Free Digital Resources

AI Resources

We have created a living library of resources that we hope will support you as you explore the challenges and opportunities associated with AI. We’ll add to this section regularly; if there is anything you would particularly like to see added, or anything you need support with, please contact us at [email protected] - thank you!

Library of AI experiments

Explore our library of AI experiments: a growing collection of explorations into AI, shared by both charities and funders. Entries cover topics such as user research, AI policy creation, data analysis and transcription - and for each experiment, contributors share what worked well, what didn’t - and the advice they’d give to others.

Digital Toolkit

25 free tools and resources, designed to support organisations moving through a process of researching, defining and developing a digital product, platform or service.

Follow the four stages of Mindset > Discover > Define > Develop. Each stage is divided into clear steps, with information and resources.

Learn user research: free course

Join this free self-serve course to learn about different types of user research and key recruiting principles, as well as how to write research questions and synthesise your interview notes.

You’ll receive an email every week for seven weeks, with advice and a host of additional resources.

Learn design thinking: free course

Join this free course to learn about design thinking, with information and support on turning data into actionable ideas, testing ways to adapt your services, creating design and delivery roadmaps - and more!

You’ll receive an email every week for five weeks, with advice and a host of additional resources.

Getting started with AI: free course

This free self-serve course is designed to help you comfortably familiarise yourself with AI - and discover the ways in which it can help make your work life easier.

You’ll receive an email every week for seven weeks, with advice and a host of additional resources.

Supporting your organisation with AI: free course

This follow-on course from the 'Getting started with AI' course is designed for those people who are already advancing with AI, and who are keen to support colleagues to do the same.

You'll receive an email every week for eight weeks, with activities and advice to build AI confidence and skills across your team.

Digital Leadership Star

A tool designed by CAST and Deepr, to help track digital leads’ development.

Users can map their current levels of confidence, knowledge, connection and influence relating to digital - and can then return to track progress. To access this resource you will need to create an account.

Digital Principles

10 digital principles designed in conjunction with charities, funders and agencies in the sector. These principles can be used as a guiding light when building any digital service.

They can act as a first step in getting the right mindset before embarking on a digital project, as well as a guide to stay on track throughout. You can even use them as a basis to run a workshop with your team or organisation, to help create excitement and buy-in for digital best practice and ways of working.

Shared Digital Guides

Shared Digital Guides (formerly ‘Service Recipes’) are practical guides on using digital, data and design - written by charities, for charities. So far, more than 90 Guides have been shared - and this number is growing.

Browse the current library of digital guides - and add your own!

DigiSafe

A step-by-step digital safeguarding guide. For charities designing new services or taking existing ones online. Developed in 2020 by AVA Project, CAST, SIDE Labs and Working with Joe - and published by Catalyst.

Additional resources

A collection of some historic resources from 2020 and 2021: Digital Journeys; Catalyst's Festival of Learning and reusable assets created by organisations taking part in Catalyst and The National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 Digital Response fund.