Directory
A full shelf of ways to help - ready to run from day one.
None of this needs to be invented. Every card on this page is already designed and, in many cases, already running. The Harpenden vision is about putting the right door in front of the right person at the right moment.
Flagship programmes
The three programmes that form the backbone of Harpenden’s AI-fluent year.
AI Night School
Six-week cohort programme that turns ordinary working adults into confident, everyday AI users. Runs locally in Harpenden with a physical opening and closing night.
Who it’s for: Working-age residents and parents, especially London-commuting knowledge workers.
In Harpenden: Harpenden cohorts start with a kick-off evening at a local venue and end with a graduation showcase where residents demo what they built.
Sherpas AI
Sherpas AI is a hands-on programme where teenagers build real AI tools for real organisations. Summer work-experience cohorts and year-round community groups.
Who it’s for: Secondary-school and 6th-form teenagers in Harpenden.
In Harpenden: A summer cohort of Harpenden 15–18-year-olds ships three AI projects for Harpenden businesses, coached by local alumni.
AI Optimist Strategy
One-to-one strategy work for senior leaders who want to redesign their organisation around AI rather than graft it on.
Who it’s for: Executives, founders, and senior council officers.
In Harpenden: A three-session council retainer that produces a written AI operating model for the town council.
Transformation Accelerators
For organisations - including a council-shaped version for Harpenden itself.
AI Transformation Accelerator
A structured 90-day programme that moves an organisation from curious to productive with AI.
Who it’s for: Local employers, schools, practices, and charities.
In Harpenden: Three Harpenden independents run the Accelerator together - shared cost, shared learning.
AI Transformation Accelerator - Town Council edition
A council-shaped version of the Accelerator. Reduces overhead. Increases engagement. Equips every officer with AI fluency and a personal AI workflow.
Who it’s for: Harpenden Town Council officers, clerks, and elected members.
In Harpenden: See the /council page for a worked programme outline.
Tools
Standalone tools that any resident or group can use.
Imaginarium
A facilitated session that surfaces the AI ideas inside a team or community group and turns them into testable concepts.
Who it’s for: Any group - residents, clubs, businesses, council committees.
In Harpenden: A Harpenden High Street Imaginarium run with traders and the BID - 25 ideas in, 3 prototypes out.
Problemarium
A structured tool for decomposing a messy real-world problem into AI-shaped projects with clear owners and definitions of done.
Who it’s for: Working groups inside the council, schools, or community projects.
In Harpenden: Breaks "Harpenden traffic" into ten workable projects, each with an owner and a first iteration.
Chooser
An independent decision tool that matches a task to the best AI for that task - updated as the models change.
Who it’s for: Everyone from residents to the council.
In Harpenden: A Harpenden small business uses Chooser to work out that Claude + a Google Sheet is cheaper than the SaaS they were about to buy.
Diagnostics
Short, private, specific - assessments that turn an abstract worry into a concrete plan.
Job Displacement Risk Diagnostic
A private, 10-minute self-assessment for working-age residents to understand how exposed their role is to AI-driven change - and what to do about it.
Who it’s for: Individual residents.
In Harpenden: Offered free to every Harpenden resident in year one, funded by the resident-offer revenue.
Community Pulse Diagnostic
A lightweight instrument to measure how a community is actually feeling about AI - confidence, fear, appetite, capability.
Who it’s for: Town councils, community groups, schools.
In Harpenden: Run annually in Harpenden to track whether we’re pulling everyone along or leaving groups behind.
Council Engagement Diagnostic
Assesses how well a council’s decisions and communications are landing with residents, and where AI can close the gap.
Who it’s for: Town and district councils.
In Harpenden: Identifies the four parts of the town that never engage - and why.
Family AI-Readiness Diagnostic
A family-level readiness check across parents and children - the tools, habits, and conversations that prepare a household for an AI-native decade.
Who it’s for: Families.
In Harpenden: Offered to every Harpenden family with a secondary-school child.
Small-Business AI Opportunity Diagnostic
A 45-minute session and report that identifies the 3 highest-leverage AI moves for a small business, independent of vendor.
Who it’s for: Harpenden high-street businesses, services, and sole traders.
In Harpenden: Run in partnership with the Harpenden BID for 20 independents in the first year.