Services

Advisory engagements

Each project has a clear scope and defined deliverables. Meridian focuses on institutional system design, governance frameworks, and structured implementation support.

Process

Building Institutional AI Capability

From institutional maturity assessment to governed AI adoption.

Methodology

CRAFT AI Implementation Framework

Developed over twenty-five years of institutional technology work and refined across forty-one international projects, CRAFT is a proprietary Meridian Advisory methodology for moving from context assessment to controlled implementation. Public materials may be cited with attribution to Meridian Advisory; project-specific adaptations require written permission.

C
Context Assessment
Every institution has its own decision architecture, history with technology change, and political landscape. The context assessment surfaces what the institution already knows about itself before any design work begins.
For example, at a Gulf institution, 12 departments had no shared definition of "hybrid learning." The engagement began by establishing a common vocabulary.
R
Risk Analysis
Identify governance, data, and operational risks before they compound.
A North African ministry planned to expand a national LMS to 120,000 educators. The assessment identified architectural constraints that would have prevented safe deployment at that scale, and informed a reoriented investment strategy the Ministry adopted as the foundation for national expansion.
A
Alignment Design
Align stakeholders, roles, and decision structures across functions.
At one institution, parallel AI pilots were operating with no shared governance structure. The engagement established a joint committee with defined decision rights — reducing duplicated procurement and enabling a unified policy framework adopted across all pilots.
F
Framework Development
Define governance, workflows, and the operating model.
At a medical school, ambiguity over whether AI tool approvals required institutional or departmental sign-off was creating delays. A defined approval matrix resolved the bottleneck and was adopted as standing policy.
T
Transition to Implementation
Move from design to controlled execution with defined milestones.
An academic medical center piloting AI-assisted clinical documentation across five departments had no shared protocol for when to override AI outputs. A phased rollout — one department at a time — allowed faculty review protocols to be tested and revised before system-wide deployment. By phase three, override rates had stabilized and the protocol was adopted institution-wide.

The full CRAFT framework is available for download on the Insights page.

Institutional Diagnostic Sprint

The Institutional Diagnostic Sprint is a structured assessment of policy, infrastructure, and organizational maturity that draws on patterns from comparable institutions. The outputs are a maturity profile, a risk map, and a 90-day priority action plan.

2–3 weeks

Governance & Operating Model

Define decision structures, accountability, and implementation pathways. Outputs: governance framework, operating model, implementation roadmap.

6–10 weeks

Implementation Advisory

Guide execution, decision-making, and risk management as initiatives scale up. Outputs: strategic oversight, monitoring protocols, and stakeholder alignment.

3–6 months

Structured entry point

Institutional Diagnostic Sprint

The Institutional Diagnostic Sprint gives institutions a structured basis for decision-making before committing to a larger engagement. The output is a maturity profile, a risk map, and a 90-day priority action plan.

2–3 weeks
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Maturity profile entry point

Your Institution's AI Maturity Profile

The AI Maturity Profile provides a structured baseline for your institution across four dimensions: Strategy and governance, infrastructure and data, people and culture, and operations and practice. It takes approximately 25 minutes and reflects patterns from comparable institutions across sectors and regions.

Automated report — no cost

Your maturity profile, dimension scores, and priority alerts appear on screen immediately. A PDF copy is emailed automatically.

Written advisory analysis — optional paid follow-up

Meridian can translate your results into sector-specific priorities and recommended next steps for your context.

Begin Your AI Maturity Profile No cost · Automated report on completion
Engagement Model

How engagements are structured

Advisory engagements usually move through four stages. The Institutional Diagnostic Sprint (2-3 weeks) establishes the baseline. The Governance and Operating Model stage (6-10 weeks) defines decision structures and implementation pathways. Transition Planning sets the next steps, guidance, and checkpoints. Implementation Advisory (3-6 months) supports execution as initiatives scale. Organizations that need a structured baseline before committing to a larger engagement can begin with the AI Maturity Profile above. Each stage is scoped to institutional complexity and produces defined deliverables. Meridian works with institutional procurement processes, including fee-for-service, deliverable-based, and retainer arrangements.

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Scope of practice

Software development, vendor selection, and ad hoc consulting are outside the scope of our work.