About Operating Bench
Operating Bench publishes practical operating packs for UK organisations. We started with AI, because it is the change moving fastest through everyday work: staff are already using AI tools, and most organisations have no written position on how. The gap between "our people use AI" and "we have rules for it" is where the risk sits, and closing it should not require a consultancy project. So we built the system that does it: editable policies, a risk register, an approved-tools matrix, a DPIA starter and staff guidance, written around UK rules and ready to adapt in an afternoon.
Who writes the packs
The packs are written and maintained by the Operating Bench team, drawing on more than 30 years of cumulative experience working with data, AI and commercial data science, across both technical and managerial roles. In plain terms: the material is written by people who have actually governed data and used these tools in real organisations, not lifted from a US template or generated without review.
How we research and write them
Every pack is built the same way. We start from the rules that actually apply in the UK, then translate them into documents a real team can use.
- Grounded in UK GDPR and ICO guidance, plus the regulators and professional bodies that matter for each sector: the DfE, KCSIE and JCQ for schools; the Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator for charities; the NHS DSPT, Caldicott, CQC and MHRA for healthcare; the Equality Act and EHRC for recruitment; the ICAEW, ACCA and ICB for accountancy; and the EU AI Act where it reaches UK work.
- Written in plain English, with fill-in fields and deletable guidance, so you adapt rather than decode.
- Reviewed and dated. Each resource article shows when it was last reviewed, and the packs carry version notes.
How we keep them current
AI governance and data-protection expectations move quickly. We review the packs when major UK or EU guidance changes and publish version notes so you can see what changed. Buying once should not leave you with a document that quietly goes out of date.
What this is, and what it is not
Operating Bench sells publishing and templates: a practical baseline you adapt to your circumstances. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not replace a professional where one is needed. Take legal or specialist advice before using AI for solely automated decisions about people, clinical decisions, safeguarding, high-risk recruitment screening, large-scale special-category data, or any use that could materially affect someone's rights or access to services.
Who the packs are for
UK small and mid-sized organisations whose teams already use AI and who need a clear, defensible position without a big project: businesses, schools and colleges, charities, healthcare practices, recruitment agencies, accountancy practices, training providers and public bodies.
Contact
Questions before you buy, or anything not as described? Email [email protected] and a real person will reply.