Community Conversation: Leveraging AI to Operationalize the SIGAP Framework

Community Conversation: Leveraging AI to Operationalize the SIGAP Framework

AI is everywhere—and higher ed fundraising is no exception. From prospect discovery to proposal drafting, tools like ChatGPT and those our own universities are creating are reshaping how advancement teams work. But can AI also help us tackle one of the hardest parts of our jobs: evaluating whether a project truly rises to the level of a strategic initiative?

At its best, the SIGAP Framework provides discipline and structure for answering the big questions—What’s the idea? Why now? Who’s leading? Is it fundable? Yet navigating faculty interests, institutional politics, and donor expectations can consume enormous time. AI has the potential to streamline this process by quickly stress-testing ideas against the framework, exposing strengths and weaknesses before we walk into the room.

In this session, we’ll share how Duke is piloting a ChatGPT prompt built around the SIGAP Framework to help vet potential initiatives. Participants will see a working example, explore a template prompt, and discuss practical ways to adapt this tool inside their own institutions.

Topics include:

• Using internal LLM “sandboxes” to refine prompts safely

• Weighting framework dimensions to generate balanced assessments

• Customizing AI outputs to align with donor interests and institutional priorities

Join us to see how AI might just become your new partner in turning bold ideas into fundable initiatives.