Partnership will help City employees build familiarity with AI tools, recognize their use and risks, and make informed decisions as AI becomes more common in the workplace and community
InnovateUS today announced a new partnership with the City of Issaquah, Washington, extending the learning platform's growing work with local governments across the country. The partnership is designed to help employees across the City build practical familiarity with generative AI, understand how these technologies are being used, and develop the skills and judgment needed to recognize and respond appropriately to AI-generated content and AI-assisted work.
The initiative supports the City's broader effort to support staff and strengthen service delivery, ensuring that as departments explore new technologies, staff have the skills and judgment to use them thoughtfully: protecting resident data, maintaining public trust, and ensuring appropriate human oversight.
InnovateUS's courses, including the Responsible AI for Public Sector Professionals course series, and live workshops will provide staff across the agency a shared foundation in how generative AI tools work, where they create value, and where they introduce risk.
“Investing in our employees means helping them build skills for a changing workplace. AI literacy is becoming one of those skills. Through this partnership, staff can develop a practical understanding of AI, learn to recognize its limitations and risks, and strengthen the judgment needed to use—or choose not to use—these tools responsibly in public service,” said Stephanie Johnson, Human Resources Director, City of Issaquah.
The training will emphasize practical AI literacy across municipal functions. Staff will learn how to evaluate potential use cases, protect resident data and privacy, recognize limitations and inaccuracies in AI-generated content, and understand the importance of transparency and human oversight.
"Local governments are often the first point of contact residents have with public institutions, which makes responsible AI adoption at the city level especially consequential," said Beth Simone Noveck, Founder of InnovateUS and Director of the Burnes Center for Social Change and the Governance Lab at Northeastern University. "Helping municipal staff build these skills through InnovateUS means better, more trustworthy service for the communities they serve."
About InnovateUS
InnovateUS delivers free online learning for public service professionals by public service professionals on data, digital, innovation, and AI skills, with an emphasis on responsible and evidence-based approaches to technology adoption.