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+---
+id: 5-essential-elements-for-a-successful-artificial-intelligence-community-of-practice
+title: '5 essential elements for a successful artificial intelligence community of practice'
+image: /assets/images/blogs/
+author: Eboni J.D. Freeman, Sabrina Mohamed and Eric Ewing
+published_at: "2024-09-24"
+summary: "PIF Eboni J.D. Freeman and colleagues at the Technology Transformation Services share their success launching and maturing the federal artificial intelligence community of practice (AI CoP)."
+external_url:
+tags: ['GSA']
+type: Blog
+social: blog
+---
+
+*This post was originally published on the [apolitical blog](https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/5-essential-elements-for-a-successful-artificial-intelligence-community-of-practice)*
+
+## An insight into the federal AI Community of Practice (AI CoP), which was established to foster responsible AI adoption across US government.
+
+- **The opportunity:** There is currently an opportunity for the US government to champion responsible AI education, innovation and integration across federal agencies.
+- **Why it matters:** Artificial intelligence adoption is rapidly becoming crucial for government agencies to improve service delivery and achieve their missions.
+- **The solution:** By focusing on community engagement, public-private partnerships, delivering tangible value and nurturing future emerging technology leaders, the AI CoP has become instrumental in advancing responsible AI adoption and innovation within the US government.
+
+In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, the integration of [artificial intelligence](https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-to-not-get-overwhelmed-by-ai-trends) (AI) into governmental operations and services has shifted from being a mere possibility to an imperative. Spearheading this transformation in the US is the Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (AI CoP), a pivotal initiative launched in 2019 by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Office of Technology Transformation Services (TTS) in coordination with the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The AI CoP was originally created to promote cooperation among federal agencies in adopting AI technologies. Over time, its role has expanded to become a fundamental aspect of ensuring that AI is implemented in a responsible and effective manner throughout the US federal government.
+
+### What is a Community of Practice (CoP)?
+The AI CoP defines communities of practice as “interest groups that provide opportunities for members to support, challenge and inspire one another”. The three distinct elements that comprise a CoP are:
+
+1. Interaction: Discussions, collaborative activities and relationship building
+2. Shared domain of interest: Common goals, topics or areas of focus shared by multiple groups; ranging from broad subjects, such as artificial intelligence or customer experience to narrow ones like federal technology acquisition and municipal call centre management
+3. Shared practice: Shared techniques, skills and expertise including material creation and distribution
+
+<div class="quote-blog">
+    <p><strong>Guided by collaboration, innovation and inclusivity, the AI CoP shines as a beacon of excellence in advancing effective governance through technological innovation.</strong></p> 
+</div>
+
+This approach enables professionals to grow and mature while focusing on efforts to share knowledge and solve problems.
+
+### Why would an AI CoP matter?
+An AI Community of Practice can:
+
+- Solve shared problems with inter-agency/inter-division working groups
+- Promote the spread of best practices
+- Develop professional skills
+- Help recruit and retain talent
+- Enable connections across hierarchies and silos (i.e., government bureaucracy)
+
+Let the author know about communities of practice that you know about and find interesting by [leaving a comment](https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/5-essential-elements-for-a-successful-artificial-intelligence-community-of-practice#article-comments)
+
+### Evolution and purpose
+The US Government’s inter-agency Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (AI CoP) began its journey in 2019 with a mandate to facilitate dialogue and cooperation among federal entities exploring AI adoption. When directives such as the [2020 Executive Order on Promoting Trustworthy AI (EO 13960)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/08/2020-27065/promoting-the-use-of-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence-in-the-federal-government) and the [AI Training Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-207)](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2551) reshaped their operating landscape, the AI CoP adapted its programming to align with these policies by revamping challenge competitions, reformatting member-wide communications and more. Today, its mission extends beyond technology adoption to include comprehensive workforce development and AI literacy education across 80+ member agencies.
+
+
+
+### The five pillars of success
+The success of the AI CoP is underpinned by five foundational principles, each critical to its operational framework and impact:
+
+**1. Executive leadership buy-in**
+
+From its inception, the AI CoP executive director prioritised securing support from top-level leadership early and often. By engaging with key stakeholders across the White House, GSA and other federal agencies the AI CoP laid a solid foundation for continuous improvement. This proactive approach ensured alignment with emerging legislative priorities, stimulated a collaborative space conducive to accountability and paved a clear path for challenging conversations as they arose.
