CASTing off for a team retreat!
Last week, the CAST team headed off to the beautiful North Wessex Downs for two days of connecting, collaborating and diving deep into work — as well as making our own pizzas and starting an AI CAST band (more on that later!)
As an organisation, we have always been ‘distributed by default’, meaning that our systems and processes have all been shaped around remote working, with supporting rituals in place to ensure that we continually feel connected to one another, as well as to the work being done. Currently, our core team of nine is based in four different countries — and so although different team members will gather together for sector events and sessions such as the Digital Leads Network meetup, we rarely get the chance to come together as a full team.
This retreat was that chance! We wanted to maximise connection and deep discussion, so we started with a flexible agenda, and collectively landed on topics and areas that felt important and / or urgent, making space for all team members’ perspectives and reflections at all times.
After sharing lunch on arrival, we checked in with an exercise focusing on CAST’s values. These values have been freshly redesigned: we worked through an all-team collaborative process in May of this year, to shape five core statements that resonated with everyone. The values are not simply one-dimensional words to us: they really do run through everything we do, and underpin the uniquely ‘CAST-y’ way we approach work — so we wanted to use our check-in to celebrate the many and varied ways in which team members consistently bring the values to life throughout their everyday work.
We each shared examples of ways in which our fellow team members embodied the values; we’ve included some examples below — see more at our website.
Naturally, the talk of values led to discussions about elements of our work and ways we can create the most value for the sector — these conversations flowed as we set about preparing dinner: delicious create-your-own pizzas using homemade dough prepared by CAST’s director, Dan.
Much of this discussion naturally centred around aspects of generative AI in relation to the sector — but over dinner, we branched out and began exploring some creative applications — including the role of AI as composer! It’s something that our Programmes and Partnerships Lead David Scurr touched upon earlier this year, and he led us in exploring the power of various AI apps to create full CAST anthems in different styles — from rock to ballads; punk to show tunes! So keep an eye out for a new CAST album dropping soon — thankfully, some of the team had ventured out for a walk earlier in the day and unknowingly struck the perfect pose for our album cover!
After a good rest, we picked up our discussions the next morning, circling back round to our role within the sector and the ways in which we can best support charities and other social impact organisations to harness the full power of digital, with a specific focus on AI. We delved into ways that others had explored the topic — covering Ethan Mollick’s ‘three sleepless nights’ consideration, and Donald Clark’s reflections on the ways AI has changed our relationship with knowledge — and then spent time reflecting as a group on the ways in which we as an organisation can best make sure that the benefits of AI are felt by everyone.
Since publishing our AI survey results earlier this year, we’ve worked on a number of interventions designed to support social organisations and the surrounding community with AI — from peer groups (for charities and funders), to talks, masterclasses — and more; take a look at our in-depth Q&A for details. But naturally, the landscape is shifting and developing at pace, and so our priority is to stay fully attuned to what charities, funders and others across the sector need — and what our role is in providing support, connection and inspiration.
This was the basis of our group conversation, as we discussed aspects of AI including data management, environmental considerations, signposting, tailored support, user journey mapping and peer connections — and considered how we can bring these together in a holistic way to fully support the sector. More on that to come over the next weeks and months — but as ever, if you have any insights to share — or indeed if you’d like to request specific support, or work with us to support the sector — please do get in touch.
As our discussions and plans drew to a close, we checked out with a ‘three words’ exercise, with each of us using three words to describe each team member in turn. We’ve turned the results into a wordcloud below, which we think manages to capture a little something of the indefinable ‘CAST sparkle’! Take a look — bonus points if you can spot the three Welsh words!
Although much of our time together was spent discussing the phenomenal potential of AI to improve efficiency and increase impact across the sector, it was the golden thread of human connection that stood out during our time together: we were already a close, friendly and trusting team — but the time spent together has only strengthened those bonds, and reinforced our commitment to our mission. We may never get round to launching that album, but our time together has certainly sparked a lot of ideas for ‘new material’: keep an eye out for release dates soon!
Article written by Sonya Hayden, Head of Communications for CAST
