Beacon AI & Automation

A practice of Beacon North Strategies

Less busywork. More time for what matters.

Expert-informed AI that strengthens your team’s work.

Your team has important work to do. We help you use AI and automation to reduce repetitive tasks, improve everyday processes and make more room for people’s expertise, judgement and relationships.

We offer AI training, practical advice and workflow support for businesses, public sector organisations and nonprofits, with a particular focus on advocacy, communications and operations.

Through our partnership with Firefly Strategic Consulting, we also help you put responsible AI into practice, with proportionate governance and oversight, organisational AI use policies, privacy and security support and change management.

We also help organisations advance AI-related priorities through government relations.

Let’s talk about your team’s needs

Built from experience in the work you do

We’ve been working with generative AI tools since ChatGPT’s public release in 2022 and teaching courses on how to use them since then.

We develop and use AI tools and workflows for our own business and client engagements, alongside our work in strategy, advocacy and communications.

That experience shapes how we support you. We start with a task, challenge or goal, then help you develop an approach that fits your team. Human expertise guides the process, from deciding where AI is useful to reviewing what it produces.

AI works best when it builds on your experience and judgement. Used well, it can free up time for the work that needs your expertise and help you deliver stronger results.

How we can help

Find your starting point

AI opportunity assessment and action plan

You know AI could be useful. The question is where to begin.

We review your priorities, recurring tasks and existing use of AI, then identify practical opportunities for advocacy, communications and operations.

You receive a prioritised action plan with recommended applications, initial workflows, training needs and next steps.

Where needed, we bring in Firefly Strategic Consulting for further support with AI governance, responsible AI practices, organisational policies, privacy, security and change management.

Build your team’s skills

Courses, training and workshops

Through the Beacon North Mentorship Academy, we offer public courses covering introductory, applied and strategic uses of AI.

We also deliver tailored workshops for private sector, public sector and nonprofit teams. Sessions reflect your people’s roles and experience, with exercises relevant to their everyday work.

Topics include prompting, writing and research, advocacy tools, workflow design, agent creation and reviewing AI outputs. Participants build practical skills and learn where human judgement matters.

Learn more about courses and training at the Beacon North Mentorship Academy.

“The introduction of AI, specifically ChatGPT, has been fairly concerning to those working in communications. Stephanie’s AI course helped calm those fears and teaches very practical ways to use these tools to improve our workflow and manage our schedules. Stephanie doesn’t just talk about AI - she walks you through how best to use it.”

- Melanie Paradis, President of Texture Communications

Make everyday work easier

AI advice, tools and workflow support

We help you map recurring tasks, develop AI-assisted workflows and support your team in creating reusable prompts and instructions.

Our focus includes research, briefing materials, meeting preparation and follow-up, proposals and internal processes.

We can also review existing AI tools, troubleshoot problems and help your team improve results.

Retainers provide ongoing advice and workflow support, with your team leading tool creation and implementation.

Projects where BNS builds tools or leads implementation are limited and considered on a case-by-case basis.

Give AI clearer direction

Brand strategy, voice and AI writing guides

Useful AI writing starts with a clear understanding of your organisation.

We work with you to define your positioning, audiences and core messages, then translate that strategy into a personalised brand voice and AI writing guide.

Your guide can include:

Company voice and its relationship to a founder’s or leader’s voice
Writing principles, preferred language and guardrails
Guidance for different communications channels
Instructions for AI-supported writing
AI writing guidelines that help content sound natural, specific and recognisably yours
A checklist for reviewing content
You leave with a practical foundation your team can use to guide communications, brief collaborators and give AI tools clearer direction.

“Stephanie took ideas I'd been carrying in my head and turned them into a brand strategy and voice guide that's clearer than anything I could have written myself. It now shapes everything I write, including my work with AI.”

- Heather Cayouette, CIPP/C, CIPTFounder & CEO,
Firefly Strategic Consulting

Advance your AI priorities with government

AI advocacy and government relations

We help you navigate the policy and funding environment surrounding AI, engage decision-makers and make a clear case for action.

Support includes advocacy strategy and implementation, stakeholder mapping, government outreach, briefing materials and consultation submissions. We also help position funding requests and engage on the development and implementation of AI-related policies and programmes.

Learn more about our government relations and advocacy services.

Additional expertise through Firefly Strategic Consulting

With our partner, Firefly Strategic Consulting, we help you develop strong, proportionate AI governance and oversight that fits your organisation.

Firefly brings expertise in privacy, governance, security and responsible AI. Together, we help you design and implement organisational AI use policies and practices that protect your data, guide staff and help you manage risk.

Support includes change management, team adoption and integrating AI into day-to-day operations. We work as an integrated team, bringing together the support your organisation needs.

What would you like to make easier?

Whether you're new to the industry or a seasoned pro, NextGen offers valuable insights for public affairs professionals!

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