Free courses on Generative AI to support the voluntary sector

Dr Francine Ryan, Senior Lecturer in Law and Director of the Open Justice Centre at The Open University discusses the importance of AI education and training for the voluntary sector.  

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, the widespread adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs) has driven change that many people could hardly have imagined just a few years ago. LLMs have been trained on huge amounts of data that allow them to recognise language patterns, connect ideas and generate new content in seconds. Many people are now using LLMs like Claude, Gemini, or Co-Pilot, on a daily basis to help them write, summarise documents, code, and generate images fundamentally changing how we interact with technology. The tools are now integrated into everyday digital platforms, such as search engines, impacting on the way we find and use information. Whether we realise it or not, AI is now embedded into our digital interactions.

LLMs can create value for voluntary organisations, supporting them to analyse large amounts of data, research and summarise trends, highlight risks and opportunities. Potentially they can give smaller organisations access to digital tools that were once only available to large organisations. If routine work like writing reports and funding applications, analysing data and communications can be done more efficiently with AI, it has the potential to enhance the capability of organisations, to focus on their core objectives.  The Charity Skills Report 2025 shows that 76% of charities are using AI in their work, illustrating that the voluntary sector is already exploring ways to use AI. However, there is a lot of hype around AI, and risks, which have to be addressed.

One of the ways to mitigate against risk, is the provision of education and training to support the development of AI literacy. The Open University in partnership with Citizens Advice and the University of Lincoln have developed a series of eight free courses on Generative AI (GenAI) as part of a UKRI-funded Responsible AI project. 

  1. Understanding Generative AI
  2. Skills and Strategies for Using Generative AI
  3. Key Considerations for Successful Generative AI Adoption
  4. Use Cases for Generative AI
  5. Ethical and Responsible Use of Generative AI
  6. Navigating Risk Management
  7. Legal Regulation and Compliance
  8. Horizon Scanning and AI Literacy

Participants receive a digital badge and certificate upon completing a short quiz at the end of each course. The courses are designed for beginners and to access them, all you need to do is sign up with an email address at OLCreate: AI Law and Legal Training | OLCreate.

The courses are not just essential for anyone who wants to understand how LLMs work, how to prompt them and to learn more about the ethical and responsible use of GenAI, they are also designed to support organisations thinking about the adoption of AI tools. Course 3 considers strategy, objectives, use cases, model selection, data management, deployment and integration, monitoring and evaluation, risk management, and future proofing. It includes activities to help learners get a better understanding of what is happening within their sector and then it explores how to design an AI framework or AI strategy for an organisation. Course 6 addresses intellectual property, the issue of copyright material and the complexities around authorship. Additionally, it considers issues around accuracy and reliability, reverse engineering, data and data transfers, privacy and client confidentiality.

Even if your organisation is not explicitly using AI, it is essential that you have a policy because, it is likely that staff and volunteers are using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. Course 3 and 6 support learners in the creation of an AI policy and provide useful links to other resources and examples of policies. We have designed the courses to be as practical as possible; we have included a glossary and links out to other resources and other organisations.

AI is changing the landscape, it is essential that staff, volunteers, managers and trustees within organisations have the knowledge and skills to use AI tools and support the organisation to navigate their AI journey. Please do share the free courses within your organisation and your networks, and if you would like more information about the project, please contact [email protected].

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