However, here is a question that is often overlooked: Where does AI actually make sense for your organization?It is easy to start with the tool. Especially when a new AI tool appears, someone demonstrates what it can do, and the immediate question becomes: “How can we use this?” For CSOs, however, the better starting point may be somewhere else: Begin with the challenge. That is the thinking behind the AI Opportunity Canvas.
From AI Use Cases To Organizational Opportunities
There is no shortage of what AI can do. AI can summarize documents, generate content, analyze data, translate text, and identify patterns. Knowing what AI can do does not necessarily tell a CSO what it should explore.
An AI opportunity emerges from an identified challenge where AI could potentially create meaningful value. AI use cases then take these options a step further by exploring specific ways AI could be applied to address the identified needs.
For example:
Organizational need: Our program team spends considerable time reviewing beneficiary feedback. Could AI help identify recurring themes and produce an initial summary for staff review?
AI use case: AI can analyze survey responses.
The difference may seem small, but it changes the conversation. We move from “What can this tool do?” to “What are we trying to improve?”
Why Does This Matter For CSOs?
Civil society organizations work within peculiar realities: limited resources, small teams, complex programmes, donor requirements and, most importantly, responsibilities to the communities they serve. Not every organizational challenge requires AI, and not every interesting AI capability represents a meaningful help for your organizaiton. The value lies in identifying the ones that are relevant to the organization and realizing when AI may not be the right solution.
This is also about making more intentional choices about AI. Just because a tool exists, or everyone is talking about it, doesn’t mean it belongs in your work. Organizations can take a step back and consider whether its use is necessary, useful and appropriate in their context. This is particularly important for organizations working with communities and issues where questions of privacy, bias, transparency and accountability matter.
This AI Opportunity Canvas (available to download) helps CSOs pause before jumping into experimentation and consider:
What challenge are we trying to address?
Where could AI potentially help?
What value could it create?
How relevant is this opportunity to our organization?
What should we explore or test next?
A Simple Path From Challenge To Opportunity
Start with Your Organization
Think about one challenge your CSO is currently facing. It could be related to programme delivery, communications, fundraising, research, monitoring and evaluation, administration or knowledge management.Instead of immediately searching for an AI tool, try asking: “What are we trying to improve, and could AI potentially help?”. The AI Opportunity Canvas is designed to help you work through that question. Start with the challenge and explore your options. Then decide what comes next.
Three Stages in Practice
Consider an organization that regularly receives, reviews, and analyzes feedback or information collected during its programmes. By working through the canvas, the team was able to identify a potential way to use AI to make part of this process more efficient.
1. Identify the need: The team started with a recurring task: reviewing large volumes of qualitative feedback and identifying common themes. Rather than starting with an AI tool, they first recognized this as a process that was taking considerable time and attention.
2. Explore: For example, AI could help organize the feedback, map out similar themes, and produce an initial synthesis within a short period of time, while the team would continue to interpret and validate the results.
3. Prioritize: The team could then consider whether AI might be adopted as a supporting tool within the analysis process, rather than replacing the team’s judgement and expertise.
This example illustrates how the AI opportunity Canvas can help organizations identify AI opportunities from real organizational needs, rather than starting with a tool and trying to find a use for it.
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Disclaimers
This piece of resource has been created as part of the AI for Social Change project within TechSoup's Digital Activism Program, with support from Google.org.
AI tools are evolving rapidly, and while we do our best to ensure the validity of the content we provide, sometimes some elements may no longer be up to date. If you notice that a piece of information is outdated, please let us know at content@techsoup.org.
About the Author
Whitnay Segnonna is a bilingual civil society and programme practitioner with over five years of experience working with civil society organizations across Francophone and Anglophone West Africa. Her work spans programme coordination, technology for development, digital security and organizational capacity strengthening. She has a growing focus on AI and emerging technologies, particularly on how civil society organizations can identify practical and responsible ways to use technology to strengthen their work and respond to organizational needs.