+
+**2. Community engagement and culture building**
+
+Beyond co-developing and propagating policy frameworks, the AI CoP recognises the importance of cultivating a vibrant culture. Encouraging active participation through 40+ community-ideated events, expert workshops and peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing sessions, the AI CoP’s steering committee members and working group leads nurture a community where problems are solved and challenges are met with collective expertise. This approach enhances AI literacy and inspires creative solutions to complex challenges.
+
+**3. Public-private partnerships**
+
+Recognising the transformative potential of public-private partnerships, the AI CoP continually forges and strengthens alliances with academic institutions specialising in human-centred AI, information technology policy and law. Collaborating with leading universities, industry experts and non-profit organisations enriches its knowledge base and facilitates the development of cutting-edge AI applications tailored to meet governmental needs. These partnerships exemplify the AI CoP's commitment to leveraging external expertise for the benefit of public service.
+
+**4. Delivering tangible value**
+
+Central to its mission, the AI CoP focuses on delivering tangible value through practical initiatives and outcomes. The AI CoP hosts specialised training programmes led by award-winning experts, helping federal employees understand the computer science, economics, law, political science and psychological implications of AI through case studies and live Q&A discussions. Additionally, the AI CoP organises ‘Applied AI Challenges’. These competitions seek diverse and practical solutions to help federal agencies quickly identify, demonstrate, test and acquire promising new AI technology. By cultivating a safe environment where government officials can share their challenges and receive feedback from knowledgeable peers from different agencies, the AI CoP empowers change-makers and innovators in government to bring creative solutions to benefit their agencies and the American people.
+
+**5. Building leadership and talent pipeline**
+
+The AI CoP places significant emphasis on developing top talent to create a pipeline for future CoP and AI initiative leaders, fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is valued and leveraged to achieve its mission. Members are empowered to lead discussions on topics like natural language processing, computer vision, reinforcement learning, AI security and generative AI within their management chains. Expert guidance, including from [Presidential Innovation Fellows](https://presidentialinnovationfellows.gov/), supports this upskilling effort through human-centred programme design and strategy. Additionally, the CoP conducted a survey of AI practitioners in the federal workforce, informing policies such as the AI Executive Order and AI Talent Surge. By prioritising people and their experiences, the AI CoP aims to drive transformative change beyond just adopting AI tools.
+
+**Conclusion**
+
+In conclusion, the journey of the Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (AI CoP) exemplifies a proactive approach to US government [innovation](https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/what-is-government-innovation). Guided by collaboration, innovation and inclusivity, the AI CoP shines as a beacon of excellence in advancing effective governance through technological innovation. Looking ahead, the AI CoP's legacy highlights the power of collaboration in uniting the best people, processes and products for the public good.

_blogs/6-ways-to-navigate-the-civic-tech-sea-of-newness.md

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+---
+id: 6-ways-to-navigate-the-civic-tech-sea-of-newness
+title: '6 Ways To Navigate the Civic Tech Sea of Newness'
+image: /assets/images/blogs/pifs-raashee-gupta-erry-vivian-lee-zoom-6-tips.png
+author: Raashee Gupta Erry, Vivian Lee
+published_at: "2021-03-24"
+summary: "Two former private-sector marketers now serving as Presidential Innovation Fellows share tips for building relationships and finding your way as a civic technologist"
+external_url:
+tags: ['GSA','Alumni']
+type: Blog
+social: blog
+---
+
+*This post was originally published on the [Digital.gov blog](https://digital.gov/2021/03/24/6-ways-to-navigate-the-civic-tech-sea-of-newness/)*
+
+By nature, the [Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF)](https://presidentialinnovationfellows.gov/) program is a grand experiment in newness. What happens when we take a group of industry professionals and throw them into government? As career private-sector marketing professionals, for us, there was the triple threat of being new to government, being detailed to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an agency that had never had Presidential Innovation Fellows before, and navigating the ever-changing digital advertising industry from a public-sector perspective. We found ourselves in uncharted waters.
+
+Four months in, we not only gained our sea legs, but also got some pretty significant wins along the way. Here are six principles that guided us through those uncharted waters and turned us into navigators of a shared journey.
