Nonprofit AI field guide
Reviewed July 21, 2026Close, pause, or scale the experiment
End pilots deliberately so temporary tools and workarounds do not become invisible operating systems.
Close the evidence record
Summarize the use case, participants, period, approved data, representative cases, review results, incidents, staff burden, accessibility findings, costs, and unresolved questions.
Remove unnecessary test data, accounts, access, integrations, browser extensions, API keys, exports, and local workarounds according to organizational policy and provider capabilities.
Treat pause and stop as valid outcomes
A pilot can be useful because it shows that the data boundary is unclear, review burden is too high, the result is unreliable, staff capacity is missing, or the mission need is better served by process improvement.
Record what was learned and what would need to change before reconsideration. Do not leave a paused workflow available for informal use without ownership or controls.
Scale the operating system, not only access
Before expansion, confirm accountable ownership, training, documentation, approved accounts, data handling, accessibility, evaluation, monitoring, incident response, change review, support, cost, and exit readiness.
Set a new review date and scope. Scaling to more people, records, programs, languages, or consequences creates a new decision, even when the software configuration appears unchanged.