Templates › AI programme charter
AI programme charter
Template id: programme-charter
Responsible skill: programme-management:programme-charter. Governance, decision rights and gate sections are completed with programme-management:programme-board-cadence, programme-management:stakeholder-governance and programme-management:stage-gates.
How to use this template: complete it with the sponsor before the programme mobilises. Write roles, not names, unless your organisation has declared an owner. Every fact your organisation has not yet confirmed stays marked [To confirm: ...] and is listed in section 12 as a condition of sign-off. Do not estimate licence or consumption costs here; record the position your licensing team or licensing partner has given. Store the completed charter in your organisation's own storage with access limited to the programme team and board.
1. Programme summary
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Programme name | [To confirm: name] |
| Programme type | [To confirm: adoption / delivery / transformation] |
| Edition and assurance overlay | [To confirm: starter, scale or enterprise; proportionate or formal] |
| Accountable sponsor (role) | [To confirm: role] |
| AI Programme Manager (role) | [To confirm: role] |
| Start and planned closure | [To confirm: dates] |
| Charter version and date | [To confirm: version and date] |
2. Mandate
Why this programme exists, in two or three sentences, linked to the organisation's agreed AI strategy.
[To confirm: mandate statement]
3. Outcomes served and the programme's contribution
List the strategic outcomes this programme serves. For each, state what the programme itself will deliver and how its contribution will be measured.
| Ref | Strategic outcome | What the programme delivers | Contribution measure | Baseline (or plan to set it) | Business owner (role) |
|---|
| O1 | [To confirm: outcome] | [To confirm: deliverables] | [To confirm: measure] | [To confirm: baseline] | [To confirm: role] |
| O2 | [To confirm: outcome] | [To confirm: deliverables] | [To confirm: measure] | [To confirm: baseline] | [To confirm: role] |
Fictional example, for illustration only: outcome "faster, consistent case summaries"; the programme delivers role scenarios and a governed summarisation agent for case handlers; contribution measured by average time to complete a summary, owned by the operations director role.
4. Scope
| In scope | Detail |
|---|
| Business units and personas | [To confirm] |
| Patterns of AI work (individual Copilot use, shared agents, Cowork tasks, automation, engineered solutions) | [To confirm] |
| Risk tiers the programme will deliver | [To confirm: for example 0 to 2] |
| Foundations (approved-use guidance, knowledge ownership, measurement, CoE) | [To confirm] |
| Out of scope | Reason | Where such requests go |
|---|
| [To confirm: exclusion] | [To confirm: reason] | [To confirm: route] |
5. Workstreams
| Workstream | Purpose | Accountable role | Main deliverables | Key dependencies |
|---|
| [To confirm: workstream] | [To confirm] | [To confirm: role] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
6. Governance and decision rights
| Forum | Chair (role) | Frequency | Decisions it takes |
|---|
| Programme board | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Workstream leads meeting | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Decision reserved to the sponsor | Decision delegated to the board | Decision delegated to the programme manager |
|---|
| [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
Escalation route and time limits: [To confirm: from workstream to board to sponsor, with time limits].
Interface with the AI CoE or working group, and when responsibilities hand over: [To confirm].
7. Tolerances
| Dimension | Tolerance before escalation to the board | Escalation to the sponsor beyond |
|---|
| Time | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Cost | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Scope | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Risk | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
8. Funding envelope and capacity
| Item | Approved position | Source or owner | Status |
|---|
| Funding envelope and period | [To confirm] | [To confirm: finance role] | [To confirm] |
| Services and suppliers | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Licences | [To confirm: position as advised by the licensing team or partner] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Consumption-based costs | [To confirm: position and owner] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Contingency | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Scarce role | Committed time | Period |
|---|
| [To confirm: role] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
9. Stage gates and reviewer gates
| Gate | Planned date | Decision owner (role) | Key evidence |
|---|
| [To confirm: gate] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
Reviewer gates the programme's solutions must pass: security and privacy from risk tier 2 (blocking); responsible AI, evaluation and design authority from the tiers those reviewers set. [To confirm: any additional organisational gates.]
10. Key assumptions and constraints
| Assumption or constraint | Who can confirm it | By when |
|---|
| [To confirm] | [To confirm: role] | [To confirm] |
11. Closure criteria
The programme closes when:
- [To confirm: outcome contributions measured against baseline]
- [To confirm: every live solution has an owner, support route and review date]
- [To confirm: open risks, issues and work handed to named roles in the CoE or business units]
12. Open items and conditions of sign-off
| Open item | Owner (role) | Needed by |
|---|
| [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
13. Approval
| Role | Decision | Date |
|---|
| Accountable sponsor | [To confirm: approved / approved with conditions] | [To confirm] |
| Next charter review | [To confirm: date or stage gate] | |
Credit: Template from CopilotForge by Simon Foote (https://github.com/SimonFoote-greensparx/CopilotForge), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Keep this credit when you share or adapt the template; in your own completed document you may keep it as a footer or remove it.
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