The Fieldwork Project Volunteer help with AI · London

Free help for small organisations deciding whether, and how, to use AI.

The Fieldwork Project works with small businesses, charities and social enterprises on particular tasks that take up their time. It looks at how a task is done now and advises on whether AI or automation would help. Where it would, it helps design the system and set it up in the organisation's own accounts.

contact@fieldworkproject.co.uk

The project is run by Gabriele Ferretti as a volunteer. It began in June 2026 and, as of September 2026, has worked with more than ten organisations.

A piece of work
  1. First contactBy email first, then by video call or in person in London.
  2. Understanding the taskWhere the information comes from, who handles it, and where it waits.
  3. AdviceWhether AI would help and what it would cost to run. Leaving the task as it is is always among the options.
  4. Set-upIn accounts the organisation owns, one change at a time.
  5. HandoverFrom then on, the organisation runs the system.

At handover

The organisation receives these, and runs the system itself from then on.

What the help involves

Each piece of work is arranged around the organisation and the task. Most include some or all of the following.

How it works, step by step

  1. A conversation about the taskWhat it involves, how often it comes up, where it slows down, and what has been tried.

  2. AdviceOn whether AI would help, what setting it up would involve and what it would cost to run. Sometimes the advice is to leave the task as it is, or to make a simpler change that does not involve AI.

  3. Help designing the system and setting it upWhere the organisation wants to go ahead. This is usually an automation built with tools such as n8n, Notion or Google Drive, and an AI model such as Claude.

  4. A handoverAfter which the organisation runs the system itself.

An example of a system

Where the organisation goes ahead, the system is usually an automation that connects an AI model to tools the organisation already uses. This one sorts incoming enquiries and drafts replies for staff to check.

Enquiry arrivesThe organisation's inbox

Set up in the organisation's own accounts

Workflow runsn8n
Reply draftedClaude, through its API
Record keptNotion or Google Drive
Staff checkBefore any reply is sent
Illustration of a typical system. Tools are chosen to suit each case, and the organisation pays the providers directly.

Terms

Cost
No charge. The organisation pays any tool or AI costs directly to the providers.
Privacy
Nothing about the organisation or its work is published.
Ownership
Accounts are in the organisation's name, and it owns what is built.
Basis
Voluntary help, given without guarantee. The organisation decides what to use.
Independence
No commercial relationship with any technology company.

Full terms

Who runs it

Gabriele Ferretti is a student on the MPA in Data Science for Public Policy at the London School of Economics. The Fieldwork Project is independent and is not part of LSE.

Asking for help

Email contact@fieldworkproject.co.uk with a few lines about the organisation and the task you have in mind. Every enquiry gets a reply. The contact page lists what is useful to include.

contact@fieldworkproject.co.uk
A first email
To
contact@fieldworkproject.co.uk
Subject
Enquiry

What the organisation does, and roughly how many people work there

The task you have in mind, and what makes it slow or awkward

Anything you have already tried

Whether someone could look after a new system once it is set up

Please keep the first email general and leave out confidential or personal information.