AI Living Lab

A regional model for AI-powered community impact, the Living Lab is where ideas become reality.

Why it exists

The AI Living Lab exists to address a critical imbalance in the South West: while the region has a thriving innovation economy, many Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations lack the resources, data infrastructure, or confidence to explore AI's potential. The Living Lab works to change this by:

  • Redressing the Imbalance: Ensuring the benefits of technological advancement reach the charity sector, which often operates under huge pressure with limited time and budget.

  • Creating a Safe Space: Offering a low-risk, supportive environment for charities to explore and shape AI, ensuring the technology serves their mission rather than becoming a source of fear or confusion.

  • Building Capability: Moving beyond one-off training to embed AI literacy and practice across the VCSE sector, building confidence from "can't use AI" to "understand what's possible and where to start."

The core principle is to ensure AI becomes a force for good, reducing inequality, amplifying underrepresented voices, and building digital confidence across the South West.

What we’ve achieved so far

The 2025 pilot of the AI Living Lab, focused on "Data & AI Foundations for Custom Assistants," successfully validated the model and delivered tangible results:

  • Charities Supported: 3 organisations - Age UK Gloucestershire, Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), and Dorothy House Hospice.

  • Volunteer Engagement: 15+ skilled volunteers from industry, including Microsoft and Cisco, provided expertise.

  • Value Created: Approximately 732 hours of high-skill volunteering were facilitated, which equates to over £45,750 in skilled tech resources for the charities.

  • Key Prototypes Developed:

    • Age UK Gloucestershire - An AI assistant to query their internal "Bible" of service guidance, freeing staff time for human interaction.

    • Centre for Sustainable Energy - A unified AI-powered assistant for website users, pulling from various systems to offer real-time, plain-language energy advice.

    • Dorothy House Hospice Care - A "Virtual Focus Group" assistant trained on real personas to inform fundraising strategy and bring lived experience into service design.

  • Impact on Confidence: 100% of participants said they would recommend the program, reporting increased confidence and sparking board-level strategy sessions around AI.

Who it’s for

The AI Living Lab is a co-creation space designed for three main groups:

  • Charities & VCSEs: Organisations ready to bring a real-world challenge and co-create an ethical, practical AI solution. The program supports charities at all levels of AI readiness.

  • Tech Professionals & Students: Individuals - including AI/LLM specialists, full-stack developers, data/privacy specialists, and UX designers who are keen to apply their skills to social impact in a purpose-led project.

  • Funders, Local Authorities, & Ecosystem Partners: Organisations exploring how to support scalable social innovation, build regional resilience through civic tech, and guide investment and policy based on tangible, grounded learning..

How it works

The Living Lab is structured as an innovation engine, not a one-off event. It is an ongoing model of development and learning that emphasises a "culture first" approach:

  • Co-Design: Charities set the agenda, and mixed teams of volunteers, tech partners, and charity leads build early-stage tools side-by-side over a 12-week intensive development cycle.

  • Safe Experimentation: Teams use existing tools and infrastructure (like Microsoft Copilot), focusing on building confidence without the pressure to buy new or specialist technology.

  • Maturity-Based Progression: Organizations progress at their own pace, with the focus on building capability and shifting mindsets before implementation.

  • Demonstration as Strategy: Prototypes are built to be tangible, helping to de-risk future AI investment, inform next steps, and spark broader conversations within the organization about what is possible.

  • Knowledge Handover: The process includes culture workshops, peer learning, and demystification sessions to ensure the learning and tools are owned by the charity for long-term sustainability.

Get involved

We are actively seeking participants and partners to join the next cohorts.

  • Charity with a Challenge? If your VCSE is ready to co-create a solution that frees up time, improves access, or amplifies frontline services, we want to hear from you.

  • Technologist with Skills to Share? Join our volunteer network to contribute expertise in responsible AI, data ethics, UX, and development to mission-aligned projects.

  • Funder or Partner? Help support the scalable infrastructure for ethical AI innovation across the South West region.

Not quite ready to join the lab? Join our AI Peer Network first to build your confidence.

Got a question? Email us at hello@tech4goodsouthwest.org

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