CentPolEmerging & Next Technologies

National AI Strategy Sprint

A five-week sprint for policymakers, strategists, analysts, educators, civil society, and industry teams who need to read or design national AI strategies with more discipline.

05
Core weeks
09
Strategy pillars
02
Decision outputs
Why this sprint

Most AI strategies fail for predictable reasons

Many strategies are too vague, too narrow, or copied from another context. This sprint helps you account for compute, data, institutions, labor, international posture, safety, and metrics.

Who it's for
Government officials and advisers
Think tanks and international organizations
Industry associations and technology policy teams
Academics, educators, and civil society voices
Curriculum

From global landscape to decision-ready memo

Each week gives you curated readings, live discussion, structured exercises, and peer review so your final memo is sharper than a private reflection.

Week 01
The landscape: vision and the why now

Use AU, Stanford HAI, OECD, and Carnegie readings to write a context-grounded urgency narrative.

Week 02
Strategy architecture using the 9 pillars

Map Singapore, Kenya, AU, and ASEAN strategy models to compare explicit pillars, omissions, and context.

Week 2.5
Optional constraints deep dive

Practice strategy under power, compute, talent, donor-dependence, and political-time constraints.

Week 03
Compute, data, and institutions

Design the institutional machinery, digital foundations, and first 100 days needed to run a strategy.

Week 04
Sectors, society, and international stance

Select priority sectors, define Year-1 use cases, identify labor risks, and write an international posture.

Week 05
Metrics, iteration, and the strategy memo

Workshop the two-page strategy memo and three-minute pitch through peer review and synthesis.

9-pillar framework

A reusable strategy diagnostic

You use the nine-pillar map every week so you can decode existing strategies and design stronger ones.

  1. 1Vision and narrative
  2. 2Compute and digital infrastructure
  3. 3Data governance and public data assets
  4. 4Talent, skills, and R&D ecosystem
  5. 5Priority sectors and public sector transformation
  6. 6Governance, ethics, rights, and safety
  7. 7Institutions and implementation machinery
  8. 8International engagement and geopolitics
  9. 9Monitoring, metrics, and review
Final outputs

Designed for real decision-makers

You leave with artifacts you can use with senior leaders, not just reflections for a classroom — and every memo carries the ask, budget logic, risks, and review metrics.

IndicatorValueStatus
Strategy memo2 pagesDecision-ready
Oral pitch3 minutesNo slides required
Time commitment4-5 hrs/weekReading + live + writing
Delivery modeHybridCohort discussion