Impact Labs
Where expertise meets capability.
An Impact Lab is not a hackathon. It is a structured, partner-driven sprint — free of charge for participants — where people who deeply understand a problem work side by side with people who build AI systems. Real data. Real constraints. Solutions that could actually be deployed.
How it works.
Partner Prep
We work with the host organization to identify problem areas where AI could make a meaningful difference. We prepare datasets, define focus areas, and scope the challenges so that teams can hit the ground running on event day.
The Lab
A single-day, hands-on working session. Domain experts and AI practitioners form teams around shared problem spaces. The goal is functional prototypes, not pitch decks. Everyone contributes. The person who understands the permitting bottleneck is just as essential as the person writing the code.
Follow-Through
This is where most events end and most prototypes die. We don't stop. The most promising projects enter a structured follow-on program with ongoing technical support, mentorship, and a clear path toward deployment.
For organizations.
You know where the problems are. You know why past solutions fell short. You have the data. What you may not have is the technical capacity to explore what AI makes newly possible, or the bandwidth to organize the effort.
That is what we do. An Impact Lab gives your organization a low-risk, high-visibility way to explore AI-driven solutions for the people you serve, without a procurement cycle or a six-figure engagement. We handle participant recruiting, event production, dataset preparation, problem scoping, and post-event follow-through.
You bring the problems worth solving. We bring the room to solve them in.
What you get:
- A curated mix of domain experts and AI practitioners focused on your challenges
- Functional prototypes built on your real data in a single day
- A structured follow-on program to advance the most promising projects
- A replicable model you can run again
For participants.
If you're a domain expert:
You have spent years inside the systems that need fixing. An Impact Lab is your chance to work alongside skilled AI practitioners to prototype solutions grounded in your real-world expertise. No technical background required. Your knowledge of the problem is what makes the output meaningful.
If you're an AI practitioner:
This is your chance to point your skills at something that matters. Impact Labs pair you with people who understand the problem space deeply — the context, the edge cases, the political realities. You build together. The strongest projects get a path to deployment through our follow-on cohort.
What everyone gets:
- Real problems with real data, scoped by the partner organization
- A collaborative environment designed for building, not pitching
- A path from prototype to deployment for the strongest projects
- The opportunity to present work directly to civic leaders and stakeholders
The first Impact Lab.
The Claude Impact Lab launched in March 2025 in partnership with the City of San Diego, sponsored by Anthropic. 60 participants. 28 project submissions. Problem areas included public safety, permitting, government accountability, and municipal services. The strongest projects are now in a structured follow-on program working toward deployment.