+
+<figure style="width: 80%; display: flex; flex-flow: column; padding: 5px; margin: auto;">
+  <img src="{{site.baseurl}}/assets/images/blogs/pifs-raashee-gupta-erry-vivian-lee-zoom-6-tips.png" alt="Screen capture of a video conference call between Raashee Gupta Erry (left) and Vivian Lee (right)."/>
+</figure>
+
+## **1. Become best friends with your federal partners**
+First, get to know each other extremely well. Go beyond the LinkedIn profiles and dive into motivations, beliefs, agendas, work styles, strengths, weaknesses, and life as a person. We made sure to present ourselves to the agency as teammates, and not as competitors. It might sound obvious, but it’s important! We do not innovate in silos. Our success is tied directly to the FTC’s success and, as a result, to safeguard consumer protection in the digital advertising landscape. Getting there is a team effort; we’re better together. We made it a point to remain partners and identify lead and support responsibilities amongst ourselves as opposed to creating a perception of independent contributors.   
+
+## **2. Identify the value exchange** 
+To build trust in a new environment, we focused on collaborative value. For us, “value” means the benefit that the federal agency gets from us, and what we get from our federal agency partners. It is beyond the goal of making an impact. It’s the day-to-day benefit we get from our work and interactions. In our case, the agency gets to be smarter in their work as a result of insights we share about digital advertising, marketing, and advertising technology. And in return, we are able to learn more about the enforcement and regulatory side of the industry that we come from, enabling us to become better marketers and advertisers. 
+
+## **3. Listen with purpose** 
+The first three months of the year-long fellowship are intended to be the ‘listening’ phase where we get to know our agency folks, their mission, challenges and priorities. We approached this ‘listening’ phase by identifying both our agency-assigned projects, and our personal interest areas. This helped us prioritize and earn some early wins by focusing on projects that brought value to our partners, ultimately building trust and confidence. At the same time, we were able to establish a path forward to seek out meaningful and valuable work to us as PIFs and in our long-term careers (we call this our ‘wishlist’). 
+
+## **4. Build your support network** 
+Branch out from beyond the initial agency-facilitated introductions. By building your support network, you can amplify your impact, gain allies, and build your brand. Take the opportunity to meet folks outside of your immediate team and chain of command. A casual coffee chat can go a long way in both your personal and professional development within your agency. This has led us to develop a network of allies who have helped clear blockers, steer us to new opportunities, and push forward on our ‘wishlist’ projects. 
+
+## **5. Embrace an entrepreneurial mindset** 
+We have been persistent in making progress on our ‘wishlist’ projects and have been diligent in taking actions. As often happens in government, we ran into a few dead ends that hindered our ability to make any progress. That’s when we took it upon ourselves to map out various paths to success. This often looked like consulting with our allies by taking an informal approach to seeking out the right people. Other than our relentless pursuit for coffee chats, we found other ways to lean into our organization like joining our organization’s official mentorship program. An entrepreneurial approach to finding solutions even within a highly rules-oriented, bureaucratic organization has been a key to our success. We have a long way to go to reach the end product, but we’re glad we’ve found a clearer way forward. 
+
+## **6. Become multilingual**
+Coming from industry, we knew there would be an adjustment period to acclimate to the lingo, working styles, and habits of the federal government. However, working primarily with lawyers, we ran into a lot of legal terminology. At first, this was a jargon barrier. What we quickly found was that the more lawyers we talked to, the better we understood their motivations, challenges, and ways of thinking. Quickly being able to adapt to our stakeholders’ natural way of communicating and working while balancing that with our own marketing expertise allowed us to build trust more efficiently and drive impact more effectively. The easiest way to do this was to go through the thought exercise of putting ourselves in our stakeholders’ shoes. How are we currently thinking about a given problem as marketers, and how does that outlook change when we consider coming from a legal perspective? This simple mindset shift helped us to frame up our suggestions in a way that was more directly useful for our lawyer colleagues. On a day-to-day basis, we work with lawyers, technologists, economists, and policy advisors. Being intentional about learning the different styles of your stakeholders will pay dividends throughout your government experience. 
+
+---
+Our PIF journey has been unique in many ways - our backgrounds are more business-oriented than technical, our projects don’t always have defined deliverables, the mission of our agency is long term, and the impact is hard to quantify. But our experience may benefit other “newbies” in federal space as government agencies are mission-oriented, complex organizations filled with people who care deeply about their work. We found that these lessons helped us gain bigger wins while also building meaningful relationships with our colleagues. 
+