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 just like most other professions across government are increasingly using Copilot exactly for that reason - it can help save substantial time on research and drafting. But policy writing needs more than speed: 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.
Used well, it saves time, catches errors or inconsistencies, and closes gaps the writer might miss. Used badly, it does the opposite - producing drafts that are longer, vaguer, and harder to trust, while looking polished enough to trick readers there’s essence behind it.
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, to check the claims and figures it generates before they go anywhere, and to keep the recommendation and the reasoning behind it clear enough that the reader can act on it. Everyone leaves with a shared approach to using Copilot well.
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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.
Balance detail and readability, so writing carries the substance a policy document needs and keeps the reader with it throughout.
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.
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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.
One shared, consistent approach to Copilot use across the whole team.
Confidence that Copilot-assisted work will hold up under scrutiny.
Prompting habits that save real drafting time.
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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. 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 | From blank page to first draft
Prompting for reader, purpose, tone and format, so the first draft reflects the actual document being written.11:15 – 11:30 | Break
11:30 – 12:45 | Writing for detail and readability together
Putting the recommendation and key point up front, cutting jargon, and keeping the level of detail a policy document needs while holding the reader's attention throughout.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.16:00 – 16:15 | Commitments and close
What each participant will do differently the next day, and what the team agrees to do consistently going forward.
