AI for humanitarian practitioners

The course, step by step

Five sessions, from understanding to working on your own. Each one builds on your own documents and assignments, never on invented exercises.

1. 1

   Understand

   Session 1 · 2 h

   How these tools work, a short history and the companies behind them, how fast capabilities are moving, the seven main tools and what they cost, agents that work on your files, which tool for which job, limits, the footprint, how to turn AI off where you don't want it, and the rules for your data and your clients. We choose the project or projects you will work on, and the tool and plan that fit them.

   How it worksHistory and companiesRecent progressTools and pricesWhich tool for which jobLimits and footprintTurning AI offYour projectsTool and plan

   You leave with your project, your tool and your plan chosen
2. 2

   Set up

   Session 2 · 2 h

   A tour of the app, privacy and memory settings, projects and your folder structure, your about-me file and response instructions, how to ask well, models and effort, and a first task on your own files.

   Privacy and memoryAbout-me fileResponse instructionsAsking wellModels and effortFirst task on files

   You leave with a working environment, tested on your documents
3. 3

   Automate and go deeper

   Session 3 · 2 h

   Set your writing style, turn recurring tasks into skills, produce and check Word and Excel files, connect your email or drive and use the phone and voice, run longer and scheduled tasks, use research mode and check its citations, and learn the habits that save time and usage.

   Writing styleSkillsWord and ExcelConnectors, phone and voiceLonger and scheduled tasksResearch modeBest practices and common mistakes

   You leave with your writing style and two or three skills, installed and tested
4. 4

   Your real project

   Session 4 · 2 h, or 2 × 1 h 30

   Work on your own assignment with the trainer beside you: everything from sessions 1 to 3 on real material, and checking sources together.

   Your deliverableChecking sourcesWhat to fix in your setup

   You leave with a real deliverable produced or well advanced
5. 5

   Review and go further

   Session 5 · 1 h, plus optional topics

   Adjust your setup, measure the time gained and plan your next three assignments. Then, as you choose: infographics, dashboards, spotting AI-written text, and advanced tips.

   ReviewInfographicsDashboardsSpotting AI textAdvanced tips

   You leave with a one-page personal playbook, with your own rules for using AI

Your three set-up files

Claude works better when it knows three things: how you want it to answer, who you are, and how you write. Each one starts from a ready-made version that you make yours.

Before session 2: your about-me interview

About 20 minutes, and your first real practice with Claude. The prompt contains a ready-made about-me file: Claude goes through it with you, one section at a time, and turns it into yours.

1. Create your Claude account if you don't have one yet (the free plan is enough for this), then start a new chat.
2. Copy the whole prompt below, starter file included, paste it and send it.
3. Answer in your own words. Bullet points are fine, and you can dictate.
4. Read the file Claude writes, correct it, and save it as about-me.md in your 00_Me folder.
5. Bring it to session 2: we install it together.

I'm taking a course on using AI in my work as a humanitarian or development professional. Below is a starter version of my "about-me" file. Help me make it mine by interviewing me.

How to run the interview:
- At the start, remind me once not to share names of people, beneficiary, patient or protection data, or confidential client information.
- Go through the starter one section at a time. Show me the section, then help me fill in the brackets and decide, line by line, what to keep, change or delete.
- Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Don't suggest answers for me.
- In each section, challenge at least one line: ask me whether it is really true of me or just sounds right.
- If an answer is vague, ask one short follow-up.

When we have finished every section:
- Write my about-me file in Markdown, under 400 words, with the same headings.
- Use only what I confirmed or told you. Mark anything unclear as [to confirm].
- Then list three things I should check or add before session 2.

Starter about-me file:

# About me

## Who I am
- [My role: independent consultant, programme manager, adviser…] in humanitarian and development work, [number] years of experience.
- Assignments I do most: [evaluations, third-party monitoring, needs assessments, research, training].
- Sectors and themes I know best: [for example health, protection, food security, livelihoods].
- Countries and regions: [ ].
- Usual clients: [UN agencies, international NGOs, donors]. They expect evidence-based findings, clear and usable recommendations, and deliverables on time in their template.

