Bringing the Public In: AI & Stakeholder Engagement for the Public Sector

Bringing the Public In: AI & Stakeholder Engagement for the Public Sector 

A six-week online Professional Learning Community (PLC) for public and nonprofit leaders navigating AI, trust, and public accountability

AI is showing up across government and nonprofit agencies—often faster than our policies, processes, and public conversations can keep up. For organizations committed to transparency, legitimacy, and human-centered governance, that creates both risk and opportunity.

Whether you work in public safety, human services, planning, or community engagement, this guided online learning experience will help you engage employees, residents, elected officials and other important stakeholders in conversations about AI. Together, we will learn to communicate more effectively about AI benefits and risks, listen to stakeholders more deeply, and design engagement strategies that build trust, uphold human dignity, and align with our organizational values and governance responsibilities.

Our core question is: How can our stakeholders help guide the role of AI in advancing meaningful outcomes for communities?

This PLC is offered via a partnership between the Virginia Institute of Government at UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, the UVA School of Data Science, and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.  

Schedule and Format

March 30 - May 8

Designed for working professionals, this experience blends flexibility with connection.

• • Asynchronous weekly content: short videos, podcasts, readings, and real-world case studies you can explore on your own schedule each week

  • Engaging asynchronous discussions: opportunities to share and discuss challenges, examples, practical tools, and emerging practices

  • Live weekly sessions: one-hour Zoom discussions on Thursdays, Noon–1:00 PM EST to deepen the discussion and support peer exchange (if you need to miss a live session, just let the facilitators know—we know life happens.)