Specialism
AI for Municipalities
Independent, practical support for municipalities adopting AI, from first policy to everyday use.
AI is already part of daily work in most municipalities, often before leaders decided it officially should be. In a 2025 survey of 256 municipal staff in Eastern Ontario, more than 75% said they use AI tools at work, but only 7% said their municipality had a policy, guidelines or training.
That gap creates a risk. Sensitive information can end up in free tools, departments make their own calls on AI, and Council starts asking about a plan before one exists. Holding off has a cost too, as staff and residents miss out on the time savings and better service AI can bring.
Perry Group helps municipalities close that gap. We help you set clear rules, train your staff and apply AI to the problems that matter most to your residents and teams. Because we don't sell AI products, our advice is based only on what fits your organization.
Our AI Consulting Services
Three AI services for municipalities.
Most clients engage us for more than one. Together they follow a simple path: strategize, mobilize, then operationalize.
AI Strategy and Framework
Know where you stand, where you're going and what the rules are.
We work with your leaders to understand the risks and opportunities, assess your AI readiness and set your direction. Then we build a Responsible AI Framework for your organization that tells staff what's allowed, what's encouraged and what's off limits. You get a council-ready AI strategy, policies your staff can follow, and confidence that your municipality is protected. Our strategy and framework support includes: • An AI readiness and maturity assessment • A Responsible AI Framework with guiding principles and clear accountabilities • Approved tools and use cases, and clear red lines on what staff can't do • A draft AI policy, use case decision tree, procurement checklist and incident response process
AI Training
Get your people ready.
We identify AI champions across your organization and give them the tools and training to experiment responsibly. Champions share what's working, and momentum builds department by department. Your staff use AI with confidence, and you rely less on outside help over time. Our training includes: • Responsible Municipal AI Use • Advanced Municipal AI Use courses
AI Coaching
Make it stick and deliver results.
We coach department teams through their own business problems: finding the right use cases, testing what works and building practices your staff own. Coaching runs at a ratio of 1 consultant to 6 staff. The result is AI that solves problems and shows measurable results, instead of pilots that go nowhere. For smaller municipalities and regional groups, we can deliver any of these as a shared service, as we did for the Eastern Ontario IT Collaborative.
Why Perry Group
- We don't sell, implement or resell AI products, and we have no vendor partnerships. We start every engagement with the problem residents or staff face, and only then ask whether AI is the right answer. Sometimes the better answer is a simpler form, clearer web content or a records cleanup.
- Our consultants are former municipal IT, information management and service leaders. We use AI in our own work every day, and our framework is built on a survey of 256 municipal staff.
Municipalities we have supported
- • Eastern Ontario IT Collaborative, ON (13 upper and single-tier and 103 area municipalities): Responsible AI Use Framework with 9 guiding principles, a draft AI policy, a procurement checklist, a use case decision tree, a prompt library and an incident response guide. Published in February 2026, with an executive summary and staff guide in April 2026. A primer workshop drew more than 100 attendees.
Frequently asked questions
Our staff are already using AI. Where do we start?
Start by finding out what's happening now. Then set a few clear rules, especially about what information can't go into AI tools, and name who owns AI decisions. You can refine the details later. Waiting for a perfect policy usually means staff keep experimenting without guidance.
What should a municipal AI policy include?
At a minimum: guiding principles, who is accountable for decisions, clear limits on personal and sensitive information, rules for human review before AI output reaches residents, how new uses get approved and what to do when something goes wrong. Our Responsible AI Use Framework includes a draft policy you can adapt.
How do we decide which uses of AI are worth pursuing?
Start with the problem, not the tool. Where are residents getting stuck? Where are staff doing repetitive work? Then check whether AI is the right fit, whether your data is ready and how much risk the use carries. Our decision tree sorts uses into low, medium and higher risk, each with its own safeguards.
Do you recommend specific AI tools or vendors?
No. We don't sell or resell AI products and have no vendor partnerships. We help you set requirements and assess options so the choice fits your needs, your data and your privacy obligations.
We're a small municipality. Is this realistic for us?
Yes. A small municipality doesn't need a large program. A short policy, a clear owner, basic staff training and 1 or 2 practical uses can go a long way. Regional collaboratives can also share the work, as the Eastern Ontario IT Collaborative did for its members.
Download
Responsible AI Use Framework
AI for Municipalities
Governance, a phased adoption roadmap (Explore, Norm, Scale) and practical tools, including a decision tree, procurement checklist, prompt library, draft AI policy and incident response process.