## How I work
- Frameworks I use: OECD-DAC criteria, theory of change, [contribution analysis, Core Humanitarian Standard].
- I triangulate document review, interviews and data. Every finding traces back to a source.
- A good deliverable answers the questions in the terms of reference, keeps findings, conclusions and recommendations separate, and makes recommendations specific enough to act on.
- Working languages: [English, French].

## Where I want help
- The three tasks that take most of my time: [ ].
- What I find hard or slow: [ ].

## What I am working on now
- [The assignment I chose for the course, in two lines, anonymised.]

I am [my role] in humanitarian and development work: [my main tasks, for example evaluations, monitoring, research, training].
Answer in the language I write in. Write deliverables in [British English / French].
Start with the answer, then the detail. No introduction, no closing summary, no compliments.
Write in plain prose by default. Use lists or tables only for content I will scan or compare.
If my request is unclear or missing something important, ask up to three questions before you start.
Tell me when you disagree, when my reasoning has a gap, or when there is a better way to do it.
Never invent a source, figure, quote or reference. When you are not sure, say so and tell me what to check.
Keep interview quotes word for word.
State any assumption you make in one line.
Inside a project, its instructions and files come first.

I'm taking a course on using AI in my work as a humanitarian or development professional. Below is a starter version of my "writing style" file. Help me make it mine by interviewing me.

How to run the interview:
- First, ask me to paste two or three paragraphs I wrote and like, and my list of what bothered me in your drafts. Read them, then tell me in five lines what you notice about my writing and where it differs from the starter.
- Then go through the starter one section at a time. Show me the section and help me decide, line by line, what to keep, change, delete or add.
- Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Don't suggest answers for me, except to point at what my samples show.
- If an answer is vague, ask one short follow-up.

When we have finished every section:
- Write my writing-style file in Markdown, under 500 words, with the same headings. Put my sample paragraphs at the end.
- Use only what I confirmed, told you, or what my samples clearly show. Mark anything unclear as [to confirm].
- Then test it: ask me for a topic and write a 150-word paragraph that follows the file, so I can check it sounds like me. Check it yourself against "Never write" and against my samples, and point out anything that sounds more polished than I do.

Starter writing-style file:

# My writing style

## Voice
- Language: [British English]. Register: professional, plain and warm.
- Short, direct sentences, one idea each. Paragraphs of three to five sentences.
- Active voice: say who did what ("the cluster agreed", not "it was agreed").
- Concrete rather than impressive: numbers, places and periods, each with its source.
- Keep my own voice, even where it is more formal or less smooth than yours. People who know my writing notice a text that is far more polished than usual.

## Never write
- Empty openers and closers: "In today's complex humanitarian landscape", "It is important to note that", "In conclusion".
- Inflated words: crucial, pivotal, robust, holistic, leverage, delve, tapestry, landscape.
- Long dashes. Use a comma, a colon or a new sentence.
- Contrasts by reflex: "not X but Y", "X, not Y", "rather than".
- Everything in threes.
- Lines that sound too clever, like slogans.
- Bullets that all start with a bold hook followed by one sentence.
- A layout that is too regular: the same number of bullets in every section, sentences all the same length.
- Bold scattered through sentences, emojis, headings or bullet points where a paragraph reads better.

## Deliverables
- Report structure: [executive summary of two pages maximum, background, methodology, findings by evaluation criterion, conclusions, recommendations, annexes].
- One finding per paragraph: the finding first, then the evidence, then the source.
- Recommendations name who should act, are prioritised and have a time frame.
- Headings, numbering, tables and citations: [house style or client template].
- A client template always takes priority over this file.

## Samples of my writing
[Pasted during the interview.]

Your checklist

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