Copilot for policy teams
TLDR
A bespoke training programme for policy teams using Copilot to draft submissions, briefings and advice. Builds a shared approach to using Copilot well - writing that's detailed enough to be credible and clear enough to be acted on.
Policy teams are under real time pressure, and like most professions across government are increasingly turning to Copilot for exactly that reason - it can save substantial time on research and drafting. But policy writing has to do more than save time: it has to carry enough detail to be credible, and be readable enough that people actually read it and act on it. Copilot can help with both, or undermine both, depending on how it's used.
There's a cost to getting this wrong. When a document is too long, too dense or too hedged, the reader pays for it - in the time it takes them to work out what it actually says, and in how much they trust the person who sent it. Used well, Copilot saves time, catches errors and inconsistencies, and closes gaps the writer might miss. Used badly, it produces drafts that are longer, vaguer and harder to trust, while looking polished enough to disguise how thin the thinking behind them is.
This training programme works directly with a team's own writing - submissions, briefings, correspondence, advice. Participants learn to prompt Copilot for a specific reader and purpose, check the claims and figures it generates before they go anywhere, and structure documents so different readers can get what they need at the level of detail they need it. Senior and junior colleagues work through the same exercises side by side, building one shared standard across the team.
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By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:
Prompt Copilot for a specific reader, purpose and format.
Check the claims, figures and assumptions Copilot generates before they go into a document.
Use Copilot in line with the Government's AI Playbook.
Structure documents so a reader can get the answer up front and the full detail if they need it, without reading to the end.
Identify where Copilot speeds up drafting and where professional judgement has to take over.
Apply one consistent approach to Copilot-assisted writing across the team, regardless of seniority.
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Submissions and briefings that are detailed enough to be credible and clear enough to be read and acted on.
Fewer unchecked claims and fewer avoidable errors making it into final drafts.
Documents structured so senior readers get what they need without waiting for the detail behind it.
One shared, consistent approach to Copilot use across the team.
Confidence that Copilot-assisted work will hold up under scrutiny.
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Pre-workshop questionnaire
Participants complete a short questionnaire on what they're currently writing, how they're using Copilot, and where they run into problems most often. This shapes the exercises and examples used on the day.Full-day core workshop (in-person or virtual)
Participants work on their own submissions, briefings and correspondence throughout the day, including a live writing exercise - starting with something short, such as an email, before moving on to a longer document such as a decision paper. For smaller teams, or where the focus is narrower, the workshop can run as a half-day instead.Follow-up virtual meetup (2 hours, 1 month later, optional)
Review how the new approach is being used
Work through anything that needs further work
Identify any remaining gaps
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09:30 – 09:45 | Welcome and context
What the day covers, and how Copilot changes the balance between drafting speed and writing quality.09:45 – 10:30 | Copilot and the AI Playbook
What compliant use looks like in practice, and where teams most commonly go wrong.10:30 – 11:15 | Purpose, audience, effect
Prompting for a specific reader and purpose, including a persona exercise that runs one document through several different reader lenses to test whether it lands for each of them.11:15 – 11:30 | Break
11:30 – 12:45 | Structuring for the reader
Building documents in tiers - a short summary, the full version, and the detailed annex - so a reader gets the answer first and the supporting detail only if they need it.12:45 – 13:30 | Lunch
13:30 – 14:45 | Checking what Copilot can't check
Verifying facts, figures and claims, and building the habit of checking a confident-sounding sentence before trusting it.14:45 – 15:00 | Break
15:00 – 16:00 | Practical workshop
Participants rework their own submissions or briefings using Copilot, peer review and a structured checklist, including a rapid editing exercise to sharpen a long document down to its essential point.16:00 – 16:30 | Commitments and close
What each participant will do differently the next day, and what the team agrees to do consistently going forward.
