth the money.
These surface in the audit. Most can be addressed without new technology.
Four engagements. Buy what you need.
Each engagement is priced and purchased separately. Every one stands alone — start anywhere, stop anywhere. Nothing is held back to force the next step.
AI Readiness Audit
A clear-eyed inventory of where you actually stand.
- Workflow mapping across RFI response, prospect research, BR&E, marketing, and grants
- Data readiness assessment — CRM hygiene, site inventory, incentive documentation
- Shadow-AI usage review: what your team is already doing, unsupervised
- Governance and records-law risk register
- Prioritized opportunity map, scored on impact and effort
A board-ready assessment you can act on with or without us.
AI Strategy & Governance
A plan small enough to actually execute.
- Two to three prioritized use cases, sequenced and scoped
- A board-adoptable AI use policy, written for a quasi-public entity
- Staff training plan and prompt / SOP library
- Budget outlook you can defend to a finance committee
Vendor Specification & Procurement
Everything a builder needs — and everything you need to hire one.
- Redesigned to-be workflow, documented
- Data specification and pre-build cleanup requirements
- Functional and non-functional requirements: access, retention, confidentiality for code-named projects
- Integration points across CRM, site database, and website
- Acceptance criteria specific enough that "done" isn't a negotiation
- Draft RFP and bid scoring rubric, built to satisfy competitive procurement
- Budget range, so you know whether a $15K bid or a $150K bid is the sane one
- Owner's representation during the build — deliverable review, scope-drift control, change-order sanity checks
We review and translate. We don't write the code — which is exactly why our review is worth having.
Enablement Retainer
The outside brain you call when something changes.
- Tool evaluation as new options land in your inbox
- Quarterly policy and workflow review
- Board and staff education sessions
- Vendor selection assistance
Add-on: 90-Day Adoption Review
Did it stick? Most consulting engagements never ask. We do — adoption review, corrective recommendations, refreshed priorities. Available as an add-on to any of the four engagements above.
What the audit produces
Every opportunity we identify is scored against two axes — what it would do for your mission, and what it would actually take to implement.
The result is a ranked map your board can read in one sitting, and a defensible reason for what you tackle first. Organized by quadrant: do first, plan and sequence, quick wins, defer.
Illustrative. Your map is scored against your workflows, data, and staff capacity.
Common questions
Is our organization too small for this?
Most of our clients have between three and twenty-five staff. Small teams often see the fastest return, because a few hours saved per week is a meaningful share of total capacity.
Do we need to buy anything to act on the audit?
No. Several of the highest-value recommendations involve changing how existing tools are used, not purchasing new ones. The audit will tell you which is which.
What if our data is a mess?
Then that's the finding, and it's worth knowing before you spend money on a tool that can't read it. Data readiness is a core part of the assessment, not an afterthought.
Will you build the tool for us?
No. We're advisory only. We write the specification, help you run a fair procurement, and review the vendor's work against what was promised.
Do you take referral fees from vendors?
No. We hold no vendor partnerships and accept no referral compensation.
How is this different from hiring a general AI consultant?
We know the workflows. We don't have to be taught what an RFI cycle looks like, why prospect confidentiality matters, or what your board will and won't approve.
Ready to see where you actually stand?
The audit starts with a direct conversation about where your workflows are and what your board knows. No pitch deck required.
Fixed fee. Board-ready deliverable. Acts on its own if you want it to.
Book an Intro CallOr email [email protected]