Workshops

Most companies today, want to become data and AI driven. A key first step in achieving this, is to create a dataand AI strategy that sets out a roadmap on how to get there.  When defining a data and AI strategy, most companies are faced with two broad challenges. The first is how to reduce risk to get data under control, govern it and build trusted data that can be consumed and used. The second is coordinating what to build and in what order across your business to maximise the use of data, analytics, and AI for competitive advantage to disrupt the market(s) you compete in.  Data and AI strategy therefore needs to be defensive as well as offensive.  So how do you do this?  This workshop looks at this problem and seeks to find a way to build a dataand AI strategy that enables you to create competitive advantage.

• What is a data and AI strategy and what should it contain?
• What do you need to do to build a data and AI strategy?
• Aligning data and AI with your business strategy and business capabilities
• Understanding a defensive versus an offensive data and AI strategy
• Understanding and assessing your current state
• Defining your future state that utilises data and AI to maximise business value
• Creating an implementation roadmap that delivers progressive incremental value

Many SMEs are caught at a crossroads. On one side, traditional ways of working and siloed decision-making; on the other, the AI-powered future, where growth and competitiveness are defined by how leaders adopt, govern, and scale AI. The reality is stark: you won’t compete against AI itself, you’ll compete against companies that use it.

For leaders, especially in regulated industries, the challenge isn’t just “how to use AI”, it’s how to use it safely, sovereignly, and successfully. Compliance pressures, questions of data ownership, and the risk of wasted investment mean many AI initiatives stall before they deliver value. Yet with the right strategy, SMEs can double their growth within 3–5 years.

Participants will explore the 3 Pillars of AI Strategy:

• Safe AI – Compliance, Ethics & Trust
• Sovereign AI – Data ownership & Independence
• Successful AI – Measurable ROI & Sustainable scaling

By the end of this workshop, leaders will understand how to:

• Scale AI in ways that are safe, sovereign and sustainable.
• Avoid the most common reason AI projects fail
• Build a culture of empowerment and innovation
• Set their businesses on a trajectory to double growth in the next 3-5years.

Organisations invest in collecting and analysing data. But too often, the value is lost at the final stage: how insights are communicated. If your insights don’t land, minds don’t change. This workshop helps you master the “last mile” of data: how to turn analysis into compelling communication that informs, persuades, and inspires.

Drawing on 20 years of experience, Andy Cotgreave will share proven techniques from design, psychology, and AI. Through examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn the core “levers” of visualisation and how to craft charts for different contexts (presentations, dashboards, emails, etc). You’ll leave able to communicate data effectively, whether you’re presenting to executives, building public-facing reports, or reusable data applications.

What We Cover

• Visualization Fundamentals: Applying cognitive science to make charts instantly clear.
• Design Theory in Practice: Using universal design principles to create powerful, narrative-driven visualizations.
• Effective Dashboards: Best practices for structuring and designing actionable, insightful data dashboards.
• Presenting Data: Techniques for impactful storytelling, drawing inspiration from masters like Hans Rosling.
• The Ethics of Data: Identifying and analyzing deceptive charts and maps to ensure accurate, trustworthy communication.

Participants will leave with the ability to:

• Design for Impact: Apply cognitive and design principles to instantly improve any chart or dashboard.
• Tell a Story: Structure data presentations that lead audiences to specific conclusions and drive action.
• Become a Critical Consumer: Spot misleading and “sneaky” visualizations, enhancing ethical data communication.

As organisations rapidly adopt AI tools, from Copilot implementations to shadow IT solutions, data governance teams are facing unprecedented challenges. How do you govern what you can’t see? How do you enable innovation without being labelled a blocker? And crucially, is AI governance part of data governance, or something entirely separate? And what exactly is AI Governance?

This workshop tackles both dimensions: demystifying AI and data governance processes and best practices, and establishing data & AI governance for AI use cases across your organisation. Learn more about the AI compliance, security and risk mitigation to build your sovereign AI solution – ideal for building your competitive and long-term AI advantage.

Through real-world scenarios, interactive AI governance tools and facilitated group discussions, you’ll explore practical challenges such as shadow AI adoption, bypassed data governance processes, and the visibility gap that’s creating chaos in many organisations. You’ll leave with actionable insights and approaches you can apply immediately, helping you balance innovation with control and position your data governance function as an enabler rather than a barrier.

What you’ll gain:

• Understanding of how AI governance integrates with (and differs from) data governance
• Practical strategies for governing AI initiatives without stifling innovation
• Approaches to addressing shadow AI and uncontrolled adoption
• Frameworks for establishing visibility and control over AI use cases
• Peer insights from tackling real-world scenarios collaboratively

Suitable for data governance professionals, data and AI leaders, and anyone responsible for establishing or implementing AI governance in their organisation. This workshop will be particularly useful for those attending the Sovereign AI workshop as well.